That is so random. Though I can't say I'm sad Kyle is removed from that mess. Will require quite a bit of rewriting, though, since I thought quite a bit of the character's interaction was informed by Kyle's past with Donna and he and Jason's antagonism.
The weirdest part about this... They made a Countdown audiobook?
I'm not among those that hated Countdown (I found it marginally more entertaining than, say, Brightest Day or Trinity) but it IS weird to see it get made... and especially now.
Weirder still that they would go to all the trouble of making it and then going to all the trouble of removing Kyle from it. Just weird.
I think DC is really on a "Hal Jordan is GL" Notice how even in the toyline for the movie we got no other earth GLs? Even Marvel throws in non-movie/comic character into their movie toylines. Probably we'll see Hal as GL in Justice League when it moves to the current timeline if Hal still isn't back as GL in his own book and Kyle was made 2814's GL by the Guardians after they kicked him off Oa.
I think DC is really on a "Hal Jordan is GL" Notice how even in the toyline for the movie we got no other earth GLs? Even Marvel throws in non-movie/comic character into their movie toylines. Probably we'll see Hal as GL in Justice League when it moves to the current timeline if Hal still isn't back as GL in his own book and Kyle was made 2814's GL by the Guardians after they kicked him off Oa.
If they replaced Kyle with Hal, then I'd agree that this was evidence of that. But they didn't.
As for the movie line of figs, that wasn't simply promoting Hal as GL. It was a choice (regrettable as I thought it was) to ONLY make figs based on the movie. So of course we didn't get any other Earth GLs, but we ALSO didn't get a Hal that looked like the comics version (except one lame repaint, I think, that used the movie suit with the comics color scheme), or any of the OTHER GLs that looked like their comics versions. Bummer for me, because I was hoping to pick up a few GL figs cheap when they (inevitably) ended up in the bargain bin (which seems to be the fate of ALL movie figs, eventually). However, I'm not likely to bother, since I don't really like the movie designs all that much. They were fine on the screen, but if I'm gonna have it sitting on my desk, I'd rather it look like the comics, and I'm too cheap to shell out for the expensive GL figs I see at my LCS.
If they replaced Kyle with Hal, then I'd agree that this was evidence of that. But they didn't.
Well, it's not really evidence of anything other than a general disregard for Kyle (it's only a question of whether its coming directly from whatever creative team worked on that audiobook or from DC editorial at large). Between Donna, Jason, and Kyle, the Challengers were designed to be second generation superheroes -- Donna from Wonder Woman/Diana, Jason from Robin/Dick, and Kyle from Green Lantern/Hal... to actually add Hal to that lineup would be breaking form.
No, they replaced Kyle with a second generation Catwoman who only ever did a short stint in the role. It's kind of a slap in the face to Kyle, but whatever...
This is so odd. They really have to go out of their way to rewrite this with another character. Why spend the time and money on...an audio book? Especially for a story nobody even cares about?
If I had to guess, I would say it's the new outlook with the DCnU brand not wanting to dillute the brandname. That would include using one GL in other media. Curious to see if the same happens to Guy, John, and Alan.
I'm surprised no one has pointed out that Countdown itself has been removed. Remember, no Crises means no Countdown. So this audiobook is extra pointless!
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