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 maybe you’re looking to add a new book 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!

 

 

Note on Wonder Woman: Since Wonder Woman features two distinct stories that rotate every other issue, we’re holding our WONDER WOMAN #1 recap until Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp’s “The Lies” storyline resumes July 27th in WONDER WOMAN #3. This week’s WONDER WOMAN #2 features the debut of the “Wonder Woman: Year One” storyline by Rucka and Nicola Scott.


The Flash #1

By Josh Williamson, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Ivan Plascencia

When you’re the Fastest Man Alive, being everywhere and doing everything at once is part of the job description. So, when an organization calling themselves the Black Hole attacks a STAR Labs transport at the same time that a life threatening apartment fire is raging on the other side of the city, Barry tries to do just that. He runs to the fire to rescue the civilians as quickly as he can before coming to the transport’s aid. It’s only a difference of seconds for the Flash, but for Barry’s friend and CCPD coworker August Heart, it may already be too late. The Black Hole operative holding the transport fires a shot at August and despite all his speed, Barry is just a fraction of a moment too late to move him out of the way. Lucky for both of them a bolt of Speed Force-oriented lightning intervenes, bestowing Heart with super speed.

Unforgettable Moment: Having a social life as a superhero is a challenge, even when you’re as quick on your feet as Barry. His lunch date with Iris and her nephew Wally goes about as smoothly as you’d expect—especially when Wally takes it upon himself to call Barry and Iris’s flirtatious will-they-or-won’t-they “friendship” right out into the open. “You two are worse than the kids at my high school.” Did you really expect Wally West to be slow on the uptake?


Detective Comics #935

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

Gotham City boot camp is in full swing. From their new base, the Belfry, in the heart of the city, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown and Basil Karlo undergo some intensive training at the hands of Kate Kane. Maybe too intensive, even for them. Tension runs high between Kate and Tim, threatening to crack the foundation of the group before it even begins to settle. Meanwhile at Leslie Tompkins’s clinic, the recently pulverized Azrael reveals the identity of the mysterious force stalking and spying on Gotham’s vigilantes to Batman, referring to them as “the Colony.” Before Bruce is able to do any digging into who or what the Colony may be, he’s attacked by a team of fifty highly armored soldiers with orders to take him in. They’re certainly welcome to try.

Unforgettable Moment: Keeping secrets is a time honored Batfamily tradition and Tim is no exception to the rule. He’s been neglecting to tell Bruce about his acceptance to a university program that would take him out of the vigilante business. He’ll need to do some serious self-evaluation to figure out what he really wants before he makes a decision, but thankfully Steph doesn’t plan on letting him avoid the issue for too long.


Action Comics #958

By Dan Jurgens, Patrick Zircher and Ulises Arreola

Superman and Lex engage in battle with the returned Doomsday. As they exchange blows, Superman struggles to grasp how similar Doomsday is to the one he fought to the death years ago. Lois and Jon watch in horror as the news televises the fight. The Daily Planet’s mysterious new Clark Kent stands on the sidelines, turning down Jimmy’s pleas for him to join the fight—proclaiming he was never Superman. As the events unfold, we see, yet again, the mysterious hooded figure watching. Only this time, he hints that he may intervene depending on Superman’s next move.

Unforgettable Moment: Superman and Lex working together to take on Doomsday…? Who would have thought?!


Earth 2 Society #13

By Dan Abnett, Fredrico Dallocchio and David Calderon of Ikari Studio

Hawkgirl brings Fury to Neotropolis to introduce her to the other Wonders and have a roundtable discussion.  Offering the Amazonian and Atlantean wisdom, technologies and allegiance to help this new world, the group questions her and the validity of the Pandora Vessel, but is intrigued by the possibility that it could be used to bring back the world they lost.  While the Wonders discuss, the Ultrahumanite unleashes his army of gene-modified, brainwashed children (one of whom is Dick Grayson’s son) to seek out the Pandora Vessel and bring it to him. 

Unforgettable Moment: Realizing that one of the child recruits for the Ultrahumanite is the son of Dick Grayson—someone Dick believes to be dead.


Wacky Raceland #1

By Ken Pontac, Leonardo Manco and Mariana  Sanzone

Civilization as we know it is gone, consumed in a series of natural disasters and plagues. In its wake, there is the wasteland. The one glimmer of hope for survivors comes in the form of the Announcer, an omnipotent, disembodied presence that hosts a race where hand-picked racers drive sentient, AI-infused cars in a deadly no-holds barred tournament. The winner, should they survive the contest, gets a trip to Utopia, the mythical last bastion of humanity, hidden away from the chaos and the bloodshed. Penelope Pitstop is one such racer, rescued by the Announcer just moments before impending doom. She and her car, Compact Pussycat, are one win closer to the prize but with the stakes getting higher and the competition—especially the ruthless Dick Dastardly alongside his cyborg dog Muttley in their car the Mean Machine—getting more and more brutal, Penelope’s luck may be running out.

Unforgettable Moment: There are no rules in the races. Absolutely none. At all. Penelope wins by strapping Compact Pussycat to the back of a monstrous sandworm and riding it across the finish line.


We'll be back in a week 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!