History ComicBook / FiftyTwo

* [[FiveBadBand Ten Bad Band]]: The Great Ten. To be fair, they are not the villains of the story [[spoiler: except Chang Tzu]], just obstructionists.

* SeventhEpisodeTwist: Initially, the space heroes had a personal and self-contained story-arc, simply trying to get back to Earth from deep space. Then they meet Lobo, and find out about the Stygian Passover and what that entails for the continuation of life.
--->'''AdamStrange''': You know what we didn't need? One more disaster, one more roadblock. One more f^&*ing '''twist'''!

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/52.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:It was a year without [[{{Franchise/Superman}} DC's]] [[{{Franchise/Batman}} greatest]] [[Franchise/WonderWoman heroes.]] There would be others [[HeroesUnlimited to take their place.]]]]

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Changeling of the Comicbook/TeenTitans becomes a supporting character once Luthor's metagene project begins to become widespread, and Hannibal, code-named Everyman, gains shapeshifting powers from the project. [[SuperheroSpeciation Changeling eventually remarks that there is only room for one shapeshifter here]].
* WebcomicTime: Trying to balance narrative pacing with the core concept of each issue representing a full week in real time worked fairly well overall, but created some very strange moments, such as Animal Man apparently sitting motionless on the edge of a rock staring at [[spoiler: the two aliens who had just brought him back to life]] for ''three full months'' before reacting.

* BadassAbnormal: Natasha Irons, after a fallout with [[{{Steel}} her uncle]], enlists in the Lex Luthor Everyman Project and gains actual superpowers, going from a human in PoweredArmor to a human capable of ''crushing'' PoweredArmor. John Henry is infected with a metagene against his will and transforms into a being composed of stainless steel, capable of deflecting bullets and hurling blobs of molten metal.

** Booster Gold, after nearly reaching the very top of the superhero world, crashes down in ruins as Supernova steals all his glory.

-> '''PANEL 4''': "''We're Starfire, Comicbook/AnimalMan, and AdamStrange. And we're second-stringers from the DC universe. And we are'' '''awesome.'''"

[[caption-width-right:300:It was a year without [[{{Franchise/Superman}} DC's]] [[{{Franchise/Batman}} greatest]] [[WonderWoman heroes.]] There would be others [[HeroesUnlimited to take their place.]]]]

''52'' was a yearlong series published by DC Comics from May 2006 to May 2007. As the name suggests it consisted of an issue every week for an entire year, a Herculean task made easier by having four writers (Creator/GeoffJohns, Creator/GrantMorrison, GregRucka, and MarkWaid), one breakdown artist (Keith Giffen), and a veritable army of pencilers, inkers, colorists, and letterers. The story takes place between the events of InfiniteCrisis and the One Year Later storylines of WonderWoman, {{Franchise/Superman}}, and {{Franchise/Batman}}.

* [[ElongatedMan Ralph Dibny]], still reeling from the events of ''IdentityCrisis'', begins to investigate a Kryptonian cult devoted to resurrection (most importantly, the resurrection of the [[InfiniteCrisis recently deceased]] [[{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]]) that appears to have an interest in his dead wife, Sue. After busting up one of its rituals, Ralph begins his own journey to resurrect Sue with the help of the Helm of Nabu.
* The strained relationship between John Henry Irons ({{Steel}}) and his niece Natasha eventually drives her to join LexLuthor's Everyman Project, a program that promises to awake latent metahuman genes at whatever price Luthor deems fit. However, Irons soon discovers that the artificial metagenes come at a serious price, and Lex's paranoia of Supernova has led him to try to get the treatment himself...

* AbortedArc: The original Booster Gold/Skeets arc involved the duo fixing the time-stream after it had been damaged during the InfiniteCrisis. However, several issues into the series, after Skeets had already noticed several discrepancies between events as they happened and as they were recorded in the future, the writers decided that this plot had been used too often by other time-travel heroes and was too generic, so they switched to an actual malevolent threat that intended to manipulate time and reality for its own gain.

** In the aftermath of the InfiniteCrisis, the cosmic event that shattered existence, Alan Scott has to deal with the realization that his daughter died in the crisis, and no parent should ever have to outlive their children.

* BadassAbnormal: Natasha Irons, after a fallout with [[{{Steel}} her uncle]], enlists in the Lex Luthor Everyman Project and gains actual superpowers, going from a human in PowerArmor to a human capable of ''crushing'' PowerArmor. John Henry is infected with a metagene against his will and transforms into a being composed of stainless steel, capable of deflecting bullets and hurling blobs of molten metal.

** ''InfiniteCrisis'' for BoosterGold, {{Steel}}, Black Adam, and the Space Heroes (Comicbook/AnimalMan, AdamStrange and [[Comicbook/TeenTitans Starfire]]), who all took part in either fighting the crisis itself or the set-up.

* CrisisCrossover: An unusual example of a Crisis Crossover that happens immediately after another. DC has referred to the surrounding Crisis' as chapters in a single large story beginning with ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', then ''InfiniteCrisis'' and ending in ''FinalCrisis''.

* EarlyBirdCameo: The Super Young Team are first mentioned in ''52'', but do not appear until ''FinalCrisis''.

* EvilCounterpart: Inverted. Black Adam is normally the Evil Counterpart of [[{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]], but in this series, he tries to turn over a new leaf and serves as one of the protagonists.

* ExecutiveMeddling: While the writers were left alone for the most part, Dan Didio literally pulled rank on the issue that dealt with the end of Ralph Dibny's storyline, pretty much rewriting it himself via the authors and Keith Giffen. Ralph's conclusion [[TropesAreNotBad is regarded as one of the highlights of the series]]. Of course, according to one of the writers Didio '''hated''' ''52'' so absolutely, he would literally walk down the halls shouting it. He decided to make the next weekly series more editorially mandated to his wishes and we got ''CountdownToFinalCrisis'' as a result.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: This story, along with the SevenSoldiers maxi-series, sets up important plot points for FinalCrisis. The scenes showing what Batman did in his year off set up a number of points which become important during Morrison's run on Batman. Rip Hunter's chalkboard in his laboratory in particular predicts events in future storylines, both here and in other stories.

* {{Novelization}}: Written by Greg Cox, who also wrote the prose novel versions of InfiniteCrisis and CountdownToFinalCrisis. It leaves out Luthor's Everyman Project, the Religion of Crime, the Great Ten, Ralph's quest, the space heroes, Steel and Natasha, and Will Magnus.

* ReligionOfEvil: The Religion of Crime, created by Intergang. Its leader, Bruno Mannheim, believes their dark angel is {{Darkseid}}, in a foreshadowing to FinalCrisis. It gets better - their Crime Bible is presumably made of the stone [[Literature/TheBible used by Cain to kill Abel]]. Mannheim uses it to smash people's heads in.

** In the aftermath of Week 24's RedShirtArmy massacre, the pirate on the front page looks suspiciously like [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]].

* ThereAreNoTherapists: When all the heroes who went out into space in InfiniteCrisis are rescued and brought down to Australia they have all been mutated, transformed, merged or deformed in unique and disturbing ways. Original Franchise/GreenLantern Alan Scott got off lighter than almost anybody else - he only lost one eye, but even the eye he still has was not originally his and his daughter Jade died during the Crisis. {{Steel}} recognizes that, physical rehabilitation aside, all these returning heroes are going to need counseling to help them deal with what happened, but Alan is adamant that that is not even an option.

----

* LastDisrespects: Only a handful second-rate heroes are present at BoosterGold's funeral in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and even they make it clear that [[OnlyInItForTheMoney they are only there because they are being paid]].

* ArcNumber: 52, [[TitleDrop duh]].

* MemeticNumber: 52. Not only because of the title, but also referenced by RedTornado and it is written all over Rip Hunter's blackboard.

The major consequences of the series on TheDCU as a whole is proving that the [[spoiler: DC Multiverse still exists]] as well as setting up some of the future storylines of some of its major characters. It also set the standard for weekly yearlong series published by DC, which has yet to be equaled by any of the other series that have followed.

** ''GothamCentral'' for Renee Montoya, the series which covered her involuntary outing by Two-Face, her gradual descent into alcoholism and violence, and the death of her partner, Crispus Allen.

* CrisisCrossover: An unusual example of a Crisis Crossover that happens immediately after another. DC has referred to the surrounding Crisis' as chapters in a single large story beginning with ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', then ''InfiniteCrisis'' and ending in ''FinalCrisis''.

* DeathSeeker: Renee begins the series suicidal after the events of ''GothamCentral'' and, after she is forced to kill an Intergang suicide bomber that was just a child, she begs Black Adam to kill her when he finds her "drunkenly taking pleasure with one of [his] citizens."

* DistressedDamsel: Despite AdamStrange's speech that she is a true Warrior Princess and gender equality is a fact of life out in space, the first plot-worthy event to befall the Space Heroes is when Starfire is taken prisoner by Devilance the Pursuer and the two men need to come rescue her.

* FauxActionGirl: Starfire in the early weeks. Just after AdamStrange gives Animal Man an entire speech about how she is a true Warrior Princess, that gender-equality is old news out in space and she has no need for anybody to protect her or care for her, she is ambushed and imprisoned by Devilance the Pursuer without even a struggle [[DistressedDamsel and needs the two men to come and rescue her]]. Of course, [[JustifiedTrope she had been eating mind-altering fruit that degraded both her movement control and decision-making abilities]]; [[ActionGirl she makes up for it later on]], so we can cut her some slack.

* GrandfatherClause: For [[strike: some]] a lot of fans, this is the only explanation for the inclusion of Chang Tzu (better known as Egg Fu back in the [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Sixties]]).

* HollywoodHypeMachine: When it was announced that {{Comicbook/Batwoman}} would be reintroduced to TheDCU in this series, and that she would be gay with a history with Renee Montoya, the media reaction was ''astounding''. DanDidio himself said that he was completely unprepared for the amount of focus and recognition, including spreading into media that is not traditionally related to or focused on comic books. With such a focus on her and her sexuality she became known as DC's most high-profile gay superhero. However, the press response was greatly out of proportion to her role in the series, which was as a supporting character spread out over fifty two issues, and after its conclusion she did not receive another starring role until her 2009 headlining of ''Detective Comics''.

* IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt: "Stand Back! I've got a particle wave ray gun and bipolar disorder!"

* TheNamesake: Fifty-two [[spoiler: parallel universes; ie TheMultiverse]].

* PrivateDetective: Renee Montoya is an experienced detective from the Gotham City Police Department, [[GothamCentral recently having left their employ]], and the Question hires her to surveil a warehouse with the first three weeks ([[SeriesContinuityError Or is it two?]]) paid in advance. Captain Maggie Sawyer, however, later reveals that she is not licensed to operate as such, and Maggie will not tolerate her investigations if they go somewhere they should not.

* ScrewTheWarWerePartying: Oolong Island's under attack from a furious [[spoiler: Black Adam]], the rest of the Science Squad are desperately firing off every countermeasure they have, and what's T. O. Morrow doing? Bid-sniping Red Tornado shrapnel on EBay.

* ShootTheDog: Intergang tries to attack the Black Adam/Isis wedding with a [[SuicideAttack suicide bomber]] that Renee tries to stop, but with the heavy crowd blocking her way Renee can not reach the brainwashed young girl before she detonates her bomb, forcing Renee to shoot and kill her to protect the massive crowd.

** "This is crazy talk. When does Sarah Connor show up to stop me from inventing {{Film/Terminator}}s?"

* TheStakeout: Renee's storyline opens with her being hired by the Question to surveil an abandoned warehouse. She complains because she does not know what she is supposed to be looking for or what the circumstances of her surveillance are. She also admits to herself that, as she is only a single person without either technological or organizational backup, she is doing a bad job of it since she is tired, bored and unable to remain at the position around the clock.

* SuperheroSpeciation: None of witnessed products of the Everyman project are seen to have duplicate powers, despite the thousands of metahumans produced by Luthor. When Everyman himself, a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifter]] from the project, squares off against Beast Boy of the Comicbook/TeenTitans, Beast Boy actually remarks there is only room for one shapeshifter.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous

* OffModel: Shortly after Lobo meets up with Starfire and the others, he tears off her top, and Animal Man lends her his shirt to cover herself. Though later issues show her switching between her regular outfit and his shirt, depending on whether they remember that week.

* SeriesContinuityError: The Question initially hires Renee Montoya with payment in advance for three weeks of surveillance, but subsequent references to the event mention only ''two'' weeks, and then later switch back to three.
** As is acknowledged in the annotations, one of the issues has Renee and The Question observing festivities in Kahndaq and finding the base of a suicide bomber. The two deduce that a bombing will occur sometime in the next few weeks, which is consistent with the build-up from previous issues. Unfortunately, the bombing in question is later revealed to be planned for the wedding of Black Adam and Isis which, due to the creative team deciding to delay the engagement of the two until a later week, has not actually been revealed by the time Renee and Vic head to Kahndaq. There is therefore no reason for people to be celebrating outside, nor an explanation for why there is a terrorist bombing planned.