DC Universe: Rebirth #1

The Clock is Ticking Across the DC Universe!

Geoff Johns Writer

Chapter 1 – Lost
Gary Frank and Ethan Van Sciver Artists
Brad Anderson and Jason Wright Colorists

Chapter 2 – Legacy
Gary Frank Artist
Brad Anderson Colorist

Chapter 3 – Love
Ivan Reis Penciller
Joe Prado and Reis Inkers
Hi-Fi Colorist

Chapter 4 – Life
Phil Jimenez and Gary Frank Pencillers
Matt Santorelli and Frank Inkers
Gabe Eltaeb and Brad Anderson Colorists

Epilogue
Gary Frank and Ivan Reis Pencillers
Frank and Joe Prado Inkers
Brad Anderson and Hi-Fi Colorists
Special thanks to Mike Cotton, Brian Cunningham and Amedeo Turturro

Nick J. Napolitano Letterer
Cover Frank and Anderson
Variant Cover Reis, Prado and Alex Sinclair
Assistant Editor Andrew Marino
Group Editor Eddie Berganza
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family.

Whew! That's a lot of credits! This is definitely a comic by committee, but this is one of the few times that works. Anyway, our main cover (if you scroll up to it) is an enchanting wraparound, showing all of DC's heavy-hitters reaching out to a mysterious hand. Of course, all these heavy-hitters were characters who would go on to be featured prominently in the post-Rebirth world (Shazam had to wait a while, but he finally did get his own series). And the mysterious hand was a source of some nice debate, thanks to the expertly ambiguous coloring of Brad Anderson. On top of it all, I love Gary Frank's style. So this is a fantastic cover.

The variant cover is a little less straightforward for me. I guess it's saying that the Golden and Silver Age stories are set and confined, but the Modern Age is able to break free from the usual constraints of continuity. Because that's what this story did. It didn't destroy the New 52 continuity, but it did open the door to let the pre-New 52 continuity mix in with the current stories. Mostly, this was fun and exciting, but sometimes confusing and frustrating. But that's a debate for another day.

The digital copy of this comic offers the black-and-white for the variant, but not the main. That might be because a black-and-white rendering of that would reveal the mysterious hand. This is still good, though. Ivan Reis is also a great artist, and he fortunately chose to highlight some other characters that got big play after Rebirth — Jon Kent, Damian Wayne and Wallace West.

Wallace is probably the greatest mistake of the New 52. Initially, DC only had Barry and the fake Bart, with no mention of any other speedster. When cries for Wally West grew too loud, DC short-sightedly decided to bring in Wally as an African-American teenager, who was completely different from the original Wally in almost every way imaginable. So the cries continued, and DC was finally forced to acknowledge that this black Wally was a different character. But they couldn't get rid of him because, you know, killing off a diverse character you just brought in is in poor taste. Anyway, DC finally decided to bring back the original, real Wally West, for better and worse, in this exciting, reality-warping event.

Our story reveals that Wally has been trapped in Speed Force limbo since Flashpoint, just like the original Bart Allen. But unlike Bart, Wally has now found a way to contact the real world — albeit sloppily and randomly. He spends the whole issue reaching out to people who don't remember him or have any idea what's going on. This gives the readers a chance to review the current state of the DC Universe moving forward, while also providing the heart-breaking moment of Wally's wife, Linda, having absolutely no memory of her husband. Not only has reality been altered, but 10 years of time has been stolen. Wally isn't the Flash anymore — he's Kid Flash again. And he's the only one who remembers the old continuity that Flashpoint had supposedly erased.

Eventually, Barry does remember Wally and pulls him out of the Speed Force before he completely fades away. This creates an awkward situation with Barry as the Flash and Wallace as Kid Flash, and Wally caught in the middle. He's not quite the Flash, but not Kid Flash anymore. I don't know, I guess it worked for the most part. But the biggest takeaway from this issue was the heavy implication that Doctor Manhattan from the Watchmen comic was responsible for DC's shifting continuity.




I'm not going into deep detail here, since Bart only showed up in one panel (unfortunately drawn by Ethan Van Sciver), but this was a huge, fantastic step for DC to take. The New 52 was an initial success, but fundamentally flawed, leading to the DCYou and now Rebirth. There were some good stories there, but in our corner, the Teen Titans/Bart Allen world, everything was a complete mess. Rebirth opened the door for the return of the classic Flash family of old — Jay Garrick, Jesse Quick, Max Mercury and of course, our lovable Bart. Granted, it still took a few years for DC to actually take advantage of this, but at least that door has been opened. The New 52 was meant to be a springboard of creativity by wiping the slate clean. But it ended up being too confining and confusing (mainly because the slate wasn't entirely wiped clean and all the creators couldn't get on the same page). Rebirth offered more freedom, which is also a double-edged sword. But good, for the most part. I think.

Much like the New 52, Rebirth also reset the numbering on all its titles, with the exception of Detective Comics and Action Comics, which returned to their legacy numbering to make a push for issue #1000. Rebirth also boasted a slew of titles that shipped twice a month for the low price of $2.99 each. Naturally, these big changes demanded a bunch of ads to show off all the new stuff.

Wally West uncovers a secret that will destroy his friends! Titans #1.

Hunted by the fastest men alive! The Flash #1.

Batman vs. Gotham. Batman #1.

Now they're Damian Wayne's ... Teen Titans #1.

The biggest threat facing Earth's new Green Lanterns is each other! Green Lanterns #1.

How can you fight the man when you are the man? Green Arrow #1.

If you want peace, prepare for war! Aquaman #1.

Everything she knows and trusts will be taken from her. Wonder Woman #1.

Plausibly deniable. Completely certifiable. Suicide Squad #1.

Metropolis has a new man of steel, and his name is Lex Luthor! Action Comics #957.

Man & Son of Steel. Superman #1.

And in case that wasn't enough, there's also a two-page spread of all the heroes of Rebirth and a checklist of all the Rebirth specials that served as prologues to all the various titles. It was an exciting time, and I eagerly jumped into The Flash, Superman, Action Comics and Super Sons (when it eventually came out). Sadly, Bart Allen was nowhere to be seen. For quite a while. And so, that wraps up the year 2016. Next time, we'll still do a Year in Review (for tradition's sake) before beginning a slightly more robust 2017.