I've given this list on some of the blogs, but I thought it could be helpful if I centralized everything. Basically, a roundup of everything we know about the postponement of DC Nation.
This might be long...
Was it a last-minute change?[]
Talk of the schedule change first began friday evening (US Time), when the DC Nation block was removed from CN's online schedule, and replaced with episodes of Dreamworks' Dragons: Riders of Berk and Johnny Test. Reportedly, the change was made at 1 AM on Saturday.
"But we didn't have promo pics yet!". Yes, they were absent. I can't recall precisely when we usually get them, but I'd make a fair guess if I said between Wednesday and Friday. The absence of promos lead some to speculate CN dropped DC Nation from its schedule earlier in the week. We don't know that for sure. We can't know that.
What we do know is that they didn't notify the creators of the series (I'm sure there's no legal need, but a headsup would've been nice). The creators of the Amethyst and Thunder and Lightning shorts (Bryanne Drouhard and Lynell Forestall & Ben Jones) actively plugged them on Twitter as late as Friday. Giancarlo Volpe (of GL:TAS), Brandon Vietti, Douhard and Jones later explained CN did not explain anything to them (yet).
The only news from DC and CN only made it worse: someone at CN carelessly worded some news, which quickly made its way around the social media. DC also posted an update on Facebook, with similar results.
The reason rumors[]
There are three, or four. Neither of the three is perfect, they all have major holes. The fourth makes all the sense in the world, but probably isn't it: CN employs incompetent morons. There are basic uncertainties though: who pulled it? CN or DC? And was it related to the content of the shows, or to something else?
The 20th anniversary[]
Cartoon Network's first day was October 1st, 1992. So from October 1st to November 4th, they're having their anniversary party with "all [...]our favorite cartoons" (you may strangle them). The problems with this:
- They could've announced the change weeks before. A birthday bash takes some planning.
- Only DC Nation was affected. None of the other shows of the day were changed.
- This bash has been going for two weeks. We had DC Nation last week, and if the part ends in November, why won't we have new episodes until January?
Milestone or just Static[]
Probably the least credible out there: DC supposedly lost the rights to Milestone characters (like Icon, Rocket and Static). This is based on one comment by Scott Lobdell, the writer of the Teen Titans comics. When asked if Static was going to appear, he said he couldn't use him for legal reasons. Within days, this was spun into "aaaaah DC lost the rights to Static/all Milestone characters".
Update: This rumor received some additional fuel when Icon was removed from the dressed cover of issue #21, while had appeared on the advance solicited cover. He was also removed from the textless cover used by DC on its website. They even named that file a variant, "noICON".
Problems:
- Well, no substantiation whatsoever. Legal issues are a tricky thing, they can mean anything.
- None of the major news sites picked it up, it was just one blog that came up with this.
- It's incredibly vague. Supposedly, the "heirs of Dwayne McDuffie" contested the rights to either Static or all Milestone characters. To my knowledge, Dwayne didn't have any kids, and he didn't marry until 2009. Besides, he's not the sole owner of Milestone, or the sole creator of Static. DC leases Milestone's characters, and supposedly, there's a different package for comics and cartoons.
- This would not affect the entire DC Nation block, only Young Justice.
Stephanie Brown[]
Yep, she's toxic. Her name is like a red flag on the bull named Dan DiDio. If we are to believe the rumors, post-DCnU, she may not be used, canon or non-canon. Some of you may remember the "But there was artwork!" incident from last San Diego Comic-Con, when a fan noted the solicited cover of Smallville Season 11 included Steph as Robin, but she was later replaced by Barbara Gordon as Robin. DC's execs initially denied it, but Bryan Q. Miller (the writer of Smallville, and incidentally also Steph's last Batgirl issues) was indeed forced to change her. Problems:
- Before production started, DC gave the green light on characters. Few were off-limits. Problems with Steph would have been addressed then. If the policy changed post-reboot, they could have addressed it earlier. The reboot was a year ago. Episodes take months to produce. A last minute pullout? Strange.
- Every big honcho of DC was way too busy with the New York Comic-Con to do office work (even if their offices are in NYC).
- Again, this would not affect the entire DC Nation block, only Young Justice.
So, in short: we don't know a thing. We can guess, we can wait. So far, not a peep out of CN or DC.
Have you heard other rumors? Let them know. Do you have additional points? Feel free to share.