This week, DC Comics dropped their biggest bombshell of the year when they announced that longtime Marvel scribe Brian Michael Bendis would soon be joining them as an exclusive writer. After writing almost every major Marvel hero in some form or another in the past 17 years, Bendis will now turn his talents to DC’s legendary pantheon of heroes. But which DC characters should Bendis tackle first? Here are the top seven characters we think would be ideal for Bendis to write.
Batman
Although Batman currently has two bimonthly books, by writers Tom King and James Tynion IV, DC would no doubt create a new regular Bat- title if Bendis wants one. And after years writing detective stories in the pages of non-Marvel books like Torso and Powers, not to mention urban vigilantes like Daredevil and Moon Knight, Batman would be a no brainer for Bendis. And if he can get his former Daredevil artist Alex Maleev to join him, that would be the icing on the cake.
Justice League
Bendis spent years redefining the Avengers family of books for Marvel with several titles, taking the team to the same level of popularity as the X-Men starting with New Avengers. Could Bendis do the same thing for DC’s counterpart team, the Justice League?
Bendis’ run on the Avengers drew a lot of story elements from that team’s past, but with the League’s colorful history currently up in the air due to the events of DC Rebirth, maybe it should be Bendis’ job to straighten it all out. Not to mention he could give the League a ton of witty banter, just like in their Justice League International days.
Wonder Woman
For someone with a Y chromosome, Bendis has an amazing knack for writing realistic, well rounded female characters, especially the two Jessicas–Jessica Jones, and Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Jessica Drew. Could he bring the same touch to writing the adventures of Wonder Woman? After Greg Rucka left the title earlier this year, the Wonder Woman book has had a rotating group of writers, but maybe Bendis is the one to bring a new take on the Amazon princess for another long term run.
Superboy
This one is a bit of a wild card entry. But it does make sense when you remember that Bendis wrote not one, but two of the most realistic portrayals of teen superheroes in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man with Peter Parker and his successor, Miles Morales. Could he bring back one of DC’s currently missing teen icons, Superboy, and return him to glory? DC has been hinting at the return of Conner Kent for awhile now, and a Bendis penned series about DC’s adolescent super clone would be a surefire hit.
Teen Titans
Speaking of teen heroes, DC’s Teen Titans would be an ideal fit for Bendis’ skills as well. For years, he wrote All-New X-Men, the story of Xavier’s students as teens lost in time, being trained by Kitty Pryde.
Rumors abound that the young adult Titans book is consolidating with their younger counterparts the Teen Titans soon, with the slightly older heroes as the teenage heroes mentors — a very similar dynamic to Bendis’ long X-Men run. That would make something like 12 Titans in one book, but if anyone could juggle all that, it’s Brian Bendis.
Green Lantern Corps
Brian Michael Bendis proved he can write fun, intergalactic adventure with his run of Guardians of the Galaxy, so he could easily take that same space opera aesthetic to a new Green Lantern Corps title. The back and forth repartee between elder statesman Lantern Hal Jordan and hothead Guy Gardner would be perfect for Bendis’ sensibilities.
Nightwing
Bendis’ run on Daredevil was one of the character’s greatest runs of all time, right up there with the runs of Frank Miller and Kevin Smith. And although Matt Murdock shares a certain sensibility with Batman, he actually has more in common with the Dark Knight’s former kid partner, Nightwing.
The chief reason being that Dick Grayson, unlike his mentor Bruce Wayne, actually has a sense of humor despite being a gritty urban vigilante. This is similar to Matt Murdock, who despite all that life throws at him, manages to crack a joke here and there–just like Dick Grayson.
Which DC character do you think Brian Bendis should write? Be sure to tell us what you think in the comments down below.
Images: DC Comics
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