What comes before Rebirth? (possibly spoilers)

[Aesthete18]

I recently picked up the rebirth prologue but I find it somewhat confusing. I'm assuming what came before that was flashpoint because of the batman letter and mentions of it. I've watched the movie but I don't recall there being wally in it and them forgetting? Not to mention superman dying and 2nd superman. What should I read before rebirth?

[Lee Stone]

Honestly... the only thing I think that would really be helpful to read first is Titans Hunt.

I've skipped about 90% of DC since Flashpoint.
I read the first few months of all the comics, then dropped everything. Then came back with Batgirl of Burnside and Gotham Academy, and picked up Grayson.
Then Omega Men and Titans Hunt.

I didn't read Justice League #50 or Superman #52 and didn't have any trouble with understanding Rebirth.
However...
The scene where Barry is remembering Wally can be confusing to anyone who hasn't read Titans Hunt (or at least doesn't know what happened) because the important details of that story (the Titans being forgotten and Wally being the still forgotten "tenth member") can be misinterpreted here, leading readers wondering why Barry's flashbacks are different from Wally's.
The difference in the flashbacks is actually a key part of the story that is supposed to give the reader a deeper understanding of what's going on, much like in a novel where the writer reveals something to the reader that the characters, themselves, are unaware of.
I think it would've helped by clarifying that Wally (and the Titans) was forgotten by Barry not because of Flashpoint but because of what was revealed in Titans Hunt.

[Aesthete18]

Teen Titans eh? Not my cup of tea especially if Damien is in it *shrugs*

Perhaps a condensed version here would suffice just as well if anyone would be so kind.

[Doctor Know]

I recently picked up the rebirth prologue but I find it somewhat confusing. I'm assuming what came before that was flashpoint because of the batman letter and mentions of it. I've watched the movie but I don't recall there being wally in it and them forgetting? Not to mention superman dying and 2nd superman. What should I read before rebirth?

A lot of things come before Rebirth. No one title has all the answers, and dozens of titles (52 separate titles) were cancelled during the New 52 run. I mainly stuck with Johns' Justice League titles and the various Batman titles. They had the best collection of stories and quality.

[Lee Stone]

Teen Titans eh? Not my cup of tea especially if Damien is in it *shrugs*

Perhaps a condensed version here would suffice just as well if anyone would be so kind.

Not those Teen Titans, fortunately.

It was a Teen Titans group like the one seen in Barry's flashback. It consisted of Robin (Dick Grayson), Speedy (Roy Harper/Arsenal), Aqualad (Garth), Kid Flash (Wally West I), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Herald (Mal Duncan), Bumblebee (Karen Beecher), Hawk (Hank Hall), Dove (Don Hall) and Lilith Clay.
This team parallels the 60s/70s DC Teen Titans much like Johns' Justice League is based on the '60s JLA line-up.

In Titans Hunt it was revealed that spoilers:

this team of Titans was erased from memory due to the events of their last encounter with Mr. Twister, an updated version of an obscure Titans villain from the '60s title. They still didn't remember Wally because he wasn't present for Titans Hunt, although there's clues to his absence. Apparently, he was lost in the Speed Force prior to the Titans team being forgotten.

end of spoilers

Knowing this puts the Barry flashbacks in better context and clarifies that the differences between the two flashbacks aren't a mistake. It's an intentional effort to show how the New52 history has been altered by the outside force that's been at work since Flashpoint.
Barry isn't remembering Wally from Pre-Flashpoint, he's breaking the spell and remembering him from before the Titans erasure.

Having a story dealing with two separate histories being forgotten due to two separate forces could easily lead to confusion.

[Aesthete18]

I can't see the spoilers. Unclickable yellow bar

[Lee Stone]

I can't see the spoilers. Unclickable yellow bar

Highlight the text like you're going to copy and paste and see if that works.

[Aesthete18]

It works. I copied and pasted it in the reply box.

Hmm seems unrelated to the major plot, this titans thing. What about the two supermen? And what is up with 3 jokers?!

[MyriVerse]

It works. I copied and pasted it in the reply box.

Hmm seems unrelated to the major plot, this titans thing. What about the two supermen? And what is up with 3 jokers?!

Beyond that, there really isn't much before Rebirth. Rebirth is the beginning. You can read about the two Supermen in their respective titles (Superman, Action and Lois & Clark for the past 5 years and since Convergence, respectively).

[cranger]

A few parts of the story refer to recent events, some are introducing new plots, but for the most part the story is just a continuation of decades of DC history. Even Flashpoint is barely relevant to the major plot.

It works. I copied and pasted it in the reply box.

Hmm seems unrelated to the major plot, this titans thing. What about the two supermen? And what is up with 3 jokers?!

The 3 Jokers is a reference to the recent story arc in Justice League in which Batman tries to learn the Joker's identity.

[colonyofcells]

The main background for Rebirth is from Crisis on Infinite Earths up to Flashpoint. Wally West actually started in the silver age so the main background for Rebirth can be from the silver age up to Flashpoint. Dr Fate Kent Nelson is from the golden age so the main background for Rebirth can be from the golden age up to Flashpoint. Rebirth also retains most of New 52 so the main background for Rebirth is from the golden age up to the New 52 and DCYou. If DC decides to return the 10 lost years, most of the pre flashpoint continuity would be restored minus the dark parts like death of sue dibny and death of Ted Kord. The lesson to be learned is do not bother to kill characters so that reboots are not needed to bring back dead characters. Comic books are always tempted to kill characters to boost sales and then to bring back the dead characters. This death stunt is seen again in the latest death of superman story which has boosted the sales of Superman 52. The reboots of New 52 and DCYou have been rejected by the old customers so another solution was simply to rewind back to pre flashpoint. Rebirth also continues the reboots of New 52 since the rebirth Wally is a rebooted Wally so there are probably still some old customers who are still not happy with dc. The only pre flashpoint Wally I remember is the married with kids Wally who recently appeared in Convergence. The Rebirth Wally is definitely not the real pre flashpoint Wally. Dc comics is much more enjoyable if familiar with dc comics history from 1938 to present. Rebirth is advertised as not a reboot but it actually continues the reboots of New 52 but now including more pre flashpoint continuity. Pre flashpoint was not selling well so I doubt DC will ever go back to 100% pre flashpoint.

[jackolover]

So, was there a discernible shift that anybody noticed to signify Watcmen suddenly appear in the DC universe? Did Geoff Johns successfully imply the Watchman universe is where DC just transferred too?

[Lee Stone]

So, was there a discernible shift that anybody noticed to signify Watcmen suddenly appear in the DC universe? Did Geoff Johns successfully imply the Watchman universe is where DC just transferred too?

Not so much as the Flashpoint event drew the attention of Dr. Manhattan to the DCU.

[jackolover]

Thanks. So the DCU is intact, just that they did an Angela (where Marvel translocated Spawn character to Marvel)?

[Batowl]

The watchmen universe is not part of the 52 multiverse, they're hinting the Dr was mucking around before the earths even came back.