These 5 Story Arcs Define DC Comics (Including the Biggest Event Comic of All-Time)

Image Courtesy of DC Comics$DC DC Comics$DC is the oldest publisher of superhero stories in the world, with Superman$SUPR creating a genre of character that would go on to become the most important part of modern pop culture. There are some fans out there, myself among them, that believe that DC has created the greatest superheroes, supervillains, and stories about both of all time. Since 1938, generations of readers have been enthralled by the work of DC’s creators, creating iconic characters that would people stories that have truly stood the test of time. While you could make the argument that a superhero story is a superhero story, DC’s way of using them has always been the most interesting; Marvel$MRVL tells superhero stories, whereas DC tells stories about the lives of superheroes (yes, there is a difference). Over the years, there have been numerous DC stories that can be said to “define” the company. We use this word all the time to praise various stories, but it’s honestly just a vague piece of praise that people like me like to throw out at times. However, if you look at some DC stories, you can see just how much various tales have helped define what we think of when we think of DC Comics$DC. These five DC story arcs have helped define the publisher in the minds of readers, including a comic that has gone down as the greatest event book ever. 5) “The Judas Contract” Image Courtesy of DC Comics$DC New Teen Titans$TT saved DC Comics$DC. The late ’70s had seen the publisher try to compete with Marvel$MRVL with the “DC Explosion”, releasing numerous new books while expanding the page counts of others. However, this was a period when comics were mostly sold at newsstands and the people doing the ordering didn’t like to order new books that might not sell (it will always be hilarious to me the way the industry has changed). The Explosion became the “DC Implosion” and things got very bad for the publisher. Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s New Teen Titans$TT was a megahit that came around just at the right time. It introduced numerous great new characters, including the villain Deathstroke$DTHS and new Titan Terra, leading inexorably to “The Judas Contract”. This story saw the truth about Terra’s tenure with the team revealed – she was placed there by Deathstroke$DTHS to betray the team from within, so that the mercenary could complete the H.I.V.E. contract on the team. This story has gone down as one of the greatest DC stories ever and it’s come to define the Teen Titans$TT over the years, for better and for worse. Numerous creators have tried their hand at doing another version of the story, “The Judas Contract” still echoing all these decades later. 4) “Sins of the Father” Image Courtesy of DC Comics$DC DC created the superhero in the Golden Age, with Superman$SUPR, Batman$BAT, and Wonder Woman$WW becoming the most popular heroes of the day. However, they were only the tip of the iceberg, with the heroes of the Justice Society$JSA becoming legends in their own right. Their return in the Silver Age would lead