DC’s company-wide reboot is now in full effect, and one of the most interesting elements of the entire thing is also one of the most unexpected. In “Flashpoint” #5, the final issue of old DC continuity, a mysterious hooded woman (pictured above) is seen observing Flash Barry Allen’s journey into the new DC time-line. The image stood out to DC fans, and much debate over the identity of the mysterious observer hit comic web forums. The presence of the hooded woman only became more intriguing when she was also spotted in “Justice League” #1 watching Cyborg’s football game.

When the next thirteen issue of the “New 52″ hit the shelves the following week part of the allure of the reboot was checking to see if the mysterious hooded woman appeared in any of the other issue. Not only did she appear in “Justice League” #1, but she also appeared hidden in every single new issue, making her the “Where’s Waldo” of the new DCU. At least she’s not as creepy looking as Marvel’s Watcher.

This type of gimmick isn’t new to the print medium. Playboy Magazine is perhaps most famous for the “hide and seek” schtick, hiding the famous Playboy Bunny symbol on the cover of every issue of their magazine. I have felt like the new content in DC is more “adult,” so maybe they stole this gimmick from Playboy.

The real question however is not, “where is the mysterious woman” but “who is the mysterious woman?” My bet is that she is the Monitor of the new DCU, but maybe that’s too obvious. How about, the figure is… Batman’s mom… who survived the shooting and is keeping tabs on the whole DC crew. Like mother like son. That works, right? I guess not, but I’m sure we’ll get the answer to the mystery of the identity of the hooded woman in a multi-issue summer crossover next year linking all the new DC books together. Seriously.

-Jon

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