DC Rebirth One Year Later

We all like what we know, right?  We like taking the same route to work every day.  We love having lunch at the same Chinese restaurant every Friday.  We enjoy the company of the friends we’ve made over the years.  DC Comics tried turning that idea on its head a few years ago when it announced its “New 52” publishing initiative in 2011.  Essentially, all current series and storylines would be abandoned in favor of brand new #1 issues (comic companies love those, comic readers not so much).  The idea with the New 52 was that new readers would be able to come on board and not have to worry about “catching up” with series’ and learn years of continuity.  The fresh starts and “creative shake-ups” would allow all readers to be on level playing fields.

And it worked!  Sorta.  I know a ton of people who picked up their very first DC books following the New 52’s launch.  Sales saw spikes, which leveled off, of course.  But it did work.  DC’s market share is in an extremely better place now than it was six years ago.

One of the edicts of the New 52 was that the characters of DC Comics should be young again.  When you’re in a universe with 75 year old characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, you’ve got a lot of history to deal with.  So, literal decades of history of these characters was deemed to not exist.  In the continuity of DC Comics, almost all of the iconic stories fans know and love now never happened.  Things like Superman and Lois Lane’s marriage (everyone’s marriage, really), Batman having died and returned, The Flash making his heroic sacrifice in Crisis on Infinite Earths.  All gone in favor of a shiny new present where every character has a clean slate.

But, after a while, the new wore off.  The new fans who stuck around joined in with the old fans in asking for a return to the “original” DC Universe, the one we left behind before the reboot to the New 52.  But some of the New 52 was good.  The “Court of Owls” storyline in the Batman books, the growth of the Green Lantern titles, Suicide Squad’s emergence into a hot commodity.  How can we keep what did work in the New 52 and have a return to the DC Universe of old?  Rebirth.  That’s how.

In this special 80-page giant-sized issue, we learn that something has altered the history of the DC Universe.  Literally a being of near omnipotence has “stolen” time from our heroes.  So we really never left that original DC Universe.  We just are not in an “alternate present” where our villain has manipulated the heroes for some (still unknown) reason.  By the end of the issue, we learn who our villain is.

Watchmen, although published by DC Comics in 1985, was never part of the main DC Universe.  Until now.  It is to be assumed that Dr. Manhattan of the Watchmen is the being who has manipulated the DC Universe since its creation.  Very little is known about why Dr. Manhattan has done what he’s done or who else is involved.  One other character from the Watchmen, Ozymandias, is believed to be aiding Manhattan (or possibly controlling him) and is currently going by the name “Mr. Oz”, but that’s not confirmed as of yet.  We’ll learn in September,though.

So, I gave all of this backstory to give you this list:  The Five DC Rebirth Titles You Should Be Reading.

Batman

Unsurprisingly, Batman is in the lead with his main title.  Currently starring the Dark Knight, this book’s main focus has been, thus far, Batman’s struggle with trying to find some semblance of a normal life.  After a run in with an alternate version of his father, Bruce has been driven more and more to step away from his life of crime fighting and live his life to the fullest.  His first step in that direction?  Marry Catwoman.

Superman

To reconcile the vast differences between New 52 Superman and the original Superman, the two characters were combined.  Literally.  There were two Supermen/Clark Kents and now there is one.  New 52 Superman was one of the biggest failures of that line.  And the Rebirth Superman has been probably its greatest success.  Focusing less on Superman by himself, this book puts the focus on Superman and Lois Lane, who are once again married and have been for a number of years, and their son, Jon, who we now know as Superboy.

Detective Comics

The flagship book of our publisher has historically been led by Batman.  And this hasn’t really changed, but since it’s relaunch, the book focuses on a team consisting of Batman, Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan (90’s comic fans will know her as Cassandra Cain), and Clayface (yes, the villain). 

Super Sons

Starring Robin/Damian Wayne/the son of Batman and Superboy/Jon Kent/the son of Superman, this book is honestly probably my number one at the moment.  It’s fun, it’s action-filled, it’s everything a comic book should be.  

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman, interestingly, has a rotating publishing schedule whereby odd numbered issues are set in the past, telling a “Year One” style story and even numbered issues are set present day.  New 52 really altered the well-known “formed from clay” origin story most longtime comic fans are familiar with and replaced it with a straight-up “Diana is Zeus’ daughter” origin.  The new series is taking strides to correct that.

The Flash

The mystery of Dr. Manhattan, the stolen years, and the appearance of the smiley face button belonging to The Comedian (another Watchmen character) has been investigated in the pages of The Flash, most recently in the aptly titled “The Button” crossover.

Lots of clues into the mystery of DC’s Rebirth can be found in Titans and Justice League of America, as well.  We’ll have more answers as we head to the culmination of this nearly two year long story in November with Doomsday Clock, a mini-series slated to feature the showdown between Superman and Dr. Manhattan.

Thanks for reading.

-Josh

All related characters and images are trademarks of DC Comics, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Adam

Batman has died.

In reality, Adam West, the actor most associated with the role, has passed away following “a short but brave battle with leukemia” at the age of 88.

But that’s not how it felt to me.  To me, Batman has died.

Despite the show being originally aired from 1966 to 1968, I grew up with the show Batman.  It ran in syndication in my childhood and, from what I’ve gathered from people who lived through that time, I experienced it almost the same way they did.  The format of the show (the first and second seasons, anyway) saw a two-part episode air every week in the afternoons to catch the after school crowd.  The first part (Wednesdays) would always end in a cliffhanger with Batman and Robin in dire straits.  “Will the Dynamic Duo escape certain doom?  Tune in tomorrow!  Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!” Thursday’s episode would open with Batman and Robin quickly escaping the trap or otherwise dangerous state in which they found themselves and the villain of the week would be defeated within the half-hour.

The series entered syndication sometime in the late-80s or early-90s, most probably to capitalize on the recent release of the two Tim Burton-directed Batman movies.  And the airings in syndication followed that same format.  I can vividly recall coming home from school to catch whatever the newest (hey, it was new to me) adventure awaited Batman and Robin.  My Aunt Karen would record my favorite episodes for me on VHS tapes so I could watch them when none were on television.  I loved this character before I even have memories of loving the character.  

I was two-years-old.  No one has memories of that age.  But I knew I loved Batman.

That is all thanks to Adam West.  His take on the character wasn’t the first on film.  There were two film serials shortly after Batman was created (one in ’43 and one in ’49), but it was the 60’s series that gave Batman the (literally) worldwide fan base he has today.  In fact, National Periodical Publications (what we now know as DC Comics) had plans to cancel Detective Comics, the book starring Batman.  It was the explosion of popularity caused by the Adam West-led show that turned it all around for Batman.

The character would eventually take the dark turn that most fans are accustomed to, but Adam West’s optimistic, almost whimsical Batman inspired (literal) generations of fans.  But beyond the campiness of the show, there were lessons to be taught and things to be learned.  Every line of dialogue, no matter how comedic it may have been intended to be, was delivered with earnestness.  This was, after all, a show for children.  Through his interactions with Robin, we’re treated to these gems of wisdom:

Robin: "You can't get away from Batman that easy!"

Batman: "Easily."

Robin: "Easily."

Batman: "Good grammar is essential, Robin."

Robin: "Thank you."

Batman: "You're welcome."

Robin: "I guess you can never trust a woman."

Batman: "You've made a hasty generalization, Robin. It's a bad habit to get into."

Batman: "That's life, Robin, full of ups and downs. It ill befits any of us to become too confident."

Robin: "Venus seemed like a nice girl in that costume."

Batman: "I suspect she is a nice girl down deep, but she's fallen in with bad companions. And who knows what her home life was like."

Batman (about to cross the street): "Remember Robin, always look both ways."

Atomic batteries to power.  Turbines to speed.  Hearts to broken.

It should come as little surprise that Batman is ingrained in my life.  I’ve often said that I even relate the people in my life to the characters in the Batman mythos (don’t get me started on the various Catwomen and Robins over the years).  West is the first really significant loss of this kind.  He’s the first Batman to go.  My best friend said when she heard the news, her first thought was “Josh is going to be devastated!”  And I was.  I am.

A piece of my childhood is gone.  But in times like these, in a world full of hatred and mistrust, in a country that is so often divided against itself, I cling tighter to what this version of the Dark Knight stood for.  To be optimistic.  To try to better each other instead of tearing each other down.  To stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves.  That’s what he represented.  That’s the world he wanted.

Adam West was the Batman we deserve and the one we need, particularly right now. Because he is a hero. He was a wise man.  A crusader for good.  The Bright Knight.

-Josh

BATMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. (s14) © 1966-1968, 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.  © 2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.  All rights reserved.