Since 1985, DC Comics has regularly employed the crossover event to boost sales and capture new readers. Some events have been more successful than others, but all have left a little touch on the greater DC Universe. Sometimes that effect can be well-remembered, infamous, or not realized until years later.
Some of DC's events have the benefit of being well regarded by fans, but sometimes, it's surprising how bad they are considered to be. But even a bad event series deserves a chance to tie up loose ends. Successful or not, the potential of many of these events remains unresolved.
10 Armageddon 2001 Never Got A Satisfying Conclusion.
Armageddon 2001 is infamous for its hastily reworked conclusion after readers figured out the rather obvious path that the story was headed. The mystery over the villain Monarch's identity was never handled to anyone's satisfaction, and every effort to retroactively fix the story has failed to deliver.
A sequel could deliver on the promise of the many alternate realities Armageddon 2001 introduced. Originally, the event took place when there was no DC Multiverse, but now that an infinite multiverse has been reestablished, the story and its villain can realize their full potential.
9 Millennium Shouldn't Have Been The Endgame For The Manhunters.
1987's Millennium was a galaxy-spanning event that saw multiple DC Characters exposed as Manhunters or their agents. It even spanned into the 30th century's Legion of Super-Heroes. Unfortunately, its only legacy was the New Guardians, which is more of an embarrassing bit of trivia than a legacy.
The Manhunters were hatching a plan thousands of years in the making with the focus being on Earth. A sequel can encompass multiple worlds, with more of a scope that matches a crossover in the modern DC Universe.
8 Zero Hour Set Up So Much, Only To See It Abandoned.
Zero Hour was crafted to solve problems created by Crisis On Infinite Earths as well as some problems that arose in the decade after. Various other stores were set up by Zero Hour, many of which were forgotten after they played out, if they played out at all.
Most notably was the mysterious identity of a female Time Trapper seen at the end of the story. There was also the issue of Power Girl's mysterious child, which was resolved in a few months, never to be heard from again. Of all the series that came out of Zero Hour, only Starman was successful, with even the revamped Hawkman failing within two years.
7 End Of An Era Abruptly Ended The Legion of Super-Heroes
The final story that ended the chronicles of the "mainstream" Legion was titled "End of an Era" starting with two teams of Legionnaires combining their efforts to thwart Mordru and Glorith. At the same time, the effects of Zero Hour were wreaking havoc with both teams, changing Legionnaires and sometimes replacing them with other characters.
The story can be revisited with the restoration of the multiverse, with the teams reappearing from the abyss of time breaking apart. Such a sequel would be pleasing for Legion fans, especially those that favor the "Five Years Later" Legion who never got a chance to complete their story, and since DC Comics might want to experiment with different versions of the Legion, it's an excellent starting point.
6 Underworld Unleashed Had A Powerful Villain That Could Have Been Better Used.
Underworld Unleashed presented the heroes of the DCU with radically increased threats from familiar villains. Responsible for all of it was a demon named Neron, who went to heroes and villains alike offering to grant their desires in exchange for their souls.
In the end, Neron was defeated by an unselfish wish from Shazam. Neron has made a few appearances after the event, but he has never again been a real threat to the greater DC Universe. It's a missed opportunity, and for an immortal demon since "promoted" out of his ruling role in Hell, it makes sense for decades to pass until he takes his well-planned revenge.
5 Final Night Had An Assemblage of Earth's Heroes That Could Have Been Utilized Afterward
Final Night was a great event that was done quickly but managed to convey a dire threat to the Earth as a Sun-Eater began to swallow up the sun. It also saw Superman bring together an assemblage of the greatest DC Heroes at the time, including a time-lost Legion of Super-Heroes. The story saw Lex Luthor working with the heroes to save humanity and the redemption of Hal Jordan.
At the end of the event, the heroes were in a position to become a team unlike any other. The potential of such a group was shown to fans in the animated series Justice League Unlimited. Reprising that type of teamwork can show the potential DC's heroes have when working together.
4 The Characters Of DC One Million Need To Be Revisited.
DC One Million showed the legacy of DC's greatest heroes in the 853rd century. While the Android Hourman received his own series, and John Fox, the Flash of two different centuries, has made a handful of appearances since the event, most of the members of the Justice Legion have essentially gone unexplored.
A sequel could explore the concepts introduced by Grant Morrison. The current Superman existing within the sun giving extra power to his descendants is worth exploring alone. Grant Morrison might be the only one who could really pull it off, but there is always hope.
3 The Janus Directive Featured A More Realistic Corner Of The DC Universe.
The Janus Directive is regarded by Suicide Squad fans as a moment of sheer brilliance. Crossing over with various intelligence agencies in the DC Universe, it streamlined those agencies that had been independently established by various creators. It also showed consequences for actions that would be enough to earn long prison terms.
Event Leviathan attempted to recreate this style of this event but fell a little flat upon its final delivery. A proper sequel can explore how the restructuring of the intelligence agencies eventually led to a massive problem, as many well-intentioned executive decisions do. Government legacy is often very messy, leaving a lot in its wake.
2 Amalgam Requires Cooperation Between DC And Marvel.
One of the bright spots of the Marvel and DC crossover in 1996 was the merged Amalgam universe. While some titles were admittedly better than others, a good number of titles have their fans and deserve to be revisited. With a quarter-century of history, there could even be new combinations.
Spider-Boy, Doctor Strangefate, Thorion, Iron Lantern, and others could see an update based on more recent events. Just Imagine the Amalgam Civil War with forces split between Iron Lantern and Super-Soldier. Deadpool could even be mashed with Deathstroke because there is precedent for a character being used for more than one Amalgamated result.
1 Tales Of The Dark Multiverse Can Explore More "Worst-Case" Scenarios
Spinning out of Dark Nights Metal, Tales of the Dark Multiverse explored several events from the perspective of evil winning, essentially the "worst-case scenario" for each story. The series explored new, darker endings to Flashpoint, the Judas Contract, and War of the Gods.
A new series of Tales of the Dark Multiverse could explore events like Barry Allen's murder of the Reverse-Flash, Identity Crisis, and The Great Darkness Saga. There seems to be at least a sporadic market for specials showing alternate endings for famous stories, even if there isn't one for a continuing series, along the lines of What If. Letting creators play with DC's toys to the point of breaking them often conveys a sense of fun to readers.