With the Advent of the DC Dark knights: Metal event a lot has changed in the DC multiverse. Dark multiverses have been uncovered and destroyed, numerous civilians have lost their lives, but most prominently DC Dark Knights: Metal ushered in the new age of heroes that it promised. The new age of heroes is a reference to DC’s new lineup of characters to replace/rejuvenate its current continuity. As the metal event’s ultimate fate is still surrounded by obscurity, DC has started to roll out more and more of its characters from the supposedly “new age of heroes”. We have heard of this before. Age of heroes, it sounds so familiar.
In Greek and Roman mythology the “age of heroes” was the time before God’s took a recluse from the world of man. An age where men and woman of incredible potential and power lived and thrived. But as it is often said, the stronger the light the darker the shadow. The age of the heroes was not without its drawbacks because when it allowed the God’s to roam the realm of man it also gave way to demons to traverse among us.
DC started off its new lineup of heroes with a new issue titled Sideways and here is the cover.
This new age of heroes is to mark a new beginning for the DC in comic continuity and the comics as a whole, artists and writers now become storytellers. We get this new character from the canvas of Kenneth Rocafort. A space traversing high schooler with rift powers. As the comic is being picked up by fans around the globe, the fandom only has one question “Is sideways DC’s answer to Spiderman ?”. This is what Dan DiDio (Co-publisher at DC and writer of sideways dubbed as one of the “Storytellers”) had to say in an interview with CBR.
One comment that’s been out there about Sideways, starting back when people saw the initial character design… I’m sure you know what it is.
Go for it!
That Sideways looks like an attempt at DC’s Spider-Man. I’ve seen that comment quite a bit, I’m sure you have as well. What’s your response to that?
Blue Beetle is DC’s Spider-Man! [Laughs]
It’s an interesting thing. One of the things that I like to do is look at past successes and what made them successful and then present them in a way that makes them original and unique in their own right. If you look at Spider-Man or any of these characters created in the early ’60s, it was a sensibility that they had that I feel has been lost in comics. If you’re making your comparisons to Spider-Man because we’ve returned the conceit of secret identity, the challenge that it is to be a young kid in today’s society while struggling with powers that you don’t really understand, and trying to deal with all of the emotional issues that come with being a teenager, then I love that comparison.
As a character power-wise, challenges-wise, it’s a completely different story, a different sensibility. For me, it’s really looking at what works with tonality, and then presenting it in a way that feels fresh and new for today’s audience. You can do that with any character. With any situation. Everything is in some ways derived from other things that people have read or absorbed in the course of time.
It’s not a surprise for me to say that I’m a huge Spider-Man fan. I’ve always been. That was my favorite character as a kid. It made sense to try to emulate stuff that you love. But not repeat, or make it derivative. That’s why I feel that Sideways stands on its own right. But if some people feel that it captures some of that tonality, it might seem deliberate, but honestly, it’s just ingrained in the things I love about comics, and what I want to see in comics.
Now, let’s talk hard facts. Sideways has essentially the same design as Spiderman, the same quirks as a high schooler, and the comic has the same “coming of age” feel that we’ve loved Spiderman for, for so long. It goes without saying that Derek James is reminiscent of Peter Parker in early years (an over-powerful and over pestered high schooler trying to find his place in the world).
But there are some fundamental differences in the character of Sideways and Spiderman. Not only is Derek dumb when compared to Peter (as anyone would be considering Peter’s scientific prowess) he also lacks the innate need for justice that has been a part of Peter’s backstory for a long time.
Peter Parker was a self-absorbed nerd who lost himself in his powers and paid the price when his Uncle died because Peter failed to do the right thing although he had the power to. But Derek, on the other hand, was part of something the true magnitude of which he is yet to grasp. Derek James was in Gotham when the challenger’s mountain appeared from beneath the ground and split the city into two. But Derek did not end up on either side, he fell right through the split.
He went missing for four days and then ended up on the other side of Gotham, when he regained his senses Derek realized that he had powers to create rifts in the fabric of space and time. Not bad for a slacking high school student. It seems that Derek was transported to the Dark multiverse and exposed to the abundant cosmic energy that flowed through space as the dark multiverse and our DC multiverse collided with Barbatos’ wail.
The consequences will become clear at a later date, it’s only the first issue that Grace’s the shelves at the moment. Fans continue to question DC’s motive with this character as it seems that DC’s design choice was completely based off of Spidey. Or rather a venom Spidey. The first time Peter donned the venom suit, yes that is exactly what sideways looks like. But rest assured comic fans the character is not reminiscent of your favorite web crawler, but I’d dare say sideways shines with innate potential. It seems the prudent choice to wait and see what DiDio has in store for us.
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