With Rebirth now in full swing and so many exciting new titles to try, we can’t blame anyone for needing a reminder of what happened in the last issue. Or perhaps you’re looking to add a new title to your list and need to get caught up on earlier chapters? Either way, we’re here to help. Every Tuesday, we’ll be recapping the prior issue of that week’s new Rebirth and Hanna-Barbera comics, as well as sharing our favorite moment. It’s a quick, easy way to ensure you’re up to speed and ready for New Comic Day. We hope you find these recaps helpful, but be aware that they do contain some spoilers!

 

 

The Flash: Rebirth #1

By Joshua Williamson, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Ivan Plascencia

Wally West is back, thanks to Barry Allen and the events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1, and the life of the Fastest Man Alive has been turned on its head. Someone or something has stolen time itself from the world around them. A force strong enough to have deleted lives and corrupted memories, and fearsome enough to cause the Speed Force itself to cry out in warning. To make matters worse, Barry and Wally are the only people on the planet who realize anything is wrong. They resolve to split up and attack the mystery from multiple angles. Wally heads off to find the Titans, and see if he can drum up any memories in his former teammates while Barry runs to Gotham City to enlist the help of the World’s Greatest Detective. Bruce and Barry decide to keep working together to find who or what tampered with their reality and gather more information before involving the rest of the Justice League.

Unforgettable Moment: Even the most heartwarming of moments between Barry and Wally wouldn’t be complete without a little good-natured ribbing. Apparently Barry could have been manifesting a uniform out of the Speed Force instead of using his costume ring this whole time—how’s that for a Flash fact?


Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1

By Greg Rucka, Matthew Clark, Sean Parsons, Liam Sharp, Jeremy Colwell and Laura Martin

Wonder Woman is at odds with herself.  Having fought to prove her worth as a youth in Amazonia, she now struggles with where she fits in and how she’s viewed here on Earth.  In a moment of solitude, the Warrior Princess turns the Lasso of Truth on herself and discovers that she has been deceived and that her whole reality may in fact be a farce.  Using the false helmet of Ares (which she had thought was the real artifact), Wonder Woman transports herself back to Olympus to find out the truth and who exactly is pulling the strings of her reality.

Unforgettable Moment:  In the double-page spread of Wonder Woman punching through the wall mirror, you can see within the shards of glass the different incarnations of Wonder Woman and major events she’s been involved in over the years.  It was a real treat to look at.   


Aquaman: Rebirth #1

By Dan Abnett, Scot Eaton, Oscar Jimenez, Mark Morales and Gabe Eltaeb

Aquaman races across the Atlantic Ocean to head off the Deluge—an Atlantean terror cell that hates the nations of the “surface world,” but even more so, they hate that their king, Aquaman, is surface-born.  The King of the Sea stops the Deluge before they can carry out their plans of destroying a US city and simultaneously ending peace talks between the Atlantean people and America.  Although the threat of the Deluge is neutralized, a new terror lurks in the dark parts of the ocean and he goes by the name of Black Manta.   

Unforgettable Moment:  Aquaman introducing Mera to her first bowl of chowder at the seaside diner shows his desire to connect with his human side, but more importantly, his dream of a world where Atlanteans and humans can coexist.     


Detective Comics #934

By James Tynion IV, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas

The vigilantes of Gotham City are being stalked. Someone who looks like Batman is planting highly advanced drones to record their movements, and to make matters worse, they always seem to be one step ahead of the real Dark Knight. Bruce enlists the help of Batwoman, his cousin Kate Kane, to pull together a team of the city’s most promising masked heroes with the goal of not only training them further, but preparing for whatever the imposter’s plan may have in store for them. Made up of Tim Drake (Red Robin), Stephanie Brown (Spoiler), Cassandra Cain (Orphan), and surprise addition Basil Karlo (Clayface), the team will be put through their paces by Kate and Bruce. It’s boot camp, Gotham City style. It’s a good thing because it looks like the imposter’s plans involve an army.

Unforgettable Moment: It turns out it’s harder to surprise Kate Kane than the Dark Knight anticipated. Bruce makes a bid to gain Kate’s trust by revealing his identity to her, but she’d already figured it out. Detective skills apparently run in the family.


Action Comics #957

By Dan Jurgens, Patrick Zircher and Tomeu Morey

A group of armed thugs is taken out by Lex Luthor, who dons an enhanced suit with the Superman “S” on his chest, claiming to be the protector of Metropolis.  Seeing Lex’s heroics on the news prompts the “Clark White” version of Superman (from the pre-Rebirth series, SUPERMAN: LOIS AND CLARK) to suit up and confront Lex.  When the two meet, Luthor is certain he is not the Superman of this Earth, while Superman contests that he is.  The two clash in a high-powered fight and things are made stranger when Clark Kent (thought to be dead) surprisingly returns and confronts the two.  Everything comes to a screeching halt when an unstable containment pod that houses a mysterious being opens to unveil…Doomsday!

Unforgettable Moment:  When Clark Kent is trying to talk to Lex, we see a mysterious, hooded figure watching the events unfold on multiple screens.  This is the same cloaked being that approached Clark White on the porch of his house in DC Universe: Rebirth #1.  Who is this man and what does he know or want of Superman?
 

We'll be back in two weeks with another set of Reader Recaps. Also, don't miss our weekly new comic book unboxing every Tuesday on Periscope for an exclusive preview of the week's new comics!