The DCnU Lady In Red Is Coming!

Deep inside the DC offices is a wall that played a very important part in the launch of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Actually it’s in Coordinating Editor Liz Gehrlein’s office, conveniently located right next to mine.

On that wall, Liz has collected a page from each of the first issues that debuted in September. Although those fifty-two pages are all very different, showcasing the fantastic range of characters and styles in the DCU, they all have one thing in common: the appearance of a lone, mysterious hooded figure. That’s right – if you look carefully through each title from last month, you will spot her … sometimes hovering in the background … other times lurking close by.

One of the coolest things for me about The New 52 was that it gave us the ability to work very far in advance. We knew exactly what we wanted to do in terms of connecting FLASHPOINT to our new universe. Geoff Johns had an amazing backstory for the mysterious woman who appears at the end of FLASHPOINT #5. We had a plan for where we thought she’d go next, but since we had enough time to really think, Jim Lee, Geoff and I figured out that it was possible to expand this character’s next appearance into ALL of the #1 issues – a daunting task to be sure, but a one-time opportunity to do something like this and really drive home how important this character is. To keep track of this plan, we created the wall in Liz’s office and put up each page as it was completed.

You’ll soon see the next step in this character’s evolution in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE, and in the months to come you will see more events ripple across titles as we continue to weave the DC Universe together and tell even more amazing stories.

In other words, Liz is going to need another wall.

– Bob Harras, Editor-in-Chief

I, like many of you, want to yell at Harras, “Give us More!!,” but I doubt that will work. Justice League is proving to be one of my favorite books, and I think a character of this magnitude belongs there. That being said, from the sounds of it I do not think anyone is safe from her touch. This is proving to be one of the most compelling parts of the new DCnU, and I for one can’t wait to see where Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, and the rest of the DC folks have in store. Who is this dark red riding hood? Is she a completely new character, someone born of Flashpoint, or someone from the old DCU whose path has been radically altered? Let us know what you think in the comments, or join the conversation in our forums!