DC Universe Rebirth #1 Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Outside_85]

Does anyone know who the woman being interrogated was?

Actually, it just struck me that it could actually be Dreamgirl... who's powers is foresight: "I have seen the future." (I know the girl/woman was a blond in Rebirth, but Dreamy loosing the silver sheen in hers isn't that much of a stretch... plus she didn't appear to be poking around Waller's or Saywer's heads either)

(Though I admit that Saturn Girl seems more likely since it's usually her that ends up in situations like this.)

[Joky0]

So Im definitely not caught up with the New 52 storyline, can someone explain to me real quick what is the situation with Superman? We dont know whats happened to him, or am I missing something? And wheres this bearded Supes from?

[Darth Kal-el]

So Im definitely not caught up with the New 52 storyline, can someone explain to me real quick what is the situation with Superman? We dont know whats happened to him, or am I missing something? And wheres this bearded Supes from?

New Fifty Two Superman died in Superman 52 released last night, his body disintegrated. The other Clark is supposedly the pre flashpoint Superman, married to Lois and has a son. He was stranded here after Convergence last Summer. But from what OZ said, all that may not be true

[colonyofcells]

According to Saturn Girl, New 52 Superman is coming back or maybe Saturn Girl knows that married Superman is the real prime earth superman.

[JayBee]

Redhaired Wally West featured in DC Universe Rebirth #1 *is* the Pre-Flashpoint Wally West. He is not New 52 Wally West.

I understand why you are assuming that. But so far, there hasn't been a plot point in any DC comic book that says the 90s and 2000s JSA stories never happened.

We simply do not know what will happen in Earth 2 Rebirth. Let's wait and see who the creative team for Earth 2 Rebirth is and what happens in that book before jumping to the conclusion that all of those stories have been wiped away. We honestly don't know yet.


Again, that is an assumption. You may be right, but we do not know that yet. Certainly, Cyborg is still an adult in the Justice League and the original Wally West knows him. So, I think that would seem to indicate that the New Teen Titans continuity is technically back along with most other continuity prior to Flashpoint.

I'm going to wait and see what is revealed in Titans Rebirth #1 before assuming the worst. I would politely suggest you do might do the same.


My question to you is, how do you know what is and isn't in continuity now? There's a lot that simply hasn't been covered or revealed yet. Why assume all those characters are gone and will never return?

All of the DC Rebirth titles are not being relaunched all at once (a mistake with the New 52 that DC isn't repeating this time). The Legion of Super-Heroes is most likely on the way. We know the original JSA is coming back in Earth 2 Rebirth. More characters and more titles are being slowly reintroduced and DC is doing it over a 2 year period.

I appreciate the apprehensiveness and worry. But please try to keep an open mind and not assume the absolute worst or expect that everything and everyone you like isn't coming back just because those stories and characters haven't been referenced so far.

We just got back the original Wally West, the JSA, one member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the original Blue Beetle, the original Doctor Fate, the original Atom, Ryan Choi and more. It's going to take a whole lot more than 80 pages to bring back more characters. I hope you give it some time and remain open to the possibility that you could be pleasantly surprised.

Maybe I should not approach all of this as pessimistic as I am. I suppose I see it as expecting the worst and being plenty surprised as things turn out better. To me, DC has not had a good track record when it comes to many of these topics since 2011 and although I see that they are trying to fix some of these mistakes I worry that the same people who created the problem in the first place wont be able to fix it.

I will say that although you're right that we wont know anything for sure until more books are released that based on what I read in rebirth these things seem to be the case, especially the JSA stuff if I am reading it correctly that the JSA was "wished away" during the Mcarthy era of the 1950s. Don't get me wrong though... I want to be wrong. I want to be able to feel excited every Wednesday like I did ten years ago but I just doubt that will be the case.

[Lightning Rider]

My thoughts on the issue:

-I love that Wally West was the narrator of the story. Not just because I love Wally West, or because he represents a huge part of what fans were missing (although those were pluses), but I thought it was really creative to use his tethers to our plane of existence as the points for his journey.

-The scene with Linda was really impactful...not everything was pure joy and nostalgia in this comic (though there was plenty of that). It was almost a given that she'd remember him, and the fact she didn't hit home and made me feel like Wally has to earn back the life he had, and it isn't guaranteed. That would be too easy. Although I loved the moment he had with Barry, it was so perfect. Especially given the recap of Wally's life that they gave. In fact, I might give this issue to anyone who wants to know about Wally West's deal. Johns knows and loves the character and it was great to see him write him again, even if the dialogue was a little heavy-handed as Johns is known to do. I teared up.

-Really enjoyed seeing the Atoms and Beetles together. Not only was it emphasizing legacy, but showing that you don't necessarily need to get rid of one character to have another take up the mantle and play an important role. In fact the legacy can be richer when the two generations have a relationship.

-I'm more intrigued than upset about including Watchmen. I'm super curious how they're going to incorporate that Universe into the main Universe. I'm someone who considers Watchmen more or less sacred in terms of not messing with it, but I'm too intrigued at the moment to mind, and at the end of the day, taking a storytelling risk is worth more than not taking it at all. Fans can pretend something didn't happen and look at Watchmen as a single thing, but if we end up with a compelling take on Dr. Manhattan and the gang operating on our Earth and interacting with the DCU, it's something we never could have gotten for the sake of not ruffling feathers.

-I thought the meta-criticism was a bit heavy, and I did think it was slightly hypocritical since Johns is no stranger to dark storytelling, but it encouraged me to keep engaging the stories to come and sent the message that the things we loved are coming back.


Overall, I couldn't escape the feeling that what I was reading was so right. I don't know if it's wrong to equate my personal preferences with a sense of rightness, but I simply felt the issue was trying to celebrate everything the DCU had to offer pre-Nu52, while setting up a crazy mystery and giving glimpses of what other stories may come. It's a bit jumpy and kind of spotty, since it touches briefly on a lot of things, but it had heart and it made me excited about reading DC Comics again. This isn't just nostalgia, this is appreciating everything the DCU has to offer and taking it forward into new and exciting adventures.

[SmokeMonster]

Is Johns being hypocritical?

I don't see anywhere where he said that he wasn't part of the problem or that he's always been writing hopeful optimistic comics.

[Robotman]

This was a fun issue but I just don't trust Johns and DC to follow through with all these plot threads and give the read a solid answer to all the questions raised. We waited for years to find out how Pandora helped to shape the New 52 and why she was able to appear in every first issue. Turns out there wasn't really an answer and she just gets brushed aside here. Johns has left a lot of unanswered questions in his Justice League run and now that he's pretty much done with writing comics it's pretty clear we'll never get any answers.

Also, wasn't Ryan Choi Korean? Choi is a Korean name right?

Just trying to figure out what happened with the timeline. I take it that after Flashpoint the DCU timeline was restructuring itself back to the post-Crisis world. But Dr. Manhattan intervened and created the New 52. So this Wally West is the pre-Flashpoint Wally but also the New 52 Wally who was part of the Teen Titans fighting Mister Twister? Or is he New 52 Wally West but with the memories of pre-Flashpoint Wally? Maybe Dr. Manhattan was restoring everything after Flashpoint but Ozymandias/Mr. Oz interfered and the New 52 was the result.

So maybe the New 52 origins that worked will be kept but pre-Flashpoint storylines will be plugged in as the missing time is restored. If it's revealed that pre-Flashpoint Superman really is this earth's Superman I hope they keep Morrison's Year One story with tee shirt and jeans Supes.

[Buried Alien]

Also, wasn't Ryan Choi Korean? Choi is a Korean name right?

Choi is indeed a Korean surname, and in the past, I believe Ryan was depicted as being of Korean heritage. Choi is also a Chinese surname, however. I do not know if this is an oversight or a planned change.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SmokeMonster]

Maybe the teacher got it mixed up.

[Robotman]

Choi is indeed a Korean surname, and in the past, I believe Ryan was depicted as being of Korean heritage. Choi is also a Chinese surname, however. I do not know if this is an oversight or a planned change.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

The way DC is going after the Chinese market I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional.

[MidnightHour]

Why are they selling a 65 page book as an 80 page one? I know it's only 2.99 right now but the 2nd printing will be 5.99.
Didn't think adds counted as story content.

[Sharkey]

I would of preferred it if the Watchmen's involvement was entirely replaced by their Charlton analogues as depicted in Pax Americana. If there are two Blue Beetles again, why not go with three?

Otherwise, interesting and refreshing overall. Much better than Justice League's Darkseid War finale.

[jcl100]

Why are they selling a 65 page book as an 80 page one? I know it's only 2.99 right now but the 2nd printing will be 5.99.
Didn't think adds counted as story content.

DC (and basically every other comic book publisher) generally solicits/promotes books using the total number of pages. It's the same as their normal length books being listed as 32 pages while only having approximately 20 pages of story.

[SSJMorales]

Redhaired Wally West featured in DC Universe Rebirth #1 *is* the Pre-Flashpoint Wally West. He is not New 52 Wally West.

New 52 Wally West is African-American.

I don't know why some posters here are referring to redhaired Wally West as "New 52 Wally West." New 52 Wally West is black; pre-Flashpoint Wally West is white with red hair. It's that simple.

There was a white and black Wally in New 52. The white one just got lost into speedforce and forgotten. In the rebirth issue they even specified that he is directly related to the black Wally.