One of the coolest things DC has been putting out over the past couple years has been the “80th Anniversary Specials,” which celebrate a character’s milestone with a special anthology issue covering all aspects of the character’s history. In 2020, we got anniversary specials for Robin, Joker, Catwoman, and Green Lantern. This year, we got a brilliant special for Green Arrow, and similar specials are on the books for Aquaman and Wonder Woman. So, as this trend continues, who can we expect to be given the same treatment the next year?
The only significant DC character with an 80th anniversary next year is Wildcat. While I’d love to see a Wildcat special, he’s a character who has literally never had his own title. Maybe this is the perfect time to give him one, but I don’t see a lot of potential for a big special celebration with a multitude of creative teams rallying behind him.
So, maybe 80 isn’t the focal number next year. What about 75? That’s three quarters of a century. I’d say it’s a number worth celebrating.
1947 is the year that first brought us Black Canary. Now, a Black Canary anniversary special, there’s something we can get some heat on. But let’s go all the way down the line. If we’re going to celebrate decade milestones next year, with special quarterly celebrations included for 25 and 75, here’s a list of 2022’s strongest Anniversary Special candidates.
80 Years (1942):
Wildcat
75 Years (1947):
Black Canary
70 Years (1952):
Detective Chimp (Unlikely, but could see this one being a lot of fun.)
60 Years (1962):
The Metal Men
50 Years (1972):
The Demon, Etrigan
Jonah Hex (I would LOVE to see this.)
This is also Human Target’s year, but he’s already getting a Black Label series.
40 Years (1982):
Ambush Bug
30 Years (1992):
Azrael
Stephanie Brown (please)
WildCATS (probably the most likely, after Black Canary)
25 Years (1997):
Uh… Zauriel, maybe? Not a big year for new landmark characters.
20 Years (2002):
We’re really in “too recent for an anniversary special” territory now, and 2002 wasn’t a big year for breakout characters anyway.
10 Years (2012):
OK, this like, just happened, and DC was still too busy building on their entire rebooted universe to debut any breakout new characters when the focus at the time was on refreshing the old ones.
Did I leave out anyone obvious? Any of your favorites? Let the speculation begin!