The DC Universe is home to several of the most powerful superheroes ever, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and other members of the Justice League. On the other end of the spectrum are the street-level characters such as Batman, Green Arrow, The Question, and the Ted Kord Blue Beetle. This gives the shared universe a greater degree of genre, tonal and scope diversity, with each hero and property offering a different type of storytelling. Unfortunately, those lines have become blurred, and it's for the worse when it comes to the more small-time superheroes.
Recently, several street-level characters have completely lost what makes them unique, instead becoming mired in the same high-stakes antics as other heroes. From hopping dimensions to sharing their cities with other characters, DC's "little guys" have gone too big. It not only robs them of their identities, but it also makes the DC Universe as a whole a lot less interesting.
DC's Street-Level Characters Have Gotten Too Big
Batman is a great example of a street-level whose scope has fundamentally changed with the character who's meant to embody being the "world's greatest detective" embarking on all manner of multiversal adventures. The same goes for proteges such as Cassandra Cain, who's currently involved in spirit world adventures. The Batman titles as a whole don't feel like grounded stories, instead seemingly following whatever trend is currently popular in superhero fiction, This arguably began with the success of Dark Knight: Metal, which felt more like a story out of Todd McFarlane's Spawn universe than a Batman event. Even the Caped Crusader's first sidekick isn't immune to these sorts of developments, with Nightwing and his home of Bludhaven being a lot more crowded now with the rest of the "New Teen Titans" hanging around.
Perhaps the most dramatic change has been Green Arrow, whose current series sets him on an alien world. This is a large shift, as Green Arrow has long been the voice of the streets looking out for the little guy. In comics and in animation, he has criticized the rest of the Justice League over their supposedly losing sight of the common person they're meant to protect. After all, one of his best comic book runs was handled by Mike Grell, wherein he ditched Star City for the real-world location of Seattle. There, his "ripped from the headlines" stories were so grounded that he was arguably removed from the DC Universe proper. While it kept crossovers to a minimum, it made the now classic run stand out all the more. Unfortunately, such identity has been lost entirely for several characters, but there's a way to get it back.
DC's Street-Level Heroes Should Return to Their Roots
Though it was quite controversial and not a great seller, the recent Tim Drake: Robin did have one point where it actually succeeded more than other Batman titles. The book was a fairly street-level series, and though it needed more action, it kept Tim Drake from being embroiled in outer space adventures. Tim being the more down to Earth Robin helped differentiate him further from Damian Wayne. But the Batman Family as a whole definitely needs to wind down in its scope and get back to basics. After all, Batman is supposedly "more relatable" due to his more human stories, which speaks to something that current comics featuring the hero aren't getting at.
The same of course goes for Green Arrow, who's far more at home fighting assassins, weapons traffickers, and drug pushers than aliens. This is what made him special, and the same could be said for other grounded heroes, since making them have grandiose scopes only infringes upon what other characters already do. Fleshing out the streets and everyday people will make the DC Universe will feel more "lived in," making bigger threats have even more impact. Most importantly, it's just a better fit for many of these characters, who thrive as hard-driven humans. Such a change back would not only return these heroes to their more traditional stories, but in doing so make things feel less "samey" by making comic books more than just a superpowered slugfest. Hopefully, upcoming titles such as the Wesley Dodds: Sandman book will do just that, toning things down from world ending mayhem.