Fate
Or next choice has the exact opposite problem as Barry Allen, precisely because he comes from the ’90s, not from the ’50s. Amidst the flurry of legacy characters killed and replaced by hipper versions, DC Comics used the Zero Hour event (in which a crazy Hal Jordan decided to reboot the universe) to get rid of Doctor Fate, the stodgy Egyptian-themed mystical hero they’ve had around since the Golden Age, and replace him with a rad new upstart.
Enter Jared Stevens, a.k.a. Fate. With his sleeveless duster, his constant scowl, and an ankh tattooed on his face, Fate oozed ’90s edginess. Gone were the blue tights and golden helmet that his predecessors wore, replaced by the tatters of a cape he wrapped around his arm and street clothes only lightly adorned by magical items. Fate managed to carry his own book for two years, but few complained about its cancelation and even fewer mourned his death in 1999’s JSA #1, as it made room for the good ol’ Doctor Fate again.
Gunfire
Gunfire has the distinction of being both an edgy ’90s character as ridiculous as Fate, but one who already exists in the new DCU, at least theoretically. Gunfire appeared on the mural in the Hall of Justice from Superman, standing alongside Wildcat, a beloved character one would expect to be in the DCU, and Vibe, a character who would be on this list had not Carlos Valdes made us love him on The Flash.
Even if you didn’t know that he spun out of the terrible Bloodlines crossover from 1993, you could tell that Gunfire comes from the ’90s because of the many pouches he wore. Created by Len Wein and Steve Erwin for Deathstroke the Terminator Annual #2, Gunfire was a nondescript rich kid named Andrew Van Horn, who survived an alien attack on his father’s mansion. The alien’s blood mixed with Van Horn’s DNA, giving him the ability to turn anything into a weapon. Even in the ’90s, that concept failed to click with readers, and he quickly disappeared from the page, as did most of the Bloodlines characters. Yet, apparently Gunn wants him in the DCU, so hopefully there’s some plan to make him more palatable in live action.
Robin (Damian Wayne)
Like Gunfire, we know that Damian Wayne exists in the DCU, or at least is coming soon. Where the animated movie Dynamic Duo will focus on first Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, Damian Wayne will be the Robin in The Brave and the Bold, the upcoming Batman movie directed by Andy Muschietti. And that news does not sit well with all comic fans.
Damian was the fifth person to don the Robin identity, and he remains the most controversial. First introduced by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert in 2006’s Batman #655, Damian is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, the daughter of supervillain Ra’s al Ghul. Birthed without Bruce’s knowledge and raised by Talia to be an assassin, Damian had a superiority complex high even by the standards of a pre-teen boy, and his snotty attitude did nothing to ingratiate him to readers—especially after he tried to kill fan-favorite Robin Tim Drake. Over the years, Damian has softened some, but he still regularly comes up on lists of most-hated DC characters, presenting a real challenge to The Brave and the Bold creative team.