Remember the announcement that DC Comics would launch 6 new titles in May, and that one of them would be called The Ravagers, about a team of teenage heroes on the run from bad guys? Of course you do. And if you don’t, I’m here to remind you! Because DC Comics has posted the first team image of the Ravagers…and they’re a bunch of nobodies!

Hot redheads can sell anything

To be fair, the buff redhead at the front of the pack is a somebody. She’s Caitlin Fairchild, former leader of Gen 13 from Wildstorm Comics. They were fairly popular in the 90s (I think they had a cartoon show!). She’s one of several Wildstorm characters to make the jump to the DC Universe proper with the new 52 reboot. Up until this series, Fairchild has been a supporting character in the Superboy comic, a brainy scientist who has been trying to help  Superboy. Well it looks like DC is going to pull the trigger and make Caitlin into her more well-known and muscular superhero identity, putting her at the head of a new group of teenager superheroes.

Or a new group of nobodies, if you ask me. Who the heck are those losers?

There wasn’t any text to accompany this image, but I get the feeling that DC is inventing 5 new characters to join Fairchild on this team. That is a ridiculous idea! DC rebooted their entire comics line in September, and they weren’t afraid to give characters completely new origins. Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash of the Teen Titans all have brand new origins. So in this situation, I would think that DC would have been better served to open their vast catalogue of teenage characters and reinvent some well-known and already popular heroes. At least then there would be a built-in audience (of sorts). Instead, DC is going to bank this title on sheer interest in superheroes alone, I guess.

Because the name ‘Ravagers’ is just stupid. That name is so generic, they might as well be called ‘The Wild Cats’.

If you’re going to reboot your comics, which DC clearly did, then have some fun with it. New characters have their place, but with a reboot, half the fun is in re-inventing and re-imagining your longtime characters. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of teenage DC characters who have yet to appear in this reboot that would probably be perfect for this new series.

Can I get some love for the Wonder Twins?