Two extremely rare copies of DC Comics' 2020 "5G" Free Comic Book Day issue have appeared on eBay, sparking intense interest among collectors. The comic, Generation Zero: Gods Among Us, was part of a massive printing run that was almost entirely destroyed following a major shift in DC's editorial direction.
The failed 5G initiative and Dan DiDio’s editorial reversal
DC Comics attempted to fundamentally reshape its universe through the "5G" initiative, a project designed to transition the brand into a new era.. This plan aimed to age out long-standing classic characters, introduce a new generation of legacy heroes, and establish a more cohseive timeline for the DC Universe. The initiative was intended to provide a fresh entry point for new readers by moving away from decades of complex continuity.
However, the project was abruptly halted following the departure of Dan DiDio, the executive who had championed the vision. As reported by Bleeding Cool, the subsequent editorial shift led to a complete reversal of the 5G strategy, with the new leadership effectively undoing the groundwork laid by DiDio. This "reverse ferret" approach resulted in the abandonment of the 5G continuity and the destruction of its associated promotional materials.
A million-copy print run reduced to five CGC-graded survivors
The scarcity of the Generation Zero: Gods Among Us comic is a direct result of this massive destruction of inventory. While DC Comics originally printed approximately one million copies for distribution, the vast majority were destroyed to prevent the 5G-era content from reaching the public. This massive pulping has turned a once-ubiquitous promotional item into a high-value target for collectors on platforms like eBay.
The rarity of this specific issue is now officially documented by CGC, the industry-standard grading service. According to the report, only five copies of the comic have been professionally slabbed and recorded. These five survivors include one copy graded at 9.8, three copies at 9 .6, and a single copy at 9.4. This makes the 2020 Free Comic Book Day issue one of the rarest modern artifacts in the DC Comics catalog, as collectors now compete for the few remaining pieces of a discarded era.
The mystery of the unslabbed copies and the pandemic excuse
Despite the official CGC count, several questions remain regarding the true number of surviving copies in existence. it is possible that other copies exist in private collections but have never been submitted for professional grading. Because a collector cannot definitively verify the condition or authenticity of a copy without a CGC slab, the true market supply remains an educated guess.
Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the pulping remain a point of contention. the report suggests that the pandemic lockdown provided a convenient excuse for the publisher to destroy the surplus stock of the Generation Zero issue. There is also the question of the content's evolution; the stories within the comic were eventually relettered and rewritten before being published in other forms, leaving the original 5G version as a unique, unverified relic of a lost timeline that may never be fully accounted for.
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