DC vs. Vampires / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation: Due to the series being told from the point-of-view of a handful of characters with limited information, the fact that there's no objective narrator, the vampires' tendency to lie and many of the turnings happening off-panel (with few exceptions, like Wonder Woman or Superman), it's unknown when exactly many characters were turned, and if they were already disguised vampires in certain scenes
- When the Justice League attack the Batcave, claming Batman is a vampire (the actual ones are Hal and Diana), Cyborg seems to be the voice of reason. Yet, the things he proposes Batman do to prove his innocence seem to be suspiciously designed to leave Bruce in a vulnerable position (like using Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth, which could force him to tell them about Luthor’s blood, or going to the Hall of Justice, where he’d be surrounded by many more metas). Was he already a vampire and deliberately asking Bruce to do things he’d knew he would have to say no to, in order to make him seem less reasonable?
- In issue #6, after capturing Hal and Diana, Batman decides to find help among other Justice League members and calls Aquaman, yet one issue later Arthur appears among the vampiric Justice League. Was he turned later, or was he already a vampire, trying to lure Batman into a trap?
- In Hunters #1, Dick Grayson tells Damian that they can’t turn Martian Manhunter, but that they are working on finding a way. In issue #8, Green Arrow implies Martian Manhunter is not only on the vampires’ side, but also important enough to be in line for the throne. Given that Nightwing is an Unrealiable Narrator… Was Martian Manhunter turned all along and spying on Damian (Nightwing admitted he had eyes on Damian for months)? Did Nightwing tell the truth and the vampires found a way to turn the Martian later? Or is Oliver simply assuming and working with limited and/or inaccurate information?
- Nightwing's plans and intentions as vampire king has left several questions still unanswered. In issue #6, he attacks his family without hesitation, even smiling as he kills some of them, and sets vampire kind to take over the world. In Hunters #1, he is shown as a much more somber, and even sad figure, fondly remembering his family, and even lets Alfred and Damian escape the vampires after making sure they're not a threat, saying that Damian's compassion may one day let vampires and humans share the world. The contradictory characterization has left many questions unanswered: Is he simply manipulating them for some unknown purpose? Have his human emotions returned after some time and now he's experiencing remorse over his actions? Or is his mind so twisted that he thinks that vampires using humans as cattle is "sharing the world"? given that Nightwing died without ever saying anything else about it, and that Damian wasn't even directly involved in killing Dick, and that "Hunters #1" was written by a different writer, one could say that plotline was dropped.
- At the end of the series, Nightwing tells Barbara the vampires have been too aggressive and that he needs her help and compassion to set things right, intending to turn her despite probably knowing doing that would destroy that very same compassion. While the rest of their conversation feels much more manipulative, Dick had privately admitted similar feelings of doubt to both Alfred and a vampirized Wonder Woman. Given that Dick Grayson, even in canon stories, can be an anger-prone man that has doubts about his choices and worth (specially when put in positions of leadership, something he explicitly says he didn't ask for in this scene)... Were his intentions genuine? Was that just a way to manipulate Barbara and put her in a vulnerable position to make her easier to turn? Or a combination of both?
Ass Pull:
- The series pulls one when it comes to turning Wonder Woman into a vampire. Despite her being normally resistant to mind control and also having the Lasso of Truth which also can, among other things, dispel illusions and control those bound by it, Hal (who was bound by said Lasso) is somehow able to overcome both of these with his vampiric hypnosis powers and render her helpless, with the only explanation being a vague statement that truth had overwhelmed her.
- While some fans had already theorised Nightwing was the King of Vampires, the reveal that drinking Starfire's blood allowed him to pass Batman's tests is considered an example of this, as Starfire's blood having this effect was never hinted in the canon universe or in the series, with the only hints that the tests could be beaten being vague remarks by Bruce and Oliver that were presented as mostly paranoia.
- In issue 8, the Vampire King has his magical minions find the House of Mystery and inflict Laser-Guided Amnesia on all the magic users within (presumably killing most of them as well, with only a badly burnt and mind-wiped Constantine shown afterwards) to prevent them from finding a cure. This magical task force consists of a vampirized Raven, Circe, Enchantress, Jason Blood, Klarion, and Morgan Le Fay. All well and good. However, there is the small fact that the magic users hiding in the House of Mystery include Dr. Fate as well as Phantom Stranger and The Spectre. All three of them are leagues stronger than even the most powerful member of the vampire task force, with Spectre, as the literal embodiment of God's Wrath, being likely even stronger against the vampires due to Holy Burns Evil. The fact that they somehow lost this fight and got mind wiped, when any one of the three could have likely taken on the entire squad solo, reeks of either this trope or major Adaptational Wimp.
- Barbara Gordon being quckly susceptible to Nightwing's Breaking Speech. Many critics were quick to point out that this just comes out too far from left field and too obvious a Sequel Hook.
Base-Breaking Character: Batman is criticized by part of the fanbase for being a Spotlight-Stealing Squad, as well as his numerous mistakes aiding in many of the vampires' victories in the first half of the series, like the conversions of Superman and Hawkgirl. Quite a few fans have openly blamed him for the vampires successfully taking over the world and causing his and most of the Bat Family's death, though of course, other fans may simply believe he did what he could under the circumstances so as to not to give away his advantages.
- The vampires to some. While most fans like them and find the idea of heroes turned evil interesting, others (often on the more lore-focused side) find them to be annoying Invincible Villains who always come up on top and continue to Ass Pull their way into winning, with several characters having their skills downplayed or plain ignored to justify the vampires' victories.
Broken Base:
- A minor one, but still noticeable. Is it a good Elseworld? Or is it just another edgy, grimdark story solely for the sake of edginess? The criticism has mostly died down since the series began and a genuinely tense mystery, only to come once the second half of the story to come with noticeable plot-holes, Characters Dropping Like Flies, several plotlines still unfinished, and an ending that decides to set up a sequel instead of a sayisfying conclusion
- The way how certain characters were chosen to be turned into vampires, and how they manage to hide their undead status, has also led to discussions as to whether or not they make sense. For example, having Wonder Woman, a demi-goddess empowered by the power of the Olympian Gods, be turned into a vampire while hypnotized (see Ass Pull above for why that's a problem). In a similar vein, Superman, who, though inconsistently, has been shown in some stories to be a walking hazard to vampires due to gaining his powers from the sun, can apparently be turned, while the similarly-powered Starfire is seemingly immune. Some see it as simply a acceptable break from the canon rules for the sake of the story, while others see it as a sign of lack of thought.
- A number of Titans fans were vocally annoyed by All-Out War #3, when Starfire is friendly to her long-time nemesis Slade Wilson, to the point where they exchange a hug and are on a first-name basis. The Reveal that it's Deadman possessing a dead Slade Wilson strangely leaves behind more questions than it answers.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Even though he's mostly The Heavy, the vampiric version of Hal Jordan is considered the highlight of the first half of the series, due to having a dark sense of humour, reveling in his new undead status and partaking in generally very bloody antics while still keeping vestiges of his humanity when it comes to his loved ones.
Fashion-Victim Villain: Some fans have criticized Dick Grayson's post-Vampire King reveal outfit largely for being too edgy to be taken seriously. It doesn't help that he already has a history of making poor costume choices ("Discowing" being the most infamous).
Fridge Logic:
- If vampires don't have heartbeats, why didn't Superman that notice that with his hearing?
  - Let's posit for a moment that Green Lantern could fake heartbeats for him and Wonder Woman using his ring and that's why Superman never noticed. All Batman would have to do is say "Clark, why don't you check out what everyone is digesting right now?" His answer would have cleared up the "Is Superman an Undead monster now?" question very quickly and given the living heroes a chance of stopping the vampire onslaught before it really began.
- After revealing himself as the King of Vampires, Nightwing burns down forests and jungles to create clouds of ash to block the sun, which while terrifying, is somewhat undermined by the fact that by destroying entire ecosystems, Nightwing might be dooming his vampire kingdom too. As vampires need humans to live, and in order to live, humans need food (which includes plants that also need sunlight), clean water, clean air and sunlight. Though this ultimately becomes a bit of a moot point when it's revealed that the vampires let sunlight get through in specific places, to grow up food and let humans live, the fact that they live in a world as fantastical as the DC Universe, that's full of magic and super-science based solutions, may mitigate their concerns.
- In Hunters #1, Nightwing says that Martian Manhunter can't read a vampire's mind. While it's a throwaway line with vague wording, if he's talking about mind reading being blocked outright (instead of say, just blocked of some specific thoughts/memories or at will) then J'onn could have noticed that some people have suddenly become immune to his telepathy. While this can be justified by simply saying that he respects his friends' privacy, when he discovers they're being infiltrated shouldn't he try to search for something of among his friends?
- After the time skip, the smoke blocking out the sun has effectively depowered Supergirl, and reduced Superman to the critically-injured "Baron Cinder." Yet, inexplicably, a vampirized Power Girl is still fully powered like nothing's changed.
Magnificent Bastard: Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, is depicted here as a charismatic and darkly humorous servant to the new lord of vampires. Hal mixes a cool, suave demeanor with a level of pathos that allows him to utterly dominate his enemies. Sent by his master to clear away any obstacles, Hal eliminates various threats both from Justice League members and other supervillains through stealth and deception. Hal helps secretly sire various members of the Justice League into his new vampire warriors. Even though he meets his demise, Hal still helps usher in the work's darkest hour by helping his master to allow his fellow vampires to reign over the Earth.
Memetic Mutation:
- "This is the Hal Jordan I know. I still can't believe how he does what he does in DC vs. Vampires." ^Explanation
- Homophobic/Biphobic Nightwing^{explanation (spoilers!)}
Moment of Awesome: Director Bones stares down a vampirized Firestorm, calls him the most boring League Member, and lights a cigarette on him while being actively threatened. Even after Firestorm blows up with the force of a nuclear bomb, Bones' disembodied head and spine survives long enough to guide Jayna (and Supergirl) to safety and give her some much-needed encouragement.
Rooting for the Empire:
- Part of the fanbase actually picks the side of the vampires due to their charisma and humour, a combination of Evil Is Cool and Evil Is Sexy, as well them generally being competent and entertaining villains that get the most memorable lines and scenes as they put their plans into motion, while still keeping a modicum of who they were before (including caring about the people they cared in life) so as to be recognizable as they engage in deception and murder.
- Some also find themselves rooting for the vampires out dislike for what's perceived as another DC Elseworlds book that shills characters like Batman over others.
Squick: When Damian goes to Wayne Enterprises to try to kill Nightwing, he smuggles a stake in his thigh. Not tied to his thigh, inside it. And has to cut open his leg (counting on vampiric regeneration to heal himself) to retrieve it. It is as gross as it sounds.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: A given, considering how many characters are part of the story in what started as essentially a limited series, but several interesting characters get zero time to show how they're handling the vampire apocalypse.
- Cassie Sandsmark and Conner Kent appear after Tim Drake's death. Having been friends with him for years, it would be interesting to see how they cope with his death. Instead Cassie has been turned offscreen, and Conner has been murdered by the vampires.

YMMV / DC vs. Vampires

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