‘DC: The New Frontier’ Explores the Joy of Superheroes

The comic book miniseries is Darwyn Cooke’s magnum opus.

I was out of town for most of this past week, so I’m cheating a bit and recycling some comic book reviews I had written on my website several years ago (before I cleaned house and revamped it to this).

Just as I did with Kingdom Come (see here), I had reread DC: The New Frontier for the first time in several years and wrote issue-by-issue reactions. The miniseries is writer/artist Darwyn Cooke’s magnum opus.

Tragically, Cooke passed away in 2016 at only 53 years of age, which is the same age Jim Henson was when he died in 1990. Cooke was another tremendous talent, and his books are very much worth reading, admiring, and savoring.

So, let’s take this one issue at a time. It should go without saying that there will be spoilers, so read the book if you haven’t already.

#1

Published in 2004, DC: The New Frontier chronicles the dawn of a new heroic age. But that age hasn’t started yet in the first issue, which takes place in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Thanks to McCarthyism, the mystery men and superheroes of the World War II era have been mostly outlawed, and a relative handful remain to carry on the fight with the blessing of the U.S. government (most notably Superman and Wonder Woman).

In the real world during this time, DC was between super-heroic eras. Superheroes started falling out of favor once the Nazis were defeated, and other genres dominated the medium for several years (Westerns, romance, etc.).

Fittingly, then, the first scene features the final mission of the Losers, a group of non-powered military characters who debuted in a late-’60s war comic. Here, they find themselves in a land of prehistoric creatures, and they never leave. In a particularly memorable splash panel, the final Loser leaps willingly into the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex with live grenades to take the beast down. And with that, an era ends.

Shortly later, the book asks, “What type of person—what new breed of hero would have the character and daring to lead America to the edge of this new frontier?”

We meet Hal Jordan, the future Green Lantern, first as a boy and then as an Air Force pilot serving at the end of the Korean War. Cooke makes the excellent decision to spend time getting to know Hal pre-GL, fleshing him out into a fully rounded character.

In the Air Force, Hal distinguishes himself by his refusal to kill, even during war. He’ll serve his country, but he won’t kill for it. Then, in a visceral scene, he discovers what he would kill for—his own selfish survival. He encounters an enemy soldier who doesn’t realize the war has just ended, and the situation quickly progresses to “kill or be killed.”

The scene plays out in a way that punches you in the gut, and the tragic result will inform Hal’s motivation for the remainder of the series.

This is indeed a book to savor, for the story as well as the art.

#2

The second issue continues setting the mood in this 1950s reimagining of the DC Universe. Cooke synthesizes various classic elements into something that feels familiar but also new, fresh, and exciting.

Superman looks like he flew out of a 1940s Max Fleischer cartoon. Batman wears the original Bob Kane design, rendered by way of a Bruce Timm Batman: The Animated Series influence. Wonder Woman lacks a quintessential cartoon version, which allows Cooke to put more of his own stamp on her design. In an inspired touch, he makes her a true Amazon, taller than even Superman.

The Flash is a kinetic figure with a large head to denote his scientific intellect. J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, appears unsettling and creepy in his native form, but devoid of malice. In his human form, as Detective John Jones, he’s the archetypal movie detective.

The events are fairly episodic at this point, but they tie together thematically, all pointing toward changing times. The Martian Manhunter, ripped away from Mars, is trying to fit into a new world. Superman and Wonder Woman verbally spar over newfound ideological differences (like they did in Kingdom Come). Batman begins to realize that his appearance is frightening to more than just criminals. The Flash is still adjusting to his new powers and super-heroic lifestyle.

And Hal Jordan, our ostensible protagonist, has difficulty readjusting to civilian life after the Korean War, and his guilt over killing an enemy soldier drives him to take the sorts of fearless risks that will soon get him noticed by a certain intergalactic police corps—the one with an affinity for emerald jewelry.

If you’re a DC fan, this series is a love letter to some of your favorite characters (including others who aren’t mentioned here), and the early Cold War setting grounds it in substance.

#3

DC: The New Frontier puts the Martian Manhunter to excellent use—quite possibly his best ever, which the book accomplishes by returning to the character’s core concept.

There’s a lot going on in issue #3, including perhaps too much exposition, and we check in with quite a few characters. The standout moments involve J’onn J’onzz as he continues adapting to his new life on a new world, among people he fears would fear him if they knew what he truly was.

A newsreel of the newly formed Challengers of the Unknown plants the seed of an idea: Perhaps the good that J’onn can do isn’t limited to his work as police detective John Jones. But then an encounter with a distrustful Batman, who knows J’onn’s weakness, reminds him of everything he has to fear.

Though the Martian’s presence on Earth isn’t public knowledge, the U.S. government is aware that the alien is out there somewhere, prompting a mission to Mars to determine whether the planet is a threat. That mission, still in the works, has recruited Col. Rick Flagg of the so-called Suicide Squad and Hal Jordan—two men both psychologically scarred by previous wartime experiences.

And that’s the true brilliance of the story and its various episodes—it explores the balance between fear and courage, and paranoia and aspiration. The various threads all tie into that central theme somehow. It’s a perfect theme for the superhero genre, and it especially fits the characters of J’onn J’onzz and Hal Jordan—the former because of his “stranger in a strange land” status, and the latter because of his reputation for fearlessness, which begs the question of what’s motivating that bravery.

#4

Events, and people, tilt toward paranoia and fear in #4. The government’s attempt to abduct the Flash sends the speedster into hiding. Wonder Woman has retired to Paradise Island. J’onn J’onzz decides to hitch a ride back to Mars. And Hal Jordan is scrubbed from that same Mars mission.

But amid the fear, acts of heroism shine through. J’onn gets a great one, which leads to a turning point for this character who has spent the series concealing his true nature because he fears how he’d be treated. And his fear is hardly baseless, given what happens to a black vigilante named John Henry who tries to strike back against the KKK. And John Henry’s tragic situation serves as a reminder about the need to be better than we were.

Darwyn Cooke’s story makes excellent use of DC’s shared universe. These characters aren’t just inhabiting the same world—they’re affecting each other within it. Characters and situations connect in organic ways. When Flash publicly calls it quits, J’onn makes up his mind about trying to return to Mars, and his means of departure is the mission Hal is involved in.

#5

In the penultimate issue, a powerful threat makes itself known … and folks step up. Whereas the previous issue showed fear holding everyone back, #5 shows characters moving forward, even in the face of the unknown. And, appropriately enough, things are beginning to look a lot more Silver Age.

Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern origin story gets a retelling here, and it drills deeper into Hal’s head than any 1959 comic would have thought to do. His joy shines through, especially with Cooke’s clean, classic style, and it’s pure fun watching him fly for the first time (without a plane, that is). But the scene fits thematically with the larger story—the ring provides a focal point for the bravery that was always there, even though Hal had been doubting himself.

The Green Lantern power ring becomes a metaphor. Push away the fear, and you can soar and perform all sorts of phenomenal feats.

Also of note, Superman gets his big hero moment when he shows inspirational leadership to the rest of the cast.

But the series is called DC: The New Frontier, not Superman: The New Frontier. So Supes can’t do it alone.

#6

DC: The New Frontier ends with a rousing action sequence and a JFK speech (the latter is where the series gets its name from, after all). And it reminds comic book fans why we love superheroes in the first place.

Throughout the previous five issues, we’ve seen the hopes and fears of various characters, but in #6, when a powerful menace threatens the entire world, it’s time to set aside all personal issues and do what’s right. It’s superheroes in their purest form.

Flash and Green Lantern get the most attention here, as both learn to think bigger and push themselves further. Ultimately, the world is saved because two men, acting bravely and selflessly, perform feats they had never previously attempted. The time for angst and introspection has passed—it’s time to be adults and get the job done. And, ironically, they’re at their most adult when they act the most like childhood fantasy heroes. No reason maturity can’t be brightly colored.

I’m reminded of the Muppets. To young children, the Muppets are hysterical. But as teenagers, they may think, “Oh, I’m too old for that kid stuff.” And then as adults, they realize, “You know what? I like the Muppets. They’re fun, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

And that’s basically what The New Frontier is saying, but for superheroes. It recaptures the fun of watching purely heroic characters saving the world. It gives you permission to enjoy it without shame, and it encourages you to aspire to greater heights yourself.