DAN DIDIO ON THE SECOND DC TEASER

[MattBrady]

Was it really over a year ago when DC debuted their first teaser image for 2007 and Countdown and nine or so months since the debut of the second?

Yeah – it has been.

Just like we did with the first, we caught up with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio to talk us through that second image, just to make sure there wasn’t anything we missed, now with Countdown being over.

Newsarama: Dan, let’s start over with something kind of easy – Mary Marvel, Granny Goodness and Eclipso. That’s obviously referring to the “Seduction of the Innocent” storyline from Countdown where Mary Marvel was corrupted by Eclipso originally, and then chose to stay where she had landed…

Dan DiDio: Absolutely correct. And also if you notice, behind Granny Goodness is the shield of Hippolyta. The reason that’s there of course is that Granny was tied to the Amazons and was pretending to be one of the Greek gods. So, the larger image was that Granny was playing a role as a god, and also played a role in the conversion of Mary to evil.

NRAMA: And also, given where and how Mary ended up in Countdown - Eclipso’s arm around her waist…that indicates possession?

DD: Absolutely. She’s in control of Mary, and then Mary struck back, but yet Mary did not pull free from evil’s grasp.

NRAMA: Moving above those three – Martian Manhunter, Joker and Catwoman…

DD: That was part of the Salvation Run storyline – as the teams were breaking up on the Salvation Run planet, we knew that Catwoman would ultimately turn and betray Martian Manhunter, which is why he’s holding the knife – he’s been stabbed in the back by Catwoman.

NRAMA: Before we move on – has everything in this teaser image come to pass?

DD: Nope.

NRAMA: Okay then, moving to what can’t be overlooked – the head of Darkseid. Is that representing the fall of Darksied as seen in the end of Countdown?

DD: Is it? You’re only seeing his head. Is he coming or is he going?

NRAMA: He’s popping up through the earth? He’s on the rise?

DD: That’s something for people to still determine as we move forward.

NRAMA: Moving on to Kingdom Come Superman, Cyborg Superman and Superman Prime – starting with Kingdom Come Superman…he’s been in Justice Society lately, and he has the sign of the Atom on his hand…

DD: We used that as a mark of the multiverse – shorthand on his hand, really. We wanted to show that that particular Superman was one that came to our world from the multiverse, and that’s what the mark stands for.

NRAMA: And Cyborg Superman?

DD: You’ve got to remember that when this poster came out, the Sinestro Corps War was still getting going, and people didn’t know what kind of return he was going to have and the role he would be playing in it. That was a hint of that.

NRAMA: And that also goes for Superman Prime?

DD: Right. At that moment, Superman Prime was Superboy Prime, and he was part of the Sinestro Corps War and was working side by side with Cyborg Superman, but ultimately, he came to play a role in Countdown with the black costume. Remember at the moment of the teaser poster, he wasn’t in the black costume yet, so we wanted to show the intimacy of the two – the relationship, conspirators, that they would share.

NRAMA: And if people didn’t figure out he was Prime, but took him to be, for some reason, Superman, all the better for controversy and conversation?

DD: That’s right.

NRAMA: Moving down – Piper, DeSaad and Penguin. An odd grouping, but yet they did get together in Countdown, if only tangentially…

DD: You want the truth, or do you want me to make something up? [laughs]

NRAMA: Let’s start with the truth, and if that gets weird, we’ll go for the made-up version…

DD: What happened was – one of the story beats actually changed since the poster was made. Originally, that grouping was to signify that both Penguin and Trickster were working side-by-side with DeSaad. Both had come over to DeSaad, had seen where things were heading, and both were trying to negotiate their own lives and their own safety in regards to what was happening with DeSaad – and both of them would ultimately turn on DeSaad in the future. You saw some of that with Penguin, and a little with Trickster. Ultimately, Trickster was going to betray Piper to DeSaad. That’s why he’s holding the pipe.

What happened though, as the course of Countdown continued, there was a radical change in how the story was going to be handled, and ultimately, Trickster died. So that particular storyline did not play out the way we had planned it to when we were constructing the poster.

It’s funny – as we were putting the series together, and I saw the changes coming, the poster was in the back of my mind, but I did not want to get involved in changing the flow of the story to match something that was, in the end, a promotional piece of art. I figured I could take my lumps on that one part of it.

NRAMA: While we’re still looking at them, then three of them are standing on the capes, cowl and sword of the Trinity – the image that was connected with 52 - what’s the significance of that?

DD: Remember how I said certain things haven’t played out yet? That’s one.

NRAMA: Moving on to the left – Luthor crying with blood on his hands…it wouldn’t be a teaser poster without someone crying…

DD: [laughs] Yeah – we couldn’t put Superman crying on there again, so we had to get someone close to him. But that image ties in to Salvation Run #7.

NRAMA: The device between Trickster and Luthor – something that people noticed on the first teaser image too.

DD: It signifies both the New Gods and Boom Tube technology, which played a big rople in Countdown, and isn’t done playing a role yet.

NRAMA: And the book on the other side of Luthor?

DD: The Crime Bible! It shows up in the first issue of Final Crisis, and maybe even earlier…

NRAMA: In a book this week?

DD: I’d say there’s zero chance of it not showing up this week in some book.

NRAMA: Continuing our track, Black Racer’s skis broken…he is the messenger of death for the New Gods, so that one’s pretty obvious…

DD: Right – Death of the New Gods. And his skis are beside a Mother Box.

NRAMA: And finally on the ground – the broken arrow…

DD: Remember – when this came out, the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding had yet to happen, so that was a tease to that, and then later, to the notion that Connor would be the one who would be “broken.”

NRAMA: One last thing – the skyline – the city on fire, and the very suggestive spiral in the sky –

DD: And Kirby dots, plenty of Kirby dots! Again, this was before we had announced the direction for Final Crisis - this was before we’d revealed the tagline for Final Crisis - it shows the destruction of a city, the end of mankind.

NRAMA: Any plans to do another one of these?

DD: We’ve got some fun stuff coming…we’ve got the Rip Hunter time boards that are coming up in the DC Nation page in this weeks’ books, and we’re also going to get pictures of our heroes summer vacations coming up later this year. We’ll be premiering those in San Diego.

And we’ve got one last motivational poster coming up…with Ambush Bug.

So – the Time Board should keep folks busy for a while, I think.

[Punchy]

So no mention of Trickster wearing the other Trickster's costume?

Do they know there's 2 Tricksters?

[Dirk Manning]

Yes, it's a little pretentious... but I still like this stuff. Well done!

[caats19]

the time board will be awesome. i love that idea...but this teaser was much cooler before countdown.

[Jason Bryant]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: Moving above those three – Martian Manhunter, Joker and Catwoman…

DD: That was part of the Salvation Run storyline – as the teams were breaking up on the Salvation Run planet, we knew that Catwoman would ultimately turn and betray Martian Manhunter, which is why he’s holding the knife – he’s been stabbed in the back by Catwoman.

Isn't that backwards? If she betrayed him, shouldn't she be behind him with a knife?

[Ken B.]

Hey, at least Didio admitted the change with the Trickster stuff and didn't go into a Brevoort state of denial (that's what I'm calling it now when creators refuse to accept their mistakes).

Manhunter holding the knife, though, that's kind of weak.

[alaska1125]

The image seemed cooler before events played out the way they did (except Sinestro Corps War...that was great). I still think Final Crisis will be good (fingers crossed).

[Question86]

Originally Posted by Punchy

So no mention of Trickster wearing the other Trickster's costume?

Do they know there's 2 Tricksters?

That was probably a editorial mistake

[Andy Red]

Final Crisis!!! Well excited!

[skyian]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

Isn't that backwards? If she betrayed him, shouldn't she be behind him with a knife?

Yeah, exactly. I thought "huh?" when I read DiDio's explanation.

[Black Ice]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

Isn't that backwards? If she betrayed him, shouldn't she be behind him with a knife?

It could be that he pulled out the knife she stabbed him with.

[JohnNah]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

Isn't that backwards? If she betrayed him, shouldn't she be behind him with a knife?

He's pulling the knife out of his back.

Catwoman standing behind him with a knife would've been a little too obvious.

[Jason Bryant]

Originally Posted by Black Ice

It could be that he pulled out the knife she stabbed him with.

I see that, but it's still a problem of a lack of clarity. If he'd had blood running down his side that would have helped.

Point is, the parts of the image that work the best are the ones where Didio doesn't have to explain them. The shield behind Granny Goodness? That works because you can look at the story and go, "Oh yeah, so that's why the shield was there." The knife isn't as clear.

[B|ackPanther]

Oh no, not Ambush Bug...

[alaska1125]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

I see that, but it's still a problem of a lack of clarity. If he'd had blood running down his side that would have helped.

Point is, the parts of the image that work the best are the ones where Didio doesn't have to explain them. The shield behind Granny Goodness? That works because you can look at the story and go, "Oh yeah, so that's why the shield was there." The knife isn't as clear.

I agree. Looking at the image now, I could pretty clearly identify what they were going for. The knife, however, I couldn't figure. The explanation isn't much better.

[Jeremy Williams]

What I know is how great the other teasers were and how crappy those comics turned out to be!

[wotan]

I'm sticking to my guns.......no more multi-part epics. Continuity is constantly being rewritten, and writers are taking plenty of liberties with established characters. Mary Marvel turns bad? Billy Batson doesn't do a thing to help her, but he will help Freddy Freeman in his mini series.....gak! I'm through with these cobbled together storylines.
Go ahead and fleece your readers with these "critical changes in the DC Universe." Can we get back to self contained stories that aren't a part of some multi-part epic? Enough with the professional wrestling quality storylines....Alright, I just had to get that off my chest. DC and Marvel, I'm through with your multi-part epics.

[Samy Merchi]

The reason that’s there of course is that Granny was tied to the Amazons and was pretending to be one of the Greek gods. So, the larger image was that Granny was playing a role as a god, and also played a role in the conversion of Mary to evil.

She did? Where?

As far as I read, her conversion to evil went through Black Adam, Zatanna, Klarion and Eclipso, then she broke free. She met Granny only briefly, and fought her as a typical good guy, and was in no way influenced towards evil by Athena/Granny at the only point the two met.

I can see the Eclipso influence, and I could understand if it was Darkseid standing behind Mary instead of Granny, but Granny herself makes no sense. She didn't do a thing about Mary!

as the teams were breaking up on the Salvation Run planet, we knew that Catwoman would ultimately turn and betray Martian Manhunter, which is why he’s holding the knife – he’s been stabbed in the back by Catwoman.

Uhh...riiiight. I'm sorry, the image looks like J'onn is the backstabber. Also, if she's just stabbed him in the back, why is she just lounging around there looking unconcerned? The body language does not at all reflect a situation where she's just backstabbed J'onn. Also, I notice there was no addressing of why Joker is whispering to Catwoman. What was the significance of that?

Why is KC Superman shown beside Cyborg and Prime? This is the "villains" poster, right? How does he tie into villainy? What is the significance of having a hero blasely among all these villains? I don't think DiDio addressed that point. J'onn I can understand being on the poster as he's heavily involved with the villains right now in Salvation Run, but how is KC tied to villains?

I do give him kudos for fessing up to a change of plans on the Trickster/Penguin plot. I wish more people in the industry were that up front about snags. It's much easier to accept gaffes as a reader when you're not assumed to be an idiot who will swallow some lame excuse.

[Jason Bryant]

I also don't get the explanation for the Atom symbol representing the multiverse. The Atom symbol represents the Atom. The fact that it is the KC Superman makes it pretty clear all by itself that he's from another universe.

[AnalSurprise]

Originally Posted by Ken B.

Hey, at least Didio admitted the change with the Trickster stuff and didn't go into a Brevoort state of denial (that's what I'm calling it now when creators refuse to accept their mistakes).

I have to admit how impressed I was with that part of the interview. As an admitted Marvel Zombie, it's something of a shock to witness that kind of honesty from the masthead. I really wish that the people at Marvel were more honest with their mistakes and successes alike... at least with the hardcore audience, if not the casual reader. Enough about how Secret Invasion isn't a convenient tool to retcon past mistakes, or how OMD allegedly did exactly what it set out to do and got exactly the reception JQ expected... a little humility never hurt anyone. It's okay to say oops.

By being unable to acknowledge their own mistakes, Marvel put this fence between themselves and their (hardcore) audience, and it seems the resentment on both sides is only getting worse with every passing year. Which is just silly, because overall, if you look at the sales, it's clear that people generally ENJOY the Marvel product.

All the more reason for Marvel to grow a pair and quit being such babies about what they've done right and wrong.

Kudos to DC and Didio. This interview didn't make me want to buy more DC books (I'd already planned on giving FC and Trinity a shot), but it sure is making me root for you guys a little bit more.

/AS

[Genki]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

And we’ve got one last motivational poster coming up…with Ambush Bug.

I already took care of the Ambush Bug hype:

[AnalSurprise]

Originally Posted by Samy Merchi

I'm sorry, the image looks like J'onn is the backstabber. Also, if she's just stabbed him in the back, why is she just lounging around there looking unconcerned? The body language does not at all reflect a situation where she's just backstabbed J'onn.

Gotta agree with Samy on this one. All this scene required was some green blood (or whatever color it is for Martians) on the knife, and no one would be arguing about it. Without it, it does indeed look like MM is the backstabber.

/AS

[Skatonic10]

Is it just me, or does Catwoman have some serious Camel Toe going on?

[Samy Merchi]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

I also don't get the explanation for the Atom symbol representing the multiverse. The Atom symbol represents the Atom.

They did have a very brief bit in Countdown about how Ray Palmer has hopped around the multiverse, gone to each 52 Earths to inoculate them with his Atom sign, so the Atom sign is sort of a stamp he stamped on each Earth. So I sort of see what they're going for there, but I don't agree with how they chose to portray KC's body language. It looks like he's holding something in his hand. It would've made slightly more sense if it'd been glowing on his forehead or on his shoulder or something. Now it just makes me wonder, what is he holding in that closed fist of his.

[tatbat]

Originally Posted by Skatonic10

Is it just me, or does Catwoman have some serious Camel Toe going on?

She does.
Not only that but the KC and Cyborg Supermen have a couple of Super baskets going on as well