DC was willing to reverse the death of Roy Harper's daughter, Lian
ComicBook announced some most relieving news, one of the very few bright spots coming from a publisher that's otherwise on its way down the drain: a reversal of one of their most notorious shock value storylines from the late 2000s:
Of course, one must wonder why the destruction of Star City in Cry for Justice must remain canon, based on how revolting it was to begin with, and to keep it in place even as one of the most offensive deaths in the tale was reversed won't make it any less reprehensible. A number of years back, DC thankfully appears to have retconned what Identity Crisis did to Sue Dibny and Jean Loring, and in their case, any reversal appears to have dropped IC entirely from canon, and no wonder - with a premise involving sexual violence played for cheap sensationalism, it's no wonder they chose to do "quiet" retcons, because the premise of the 2004 miniseries is so sick and implausible, to say nothing of monumentally offensive to victims of sexual assault in real life, that to keep it as canon would only prolong the humiliation it resulted in for all involved.
Lian Harper may be restored to the living world, but given how bad scriptwriting for the Big Two's become, that's why it'd be a relief if the publisher were to close, and/or be sold to different businesses that care. And seriously, it'd be a lot better either way, if Cry For Justice were de-canonized entirely.
...a reversal of one of the most polarizing deaths in DC's history. Spoilers for Green Arrow #3 from Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaake, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri below! Only look if you want to know! The issue partially concerns Oliver Queen / Green Arrow and Lian Harper navigating a wild trip through space and time, which brings them to the 31st century with Connor Hawke and the Legion of Super-Heroes. As they try to get to the bottom of why they're teleporting so erratically, Lian shares that she has accidentally been doing so for quite some time — as far back as her presumed, controversial death in the 2010 comic Justice League: Cry for Justice.Well that's certainly relieving they finally decided to undo one of the crudest stunts ever initiated under Dan DiDio, when he was editor/publisher, though it still won't encourage me to try DC's output again, because of the PC trajectory they're headed on. And Lian's death wasn't the only shock value stunt they pulled at the time. Even Speedy/Arsenal was put through some of the most horrific storylines possible, like getting his arm severed. To date, neither DiDio nor any of the staff involved at the time ever apologized for it.
As Lian reveals, she does remember the carnage of Prometheus' attack on Star City, but instead of dying somewhere, she woke up in a lab run by Amanda Waller and a shadowy figure (later revealed to be Oliver himself). Lian then kept teleporting across space and time, even getting close to her dad, Roy Harper / Arsenal, during Justice League: Rise and Fall, only to get teleported away again. Lian eventually relented and stayed in the past, growing older and becoming the teenage vigilante "Shoes" alongside Selina Kyle / Catwoman.
How Did Lian Harper Die?
Lian's death might be among the most controversial in DC's comic arsenal, with Cry for Justice brutally killing her in the wreckage of Prometheus bombing Star City. At the time, the ordeal sent Roy into a depressive episode, and led to Oliver and Dinah Lance / Black Canary divorcing.
When Lian was reintroduced in the canon as Shoes, 2021's DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration insinuated that she had survived her Cry for Justice death another way, with her birth mother, Jade Nguyen / Cheshire, rescuing her and dropping her off somewhere safely. It is unclear at this point if any element of that first retcon is still canon.
Of course, one must wonder why the destruction of Star City in Cry for Justice must remain canon, based on how revolting it was to begin with, and to keep it in place even as one of the most offensive deaths in the tale was reversed won't make it any less reprehensible. A number of years back, DC thankfully appears to have retconned what Identity Crisis did to Sue Dibny and Jean Loring, and in their case, any reversal appears to have dropped IC entirely from canon, and no wonder - with a premise involving sexual violence played for cheap sensationalism, it's no wonder they chose to do "quiet" retcons, because the premise of the 2004 miniseries is so sick and implausible, to say nothing of monumentally offensive to victims of sexual assault in real life, that to keep it as canon would only prolong the humiliation it resulted in for all involved.
Lian Harper may be restored to the living world, but given how bad scriptwriting for the Big Two's become, that's why it'd be a relief if the publisher were to close, and/or be sold to different businesses that care. And seriously, it'd be a lot better either way, if Cry For Justice were de-canonized entirely.
Labels: bad editors, dc comics, golden calf of death, history, Justice League of America, misogyny and racism, Titans, violence, women of dc
