After the DC universe-spanning spectacular that was Infinite Crisis, a series called 52 comes to pick up the pieces of a superhero world lacking three of the most important figures in DC Comics history. Superman, the most powerful being on planet Earth, Wonder Woman, the most powerful woman on Earth, and Batman, the most powerful non-meta-human, have all given the gig of superhero a year-long break.

Contrary to what the cover may mislead a casual reader to believe, these three superheroes are not dead, but it sure does confuse the hell out of heroes like Booster Gold. He has a right to be concerned about the disappearance of these heroes, because as a time-tossed person with a tremendous database of future events at hand, the three no-shows are a bit puzzling.

Booster Gold is one of the heroes who will be focused on in the next 51 weeks, but I really wish he wasn't. He seems to be buried under the weight of his own ego and he immediately sees this time after the Crisis event to become the spokesman for everything super. I think that's the angle the writers are going for (some of the Crisis writers are responsible for 52, by the way), but if I have to have a glorified jock from the future wearing a sponsor-laden futuristic suit hog the pages that could be better utilized for someone more worthy of the spotlight, then I might not be inclined to stick around for the Booster-fest.

Luckily we get to look deeper into the lives of four other heroes who are quite an interesting group. There is Steel, who first came on the scene during the Death of Superman; The Question, a man who must be the hero of conspiracy theorists everywhere; Renee Montoya; and the former Elongated Man, Ralph Dibny.

In Week 1, Steel's family issues involving the superhero business come to light. Because Teen Titans member Superboy died during Infinite Crisis at the hands of Superboy Prime, Steel doesn't want to see another young hero die unnecessarily, especially someone from his own family, using technology he created. Besides wanting to find out if and how his niece comes to become a superhero again, I don't think I'm really interested in Steel's superhero life. Ralph Dibny, one of the central figures in the Infinite Crisis series, is still dealing with the murder of his wife, Sue. He hasn't gotten back into a costume and - I won't ruin it for you - he's not exactly moving on with his life. Ralph, as some people may know, has detective skills and he will have to put them to use to solve a personal mystery. I'm curious to know what direction the Elongated Man's life will take in the weeks to come.