It’s finally over: the long and at times painful New 52 is no more. We now find DC doing a much needed Rebirth. Now for me the term Rebirth is very special. While I preferred DC to Marvel in the past, I wasn’t a hardcore reader. It wasn’t until a chance encounter with Geoff Johns – who convinced me to read Green Lantern Rebirth – that I really got back into comics. This review will be jam packed with spoilers so read on at your own risk.
— Final Warning, there be spoilers ahead —
Wally’s Back
One of the most exciting pieces in the book was the return of Wally West. Well technically there’s two now, but this Wally is pre New 52 – he’s a little younger and still has his memories intact. Speaking of memories, apparently there were ten years lost between the events of Flashpoint and the New 52.
If you’ve read Flashpoint you know Barry Allen travels to the past and saves his mother from being murdered by the Reverse Flash. This makes a butterfly effect of events that change the entire DC Universe. For example it wasn’t Thomas and Martha Wayne that died that night – it was Bruce.
The catch was Barry still remembered his past, but the longer he spent in the Flashpoint Universe the more he forgot. I actually kinda like how Bioshock Infinite handled this phenomenon – your brain can piece parts together almost like you are making your own history.
As in Flashpoint, Wally realizes the first person he should hit up is Batman. I mean he is the Greatest Detective – seems like a pretty solid lead. Which brings us to another mystery.
More than one Joker?
During the events of the Darkseid Wars – when Batman sits on the Mobius Chair – he asks “What’s Joker’s true name?” It gave him an interesting response: apparently there are three Jokers.
Wally is able to make contact with Batman, but his connection isn’t strong enough and he is returned to the Speed Force. As he searches for another connection to this world he finds Johnny.
Justice Society
While they only refer to him as Johnny, it appears to be Johnny Thunder. Apparently he’s been in and out of old folks homes, because his memories are still intact. He remembers the JSA, and Wally begs him to find them as it’s Wartime again.
What the world needs now is….
If you love it you better put a ring on it, right Aquaman? Well it finally happened: Aquaman has proposed to Mera, and it was super sweet.
This started a theme about remembering the past – how even though the memories aren’t there you still know the attraction. The example they used was with Green Arrow and Black Canary, how they are still attracted to each other, even though they don’t remember their past.
It’s a very sweet thought, and something I always appreciated with Iris and Linda – how they are the “lightning rod” that brings Barry and Wally out of the Speed Force.
Super Family
Guess who has a brother? In her satin tights, fighting for her rights… Yup Wonder Woman, and his name is Jason. This should prove interesting.
With the New 52 Superman dead, it was surprising to see Clark Kent. More specifically one that’s married to Lois, and has a son? This Clark apparently died by the hands of Doomsday and was resurrected. Which leads us to believe that he is Pre New 52 Superman.
Barry being Barry
Okay this was my favorite part of the entire first issue. The last connection Wally attempts is Barry Allen – he basically is giving up and becoming one with the Speed Force. As he shows up he tells Barry Allen thank you for everything. Barry’s reply of “I’m Sorry!” just broke me, and he reaches out and brings Wally West back into this universe.
Who’s Watching?
This is the most interesting part: apparently the Watchmen are also in this universe. There is a lot of speculation floating around – that Dr. Manhattan actually created the New 52 and is behind that ten year gap.
Hope vs Despair
There was a mention of a War coming: Hope vs Despair, Love vs Apathy, Faith vs Disbelief. I found this to be an interesting choice as it almost echoes the current state of DC Comics. The Flash TV Series compared to Batman V Superman. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoyed Batman V Superman, but it’s missing that contrast between Good vs Evil. I’ll be delving into this in a much larger article but for now back to Rebirth.
Overall
I’m actually shocked; I picked up the start of the New 52 and while there were some great creative teams, ones who’ve done some amazing work generally, I wasn’t invested quite like I once was.
Rebirth got me involved again, to a point where for the first time I added Superman to my pull list. Granted, with Tomasi writing and Patrick Gleason’s artwork how could I say no? I think this is a good start, and hopefully shows that the decision makers at DC are finally listening. While I enjoy some of the darker storylines from time to time, not every book needs to be a Killing Joke. It doesn’t need to be shocking to sell.