Who Was Who Is Who #12

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see if I can predict who will make it over to the new DCU by the end of 2012, who might make it and who hasn't got a Dr Cyber's chance.

DESTINY - ever since Neil Gaiman pinched Destiny and decided he was one of the Endless, he's pretty much been off limits. Even with the recent relaxation between the Vertigo and DCU lines, I can't see him arriving soon.

DETECTIVE CHIMP - one of best characters in the sadly short lived Shadowpact series, I'd love to see him back in action as the ex-alcoholic, surly genius that he is. Kind of doubt it'll happen, though.

DIAL "H" FOR HERO - had I been writing this just a couple of weeks earlier, I'd have said not a chance of ever seeing this series again. As it is, it's been picked up as part of DC's Second Wave of comics so even though it hasn't been published yet, it's going in the "in place" column.


DINOSAUR ISLAND - and again, something that normally I would have scoffed at but the recently (at the time of writing) announced G.I. Combat series will feature The War That Time Forgot so this (and Dial "H" for Hero) cast serious doubts on my Cassandra-like abilities. Despite that, it's not going on the list because, like the Daily Planet, it's a place, not a character.

DOCTOR ALCHEMY - and the first of the (many) Doctors to grace these columns - brace yourself, there's going to be more than a British sci-fi convention. Primarily a Flash villain but never really one of the Rogues, I'm going for a no on this one.

DOCTOR BEDLAM - another Kirby creation tied up with Apokolips, I'm going to err on the side of caution and say we won't be seeing this Doctor soon.

DOCTOR CYBER - a Wonder Woman villain who won't fit into the new series' gods and monsters theme so a no here, as well.

DOCTOR DESTINY - an old Justice League villain who returned time and again, I'm pretty sure died somewhere along the line. Or did I dream that . . . ? Anyway, I'm going for a no here, also.

DOCTOR DOUBLE X - one of the lamest Batman villains, Dr Double X (spelt with only one X you'll notice) hopefully won't ever make it out of Arkham Asylum to trouble anyone ever again.

DOCTOR FATE - one of the DCU's biggest magic users, I'm fairly certain we've heard nothing about the good Doctor since the relaunch. As he was originally designated as an Earth-Two character, I'm going to go out on a limb and say we'll definitely see him in the pages of the forth-coming Earth-2 before the end of 2012.

DOCTOR LIGHT - former lightweight (sorry) villain of the Teen Titans, Light was transformed into a rapist in the pages of Identity Crisis. Sometime later, the new Spectre caught up with him and turned him into a candle which slowly burnt. Despite resurrecting in Blackest Night, I don't think we'll see him for a long, long time.

DOCTOR LIGHT - the heroic Dr Light, however, popped up here and there over the years but never really made much of an impact for long. She fought against her villainous namesake and lost her powers for a while but the joined the Justice League before that fell apart. While it would be nice to see her, I don't think we will before 2013.

DR. MID-NITE - not entirely sure why Who's Who went from the full to the abbreviated form of "Doctor" but there you go. One for the definite column as I'm really hoping he'll show up in Earth-2.

DR. OCCULT - and while I'd like to be so confident here, I'm afraid Dr Occult only makes it to the possible column for me. I'd like him to appear, but I'm not so sure he will.

DR. PHOSPHORUS - a Batman villain with glow in the dark and see through skin? What's not to love? While I can see him coming back at some point, I don't think it'll be by the end of the year.

DOCTOR POLARIS - and now Who's Who have returned to the long form of "Doctor". Go figure. Polaris was killed in Infinite Crisis, then a new one turned up in Blue Beetle who was later killed when the original was resurrected in Blackest Night. I somehow doubt magnetic villains are in Green Lantern's future any time soon.

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So in summary, one in place (Dial "H" for Hero), two definites (Dr Fate and Dr Mid-Nite) and one possible (Dr Occult)