Fans who had hoped for Lian Harper’s eventual resurrection will have to say goodbye once again. In the new DC Universe, Lian never existed.
Which means that Cry for Justice was her last appearance. The last we saw of her was her body being cradled in Green Arrow’s arms. Her first and only appearance in that mini-series.
And now – like Supergirl in Crisis on Infinite Earths – she will no longer exist. Unlike Supergirl, Lian didn’t get to go out fighting. She didn’t get an epic send-off. She was only a child. The only goodbye she got was a funeral where her father cursed his friends and accused a widow who had lost her son of being a whore. She died when her house collapsed on her. One of thousands of casualties. Unseen until her death.
Alone.
Lian deserved better. She was a wonderful character. She brought something unique to DC Comics. Few superheroes have children, and the few that do rarely interact with them while they are children. Their children appear as teens or adults, dramatically revealed to have existed all this time. But we never got to see them grow up. We don’t get to watch superheroes learn to be good parents. We don’t get to know the child from infancy.
Lian was different.
Roy was a man who had made many mistakes – a relationship with a mass-murderer, a drug addiction – but he was a man determined to be a good father. In spite of his many flaws, his daughter came first. Lian was his world. By her mere existence, she helped Roy to grow. The Titans loved her. She was part of their family. She was a ray of sunshine in a superhero team known for their high body count. One of the few privileged civilians who got to experience the world of superheroes.
Until now, some fans held the hope that she would be brought back. That she would be reunited with her father, and her many loved ones among the Titans.
When Flashpoint ends on August 31st, Lian will have never existed. And on that day, DC loses a wonderful character.
Rest in peace, Lian.
It’s pretty sad that I became a fan of Roy and Lian Harper after hearing about her death. >_> Their relationship did bring something so unique to DC and now they’ve taken that away. And in a horribly written way at that.
I hate it that in Super hero comics, they never allow a good lot of the characters to have happy lives, that being a super hero brings nothing but angst, and pain. =/ I had really thought Lian would be one of the lucky ones to be spared, considering she’d been around for over 2 decades. Very impressive for a child supporting character.
And this reboot?… I’d probably just call it a “semi-reboot” since they kept some stuff from the old DCU. I’d much rather prefer they reboot everything, and then have the characters experience main points in their lives again (so Roy would be a heroin addict again, find and fall in love with Cheshire, and have Lian again), though it probably wouldn’t be written as great as the first time…
She’s in YJ where Fan are hopeful she won’t die I Lian and would love to see her grow up into a great hero but a proper funreral where Kaldur,Artemis and Jade sit watching in the trees Kaldur Jumping down with Artemis when the fight begins to be peacemaker and her to be ass kicker will also be a nice