DC Comics has created some of the greatest comics of all time. Series like Watchmen, The Sandman, Crisis On Infinite Earths, All-Star Superman, and more top best of all time lists. These comics have given the publisher a great reputation, and fans expect something special when they see a DC comic. That doesn't mean there haven't been misses, of course.
Over the years, DC has produced books that have let fans down. Whether it be individual stories, storylines, or an entire series, the publisher has disappointed readers multiple times. Even some of their most hyped books have fallen far short.
10 The Darkseid War Was The Last Gasp Of The New 52 Justice League
Justice League was the flagship title of the New 52, but time hasn't exactly been kind to it. The book has more disappointing stories than fan favorites. Leading the charge of that is "The Darkseid War" by writer Geoff Johns and artists Jason Fabok and Francis Manapul. The story was sold as something readers had never seen before: the Anti-Monitor versus Darkseid with the Justice League in the middle.
Unfortunately, it never really worked out. The story was more about Grail, the newly introduced daughter of Darkseid, than the two fan-favorite villains. The art was sensational, but the story itself didn't impress at all.
9 The New 52 Destroyed Superboy
Before the New 52, Superboy hadn't had his own book since the '90s, but books like Young Justice and Teen Titans kept Conner Kent in readers' minds. After Flashpoint changed the DC Universe, Superboy was one of the launch titles of the new publishing initiative. Instead of just showcasing the adventures of Conner, it tried to do something new with the character.
The New 52 Superboy proved extremely unpopular, and the first version of the character was killed off and replaced by a Superboy from another universe; an evil one. This didn't exactly work either. The book ran throughout the New 52, but kept bleeding readers and changing creative teams.
8 Brian Michael Bendis's Runs On Superman And Action Comics Didn't Connect With Most Fans
Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel for DC was a big deal. The writer was immediately put on Superman and Action Comics, working with artists like Ivan Reis, Ryan Sook, John Romita Jr., Kevin Maguire, and many more. However, this wasn't the height of the writer's popularity. For years, fans had felt his style had aged badly, and he had fewer fans than in his heyday.
The reception of Bendis's run on the Superman books was mixed, at best. Everyone agreed that he wrote Superman very well, but other than that, many fans just didn't enjoy the stories. The reception definitely wasn't what DC was banking on.
7 Before Watchmen Was Met With Scorn And Indifference
Watchmen is widely considered the best comic ever. It's a perennial sales juggernaut, and for years, DC was content with just putting out new editions and selling them. The 21st century changed all of that. Before Watchmen, a series of prequels focused on the story's characters, telling tales from their past, was the publisher's first try to cash in on the story with new content.
DC put the best talent they could muster on the books, but that definitely didn't help fans' reception. Many Watchmen fans didn't want prequels or anything that original writer Alan Moore wasn't involved in. Those who did read them found the comics to be a mixed bag, with the overall consensus being that the whole thing wasn't needed.
6 All-Star Batman And Robin Destroyed The Nascent All-Star Line
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman has gone down as a classic of the comic medium. Its sister book, All-Star Batman And Robin by writer Frank Miller and artist Jim Lee, went in the opposite direction. The book is infamous with fans, seen more as a guilty pleasure than anything else. Lee's artwork is frequently breathtaking, with his eight-page spread of Batcave considered legendary, but the writing failed completely.
If it wasn't written by Miller, it could almost be believed that All-Star Batman And Robin was a parody, but that's not the case. The hard-boiled Batman of the story is a psychopath and all the serious parts of the book are more humorous than anything else. Fans expected something completely different from what they got.
5 Heroes In Crisis Angered A Lot Of Fans
Heroes In Crisis, by writer Tom King and artists Clay Mann and Mitch Gerads, was a great idea wrapped in a mystery that ended up infuriating fans. The idea of a place where superheroes could go to deal with their mental issues, named Sanctuary in the story, was a good idea, but the mystery story welded to the concept didn't work for most readers.
What made it even worse was the story's twist, revealing fan favorite character Wally West as the murderer. Even though it was accidental, it was looked upon by fans of the hero as another example of DC abusing a beloved character that everyone wanted more from.
4 The New 52 Teen Titans Squandered All The Good Will The Team Had Built Up
The New Teen Titans was the biggest DC book of the '80, but ran out of steam in the '90s. Young Justice brought teen heroes back to prominence and led to a Teen Titans relaunch in the '00s. The book became a fan favorite again. And then the New 52 happened. The controversial publishing initiative damaged a lot of DC concepts, but the longest-lasting damage came from Teen Titans.
Multiple creative teams worked on the book, and none of them did anything readers really enjoyed. Teen Titans was a complete failure in every way. It was so good at driving fans away that the Teen Titans have yet to recover as a concept.
3 Justice League: Trinity War Was Hyped To The Moon But Fans Didn't Care About It
DC has created events books that are better received than their marvelous competition, but not every event is a winner. Justice League: Trinity War is a great example of an event that just didn't work for fans. Running through Justice League, Justice League Dark, Justice League of America, and Constantine, the book dug deeper into New 52 mythology, featuring the origin of Pandora.
The problem was that fans were already turning on the New 52 at this point. Adding to its mythology wasn't something readers really wanted; they wanted answers on what was canon and what wasn't. The first big crossover of the line was met with a resounding thud.
2 Batman: Three Jokers Has Become An Object Of Ridicule
Batman: Three Jokers, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jason Fabok, was highly anticipated. The mystery of the three Jokers had readers excited, and when the book finally came out, fans were ready to be amazed. What they got definitely wasn't what they expected. Fabok's art was great, but Johns was trying to do an Alan Moore The Killing Joke pastiche without any of the skill of Moore.
The truth about the three Jokers didn't make any sense. There were so many bad ideas in the book that anything good got overshadowed. The ending reveal pretty much invalidated the whole plot of the book. Since then, it's become a cautionary tale about what not to do with a Batman comic.
1 Doomsday Clock's Delays Killed It
Doomsday Clock, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, was another highly anticipated story that ended up becoming disliked by most DC fans. The story was built up by DC Rebirth #1 and Batman/The Flash: The Button, and was supposed to reveal the secrets of why things were so different in New 52. Its hook was that it was also the first crossover between the DC Universe and Watchmen.
A lot of fans never wanted a crossover like this, which was a problem. As for the ones who did, the story was wracked with delays that hurt its flow. It took so long to come out, that any changes it could have made were invalidated by other books. It was also yet another example of Johns aping Alan Moore.