Rebirth Review Month Week Four: Deathstroke, Supergirl, Blue Beetle, Teen Titans

Welcome to the final week of Rebirth Review Month. 17 down, 4 to go, so let's get right down to the last leg of this series I started last Summer.

Written by Christopher Priest

Art by Carlo Pagulayan

Deathstroke had his own solo series when the New 52 began, only to be cancelled at 20 issues. He would get his own title again a year later, probably due to the character's renewed popularity from his appearances in the "Batman: Arkham Origins" video game and the "Arrow" TV series. This title would continue on before being relaunched for Rebirth. I've never read Deathstroke's solo titles, and I've only been familiar with him in an antagonistic role (my first introduction to the character being in the Teen Titans cartoon where he was voiced by Ron Perlman). As my first Deathstroke book, I have to say it didn't really have an impact on me.
The issue involves Deathstroke being hired to kill the Clock King, who's under protection of a warlord known as Jazaki. As it turns out though, Jazaki is an associate of Deathstroke, so he allows him to do his business with the Clock King. As Deathstroke arrives to make the kill, Clock King reveals someone close to Slade is being held captive nearby, and will only give Slade more information if he allows him to live. Slade agrees and infiltrates a compound and finds his old mentor, Billy Wintergreen. It ends there because this is once again more of a prologue issue than a one-shot. Besides that, there's also flashback scenes to when Slade was younger and on a hunting trip with his sons, and let's just say he is NOT a good father.
Much like my feelings about Suicide Squad, it's just hard for me to be interested when the villains are the protagonist of a story. The flashback scenes are probably my favorite part of the issue because of how it presents Slade as a complete bastard. But the present scenes were actually kind of hard to follow for me. I actually had to find a synopsis online to figure out what was going on. I think it's because I'm not clear on the basics of how the life of an assassin is when it comes to contracts or politics.
At the moment, I just don't have an opinion either way on this book. I've heard good things about this series, so maybe when I actually read the first full storyline, I'll be a bit more clear on whatever's going on.

Written by Steve Orlando

Art by Emanuela Luppachino

Much like the Suicide Squad, the latest relaunch of Supergirl was going to take cues from an outside source, in this case being her hit TV show. Comic wise, I haven't really had much experience with Supergirl aside from her guest appearances in the Superman books and being part of the Justice League United book. But Supergirl was a book I was planning to try out for Rebirth anyway, for the art if anything, even though the artist for this Rebirth one-shot is different. All that said, let's dive in.

Working with the Department of Extra-Normal Operations to regain her powers, Supergirl is in an experimental craft powered with a Phantom Drive to get her close enough to the sun to recharge her Kryptonian cells. After she launches, a side effect from the Phantom Drive results in a Kryptonian, Lar-On, coming out of the Phantom Zone; as it would turn out, he was exposed to red Kryptonite and quarantined in the Phantom Zone by Zor-El, Supergirl's father. Because of this exposure he turns into a large red werewolf like creature. As he can only speak Kryptonian, he can't communicate with the DEO troops he encounters. In space, Supergirl is able to hear the trouble through the comms before they go out as she gets closer to the sun. Thankfully, her powers return and she flies quickly back to Earth, sporting a brand new suit similar to her original costume and much better than her New 52 one, to face Lar-On. Since she can also speak Kryptonian, they're able to communicate. She tells him of Krypton's destruction and he blames Zor-El for him having lost everything, wanting to kill her for revenge. Supergirl is able to talk him down, telling him that she knows how he feels and that his family wouldn't want him to honor them with more death. He's placed in a stasis pod where the DEO will work to cure him of his red Kryptonite sickness. The issue wraps with Kara officially joining with the DEO, being placed with Agents Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers as their foster daughter, and going to high school, not to mention a tease for Cyborg Superman for the upcoming first arc.

As a fan of the TV show, adding some of those elements helps had some familiarity for me, like her foster parents being part of the cast. While they are taking cues from the show, there are some differences. For one, Kara's still a teenager. Then there's the director of the DEO, Cameron Chase, who isn't on the show. From what I can tell, she's filling the role of both J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter) and Alex Danvers, since J'onn's doing his own thing in the comics and having Alex be the director would be weird if her parents work as agents under her. But my main takeaway of how this issue reminds me of the show is how Kara handles Lar-On, as she's able to end the conflict without pummeling him; this is something she's attempted and able to do before.

While the art isn't the same as it will be when the main book starts, it's still good. Nothing that really stands out, but still good.

Overall, I was quite entertained by this issue and look forward to how the first arc goes.

Written by Keith Giffen

Art by Scott Kolins

My first real introduction to Blue Beetle was the "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" animated series, and that goes for both Ted Kord and the current version, Jaime Reyes. Reyes' version reminded me of Spider-Man and Venom, being a teenage bug-based hero and having to work with an alien "partner" bonded to him. I didn't read the first Blue Beetle book when the New 52 began, but through a Linkara retrospective video, I learned that the book suffered from rehashing the origins from the old continuity as well as constant shifts in where the book was going, eventually being cancelled after 16 issues. Ted Kord, who had been killed and remained dead until the end of the pre-Flashpoint continuity, was introduced into the New 52 at the end of the "Forever Evil" event. As far as I can tell, Rebirth is Ted's first appearance since then. Since Ted and Jaime never met before, I thought it was a good idea of putting the two together on a book, giving fans of both characters an outlet.

The issue begins with a splashpage of Blue Beetle battling our villains of the issue, Rack and Ruin, with Ted in the background propelling down from a rope coming out of the Bug, his hightech airship. The thing is though, the story doesn't actually start until the next page. This first page was kind of like a second cover, giving us some info about what the issue entails. From what I remember, the very early Spider-Man comics in the 60's used to do this. It may be because of that that I enjoy that they did it here, giving a bit of an old-school feel, while also (again) reminds me of Spider-Man. Unlike this page though, Ted doesn't actually come to help in the actual story. So it is like a second cover, and one that misleads at that.

The story actually begins with Jaime heading off to school and meeting up with his friends, Paco and Brenda, walking in on a bit of a ridiculous argument. The way it's written though also makes me think this is something Brian Michael Bendis would write in Ultimate Spider-Man (both Peter and Miles eras). It's worth noting that they both know he's Blue Beetle too, which reminds me of another teen hero, Danny Phantom, whose friends Sam and Tucker would help him out. Anyway, Jaime gets a call from Ted who tells him of a hostage situation with the takers calling out Blue Beetle. Jaime has to bail on school, meets Ted on the Bug, and they head to the scene.

The best word to describe Beetle's battle with Rack and Ruin is "awkward". Ted's talking to Jaime through a comm, but it doesn't seem like they have a good flow going yet. Ted isn't quick to give Jaime advice, not to mention it seems that he's having more fun than Jaime is, which leads to a lot of bickering. There's also the fact that the scarab does have a mind of its own and Jaime has to use some his own strength to keep it in check. The two villains get the best of Jaime, so Ted fires a gas bomb in and the two retreat. It's worth noting that the two seem to have been hired to take on Beetle and analyze his skills, also taking note that he has someone helping him.

Afterwards, we get a retread of Jaime and Ted's segment from the main Rebirth one-shot, as well as Dr. Fate appearing to tell Ted that Jaime's scarab is magic instead of alien technology. Time for a history lesson: in the golden age, there was another Blue Beetle who used the scarab, which at the time was believed to be an ancient artifact. Like other characters in the silver age, Blue Beetle got a makeover as a more tech-based hero. When Jaime was introduced, they brought back the scarab and revealed it was alien technology sent to Earth by a conquering race known as the Reach, sending scarabs to bond with a planet's inhabitant to help them in taking over said planet. The scarab that came to Earth though was corrupted, forming a partnership with its host rather than taking it over. I don't know how I feel about this change Dr. Fate is talking about. This appears to be another case of retconning the retcon. It might be too early to judge, but at the moment, it seems unnecessary.

The issue ends with Brenda's aunt Amparo apparently being the one who hired Rack and Ruin, not liking the idea of Beetle having someone helping him. Hmm, a friend of the hero has a villainous relative? There's another Spider-Man similarity!

So overall, I quite enjoyed this issue. I know I kept referencing how much I was reminded of Spider-Man, but not only is Spider-Man my favorite superhero, but he is pretty much the archetype of the teenage superhero, so comparisons aren't hard to make. Ted and Jaime's relationship at this point is interesting. Ted wants their partnership to be like Batman and Robin, but it's hardly that. It's not even like Bruce and Terry in Batman Beyond. This version of Ted is hardly the veteran hero of before, and like I said, he doesn't seem to take it as seriously as Jaime. If anything it'd be like if Dick was monitoring Damian. Or a more apt comparison would be if Peter Parker mentored Miles Morales if he was bonded to the Venom symbiote. All that said though, it does give us something fresh, even if the bickering can be annoying.

Like the other Rebirth books, I was already planning to pick up the first Blue Beetle volume, but after reading this, I may considering continuing reading Blue Beetle even past that.

Written by Ben Percy

Art by Jonboy Meyers

As I've mentioned in past posts, the Teen Titans have had it rough the last few years. Besides the "Go!" cartoon, their New 52 incarnation has not been the best run to say the least. Considering we're on the final Rebirth one-shot, I guess this would be the last instance for me to say that this is yet another mess for the initiative to clean up.

Damian Wayne, the current Robin, had briefly been a part of the Teen Titans before "Flashpoint" but clearly had trouble working with others. But now that the character has had years to grow, surely the time was right to place him on DC's flagship adolescent team. As we'll see in a moment though, he might not have grown too much. The other members announced for this relaunch were Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven (three characters most people will associate with the Titans), as well as the New 52 version of Wally West, now the new Kid Flash (not to be confused with the pre-Flashpoint Wally West/Flash in "Titans"). From some standpoint, this new version of the team could probably be seen as similar to the line-up of the cartoon, though that's something that isn't displayed in this issue, leaving to the core team building for when the proper series begins.

The issue is pretty much showing what our characters have been up to. Beast Boy is renting a house in the Hollywood Hills and throwing a party. Starfire is investigating human trafficking in the Caribbean. Raven is sneaking into an art museum after hours to be by herself. Wally is running across Central City as Kid Flash to blow off some steam. The four are all knocked out in some way and restrained with power inhibitors in a machine that looks like the one from "The Incredibles". As they all awake, they're greeted by Damian, with his pet giant dragon bat Golitah, who says they're probably wondering why he's brought them all together.

So yeah, Damian kidnapping his future teammates isn't really good for a first impression, for both them and new readers. But as someone who's been following Damian since his creation in 2006, this is right up his alley. As much as the character has grown since then, he can still be a little bastard. There was a brief scene in the main Rebirth one-shot with Damian blowing out candles on a birthday cake indicating he's now 13 years old. So now he's officially a teenager, and apparently his first idea is to build his own Teen Titans. Kids these days, right?

Anyway, as I've grown to appreciate the Teen Titans as a whole lately (which can probably be chalked up to nostalgia for the better days), I can say that the characters are written well and accurately. The art is pretty good too. I'd say it's anime inspired, which is a good fit for the Teen Titans for a number of reasons. From what I heard though, the artist left a book shortly after it started, which kind of sucks. I'd say this issue is almost perfect, and while I'd bring up my problems with it, it's honestly just nitpicking and really not worth mentioning.

I'm not sure which will be better between this and the other Titans book, but I think they'll both have their own aspects that make them good.

That's all folks. My Rebirth Review series is done. I hope you've enjoyed my analyses of each one-shot and that they've given you some ideas of which books to pick up for yourself. For the most part, while some books will definitely be better than others, I'd say Rebirth is a promising new era for DC Comics.