Five new changes to the New DCU

From Comic Vine.com:

e're into the second month of DC's 'The New 52.' Most of the characters have been revealed and we've had a good idea who has had tweaks to their pasts and who has remained the same. While we still have many questions as to how things played out 'in the beginning,' Justice League is serving to pave the way as to who the world's greatest heroes got together to form the team. We've seen some changes as a result of the first issue and we're still getting some more in the second.

The second issue was a blast from a fanboy's perspective. You have to hand it to Geoff Johns and Jim Lee to giving us some action packed bickering between the future team members. There will be some spoilers for issue #2 below but you owe it to yourself to read the issue for yourself to see everything that happens. You can also check out our review for the issue here.

There was a Flash Task Force

We've heard of a 'Batman Task Force' before. Batman was immediately accepted by the police force and we've seen stories of the mayor ordering a team dedicated to putting a stop to his vigilante ways. When Barry Allen became the Flash, he didn't have those problems. It could've been because he didn't operate in the shadows and was a little more open with the public. He was accepted as a hero. Due to an incident in trying to capture a certain villain, some destruction resulted and Central City wasn't too crazy about him.
This is also the first time we're seeing a 'younger' Barry Allen. If last month's Flash #1, Flash appears to be considered more of a hero. We also find out Barry and Hal are sort of friends at this point.

Superman's strength is stronger than Hal's willpower

We all know that Superman is stronger than just about anyone. We have seen Green Lantern constructs shattered before but usually it's by other power rings. Hal is said to have one of the strongest will around. The fact that he's so surprised here that Superman is able to shatter them shows that either he's stronger that before or this is just the first time Hal faced someone at this strength level. Then again, maybe his focus slipped a little during all the chaos.

Flash is faster than Superman...maybe

There's always been the debate, who's faster, Flash or Superman? Over the years, when we had the Superman/Flash races, it seemed the winner always flipped back and forth. When the two tangle here, it's almost embarrassing for Superman. But, Superman does manage to get the upper hand eventually. It appears that Flash is faster and Superman either proved that wrong or was able to anticipate his next move. Superman should have a super-brain after all so I took it as he actually used it to deal with Flash. The look in his eyes are pretty convincing that this was the case.

There's no Fortress of Solitude?

Poor Superman. It's been spoiled what happened to his parents in the back of Action Comics #2 and in Superman #1 we saw that Lois has a boyfriend and isn't interested in Clark. We see that he uses an abandoned printing press so what does this mean for the Fortress of Solitude? It would't really make sense for everyone to take a trip there just to have a chat but he specifically says he doesn't have a base of operations. It's possible, since this is taking place a few years ago, he might still go about acquiring the Fortress. For now, he's stuck entertaining at a place that isn't too fancy.

Cyborg's 'accident' is because of Darkseid

Originally Victor's parents were messing around experimenting at STAR Labs and an accident caused Victor's body to get damaged. Victor's dad then tries to rebuild it and Cyborg is born. Because they were examining a Mother Box. As you can imagine, something happens and Victor happens to get caught in the blast. Another thing that could have a big affect on Cyborg is the blast of energy he's hit with. Could we be seeing a new set of powers when we officially see Cyborg in 'The New 52'? What's going to happen when Darkseid finally shows up? We'll have to wait for the next issue!

Im suprisingly ok with these changes. The aggravated battle between Superman and ever other hero in the book is an interesting twist on the first meetings of the heroes that would become the JLA. Apart from Superman being a bit of a dick, he is shown to actually be the most powerful being on Earth by destroying one of Hal Jordans power ring constructs (Jordan has one of the strongest wills in the DCU and apparently nothing can break a power ring construct, apart from another power ring that is)!  Also I am happy to see that the Flash is faster than Superman to a degree. Flash's slogan is that he is the "fastest man alive", so he rightly should be able to dodge anybody trying to attack him. I like the fact that its mentioned about Superman possibly having a super brain which enabled him to predict what Flash was going to do in the end. Even though its a random power, I think its one that should be there. Also its nice to see Victor Stone aka Cyborg getting a new origin that involves Darkseid, this will no doubt lead to a grudge between the two. The fact that its now a Mother Box (A sentient, miniaturized, portable supercomputer) that destroys most of Victors body could mean that he has a new power set to go along with his technological gifts his father gives him. All in all these changes certainly make the new DCU an interesting place be!