DC Universe Rebirth #1 Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Outside_85]

Pandora's death signifies the death of the New 52. Not all of the continuity obviously, but it was symbolic.
It's not clear Wally has total control of where he is going

Which is why it was pointless... might as well have blasted everyone out of their armor-suits or Wildstorm out of the universe.
Seemed he had pretty good control of it to actally land him inside the Batcave, right in front of Linda, Barry and all of his old friends... the only one that seemed random was Johnny Thunder.

[SSJMorales]

Having read it:
-Not sold on the Watchmen involvement... it just seems really random
-Pandora's demise is both unnessesary, like completely, her death serves no purpose other than being someone's punching bag. Not to mention, according to the curse she was under, she shouldn't even be able to die.
-Wally has a really weird priority list when trying to find his way home, like Barry and Linda are among the last he tries with even if those two are supposed to be the people he has the strongest connection to.

While Wally wanted to find a way home, he also wanted to try and fix the universe. He basically said Bruce wouldn't remember him, but he just wanted to tell Bruce to look at the letter from his father. He told him that that started everything, and I think Wally wasn't sure whether he would be able to come back or not, but even if he failed to come back he at least got a chance to put the Detective on the case to find out and try and figure out and fix whatever was messed up in the timeline.

[Inhuman X]

Having read it:
-Not sold on the Watchmen involvement... it just seems really random
-Pandora's demise is both unnecessary, like completely, her death serves no purpose other than being someone's punching bag. Not to mention, according to the curse she was under, she shouldn't even be able to die.
-Wally has a really weird priority list when trying to find his way home, like Barry and Linda are among the last he tries with even if those two are supposed to be the people he has the strongest connection to.

I think the DC higher ups have wanted the Watchmen in the prime DC Universe for a while and considering I can't blame them for that. I also can't blame Alan Moore if he is spitting nails. I am hoping for some cool things though, like Batman fighting the Comedian all across Gotham and maybe even Deathstroke having it out with Ozymandius. Both offer some interesting story possibilities and that's just for starters.

I am thinking there is some story meta plot in Pandora's death about the 52 and the new Rebirth. I am afraid of commenting more there until I see what plays out in the pages of the comics.

Like a poster above mentioned, Wally went to the great detective first and from a professional hero stand point that makes sense to me rather than just following his heart.

[AlexanderLuthor]

Which is why it was pointless... might as well have blasted everyone out of their armor-suits or Wildstorm out of the universe.
Seemed he had pretty good control of it to actally land him inside the Batcave, right in front of Linda, Barry and all of his old friends... the only one that seemed random was Johnny Thunder.

(1) I don't see it as pointless to kill off the character who in many ways represented the N52 and some of its bad ideas. She was in every #1 issue. It's meta. The only real pointless thing was the character herself - she looked like a 90s reject, she had no personality at all, her teased purpose never made sense, and the plotholes of her existence were never resolved. Poof! Gone!

(2) It's right there in the story - he can't find Linda (he says he's been searching), he then finds Bruce so he can figure out how to set things right, after that he says he is reaching out for " someone, anyone" and ends up bouncing around before he finally does find Linda and Barry. It all makes sense if you read it again

[Daniel22]

Pandora's death signifies the death of the New 52. Not all of the continuity obviously, but it was symbolic. It's not clear Wally has total control of where he is going

That seemed pretty blatant to me too. Remember how she could be seen in one panel in every #1 issue of the New 52 launch? Literally erasing her was a straightforward and direct message. It was almost too on-the-nose to even be considered symbolic, really.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Given that the entire story had already been spoiled days ago, I think it is a testament to Johns & Co. that it is as emotionally affecting as it is. I was genuinely choked up at the end with the final Linda scene that culminates with Barry.

It's really all about the follow through now. The DCU has been setup to truly make a course correction. If they are serious about actually doing things differently this time around I am on board. Like with the New 52, I will give them a chance.

[Soldy]

One question: WTF happened to Ivan Reis? His art looks awful here!

[Nomads1]

I liked it. Quite a lot. The meta-commentaries were, IMHO, great. (And there were many, besides the obvious.) Loved seeing so many favorites back (DR. Fate, Ryan Choi AND Ray Palmer, Ted Kord...). Hope this fixes quite a few of the flaws of the New 52. I had pratically given up reading new comics (sticking with TPBs reprints). Now, I might definitly check out some (as I did with the New 52, before I got tired of it).
One thing is bugging me though. I thought the new 52 Captain Atom wasn't around anymore. So why is he in two panels of the death of Superman chapter? And looking a lot more like his pre-Flashpoint self? Could the New 52 Captain Atom actually have been Dr. Manhattan, maybe spying on his creation? Does it mean something that the "real" Cap seems to be back, or is he simply another fabrication? Was it simply an art mistake?

Peace

[Bruce Wayne]

Which is why it was pointless.

Much like the character herself. Good to see that she is shoved off like she was introduced.

[Random4]

one thing that irked me was the whole

calling Ray Palmer the "Next Neil Degrasse Tyson"

Ray Palmer, is one of the DC's greatest minds, equivalent to someone like a Hank Pym or Reed Richards


no disrespect to NDT, but Neil isn't really a top tier scientist, he is smart don't get me wrong, but he does more of scientific outreach

although it would of been more cliché, it would of fit better if they said Palmer was the "Next Einstein" or something along those lines

[kivatt]

I cried a bit

I shed a bit of tears.

[WhipWhirlwind]

Given that the entire story had already been spoiled days ago, I think it is a testament to Johns & Co. that it is as emotionally affecting as it is. I was genuinely choked up at the end with the final Linda scene that culminates with Barry.

It's really all about the follow through now. The DCU has been setup to truly make a course correction. If they are serious about actually doing things differently this time around I am on board. Like with the New 52, I will give them a chance.

Yeah, execution was top notch. I'm pretty much with you. This was a great starting point for the DCU going forward. Now its up to DC to keep it up.

[Bossace]

I'm now worried since Wally doesn't have his own title we won't see the character growth we want. Linda doesn't remember him, will that be mentioned anymore in flash (if he appears in that title) or Titans which has to balance developing many other characters.

With out his own title I fear we won't see Wally grow as we want and now it'll take ages for him to end up with Linda and will he remember he was from before the new 52 and remembers everything about Linda and his kids? I mean if I knew I had kids and they were wiped it of existence I can't imagine the pain suffering and depression I'd be going through. I'd make it my sole mission to win Linda over and make that family whole again. I am happy Wally is back I'll just be kinda upset if he doesn't ever mention knowing about his past since he was locked out of living until darkseid died to crack the barrier and then time rewrote itself so even Barry thinks the reason he was actually gone was mister twister instead of flashpoint

[Daniel22]

I just re-read "Justice League 40", after reading Rebirth. It's clear that Rebirth has been in the works since before then, at least. The whole issue reads differently now, especially knowing that any meta messages I perceive are not all in my head, or a reach. "Rebirth" was largely meta and now it's reasonable to read "Darkseid War" as such too.

[Lee Stone]

I wonder how old the original JSA members must be? I mean looking at Johnny Thunder and that we are going with the idea that they fought in WWII they must be getting up there in age unless their powers manage to keep them young. Of course they will probably also go with Geoff Johns JSA run idea of recruiting younger heroes related to past members, why else would they mention Johnny Thunders grandson.

Sounds to me that Johnny had the Thunderbolt send them into limbo in the early 50s to avoid being arrested or unmasked.
And I'm betting he instructed the Thunderbolt to go with them to avoid him calling them back five minutes later.

He probably told the Thunderbolt to "carry on the legacy of the JSA to future generations", which the Thunderbolt took literally...
And went to Jakeem. I think Jakeem will be the key to the JSA's return and he'll take Johnny's place in the JSA alongside the originals still in their prime.

And as others mentioned, there's still the possibility of their offspring to join them because their "supporting characters" (wives, relatives, friends) continued on without them.