We’ve under two weeks until 2022 is forever in the past (unless you’ve a Legion Time Bubble, a nuclear-powered DeLorean, a Klingon Bird of Prey that can shoot around the sun and rocket into the past, a police box that’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside and/or know a Kryptonian that can turn back the Earth), so what are your 
grades for the areas of the DC brand that interest you the most, and how they were carried out in 2022?
My grades:
Publishing: A.
The Superman line (especially World’s Finest), the 30th anniversary celebration of The Death of Superman, the rebirth of WildStorm, Geoff Johns’ return to the Justice Society, Nightwing and The Flash’s continued greatness and Flashpoint Beyond (the DC event of 2022 that harkened back to a previous event mini-series, wasn’t mostly padding, had 0 tie-ins and lived up to the hype), all added-up to a pretty darn schway year on the printed page.
Outside media:
Direct-to-video animated movies: A+.
As usual, Warner Home Entertainment scored home run after home run with this year’s direct-to-video output, with Catwoman: Hunted and Constantine: House of Mystery being favorites of mine.
SN: I expect Legion of Super-Heroes to be a favorite, come this time next year.
Theatrically-released movies: B.
The Batman: Entertaining, and it showcased Batman’s detective skills quite well. While a good movie overall, it feels like Nolan’s reheated leftovers in some regards. I’m hoping the sequel will focus on finding its own identity and substantially shy away from being Nolan 2.0.
If a Zoe Kravitz Catwoman movie should come along, I’m confident it will be a live-action Catwoman movie that won’t suck, as Ms. Kravitz was quite the adept Catwoman and then some.
Legion of Super-Pets: A ton of fun. File away the “Its a cartoon and a kid’s flick.” noise and see it for yourself if you haven’t, because its fun, witty, full of Easter eggs and it features a fair amount of adult humor, while also being a beautifully-animated adventure.
Black Adam: Also a lot of fun. Not without its drawbacks, but overall, a fun adventure that introduced the Justice Society to its first big-screen outing, brought back Henry Cavill’s Superman and, for those who followed the movie since it was announced years and years ago, it was great to finally see the project come to fruition and enter the live-action DC lexicon.
TV: A+.
Two words: The Sandman. It was beautiful and then some.
One word: Peacemaker. It was hilarious, heartfelt and action-packed.
Elsewhere, Harley Quinn, Titans and Doom Patrol all enjoyed new life, with Harley leading the bunch in subversive, Easter egg-laden and hilarious adventures, while Titans somewhat made up for the shortcomings of season 3 (Hurray for moving outside Gotham, but nay on the excessive blood vomit).
Outside of Superman & Lois, I haven’t watched much of the CW shows recently, but the latest TV adventures of Superman still soar high. I hope the final season of Stargirl will be good…whenever I get around to watching it. 
Teen Titans Go! continued to be a ton of fun, while Batwheels was far more entertaining than a show about sentient, Bat-vehicles ever seemed like it could be, conceptually-speaking.
Merchandising: A+.
From DC Multiverse to Super Powers and beyond, Todd McFarlane and McFarlane Toys owned 2022 in the toys and collectibles segment of the merchandise ecosphere.
Lego had an unfortunately small DC representation this year. However, they did produce Harley Quinn on a skateboard and wielding a giant mallet for $10 (and with a free Batman/Batcycle build, too 
).
Spin Master continues to belt out quality product, including a release of Solomon Grundy that stands among the best Grundy merchandise (action figures or otherwise) of all time.
DC Universe Infinite: A++.
One word: Ultra.
Prior to October’s introduction of the Ultra tier, DCUI had already been cruising along nicely.
Once Ultra was introduced, however? Its as Joker said in The Dark Knight: “You’ve changed things, forever.”
Brand-new comics 30 days after their retail release, the Vertigo and Black Label catalogs and the addition of collected editions?
Make mine Ultra, and for years to come, please. 
Overall, I thought 2022 was a very good year for DC.
Yes, there were negatives (Batgirl’s undue shelving, Cavill no longer being Superman, etc.), but as a realistic optimist, I feel that the positives far outweighed the negatives.
What’s your take on how DC did in 2022 and…what are your hopes for the brand in 2023?
