Rebirth Review Month Week Three: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, The Hellblazer, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Suicide Squad

We're half-way through Rebirth Review Month, so let's not waste time with another long introduction (besides this one).

Written by Julie and Shawna Benson

Art by Claire Roe

Since being paralyzed by the Joker, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon had spent the remainder of the pre-Flashpoint timeline confined to a wheelchair, but still operated as Oracle, a tech genius who could relay intel to Batman or any other hero who needed her help. But when the New 52 began, it was decided for Barbara to get back on her feet and become Batgirl again. Oh, but she was still crippled and operated as Oracle for a time...she just got better. If this was in the Marvel universe, I'd say it was probably a trip to Europe. That usually works for the Osborns. Anyway, I always felt making Barbara Batgirl again was a step backwards for her character. It takes away a physically disabled character that could be looked up to, as well as the previous Batgirl, Stephanie Brown. Steph wouldn't make her debut in the New 52 until 2014, where she once again became Spoiler. Storywise, I've heard her solo book had its ups and downs due to editorial interventions. As for the Birds of Prey, it's a book that just didn't pique my interest because of how different it was from the previous continuity, not to mention it got really bad leading up to its cancellation.

Once again, time for Rebirth to clean things up. It was decided to put back together the trio of Barbara Gordon (now as Batgirl instead of Oracle), Dinah Lance/Black Canary, and Helena Bertinelli/Huntress; the original Birds of Prey.

The issue begins with Batgirl busting up a robbery, and when she looks at one of their phones, she discovers they were sent intel by someone named Oracle. We then get a recap of Barbara's history in the New 52, from being Batgirl to Oracle and Batgirl again. She also mentions that as Oracle, apparently she only worked with Black Canary, giving her intel to bust crimes (I guess they're just ignoring the old team, but I can't blame them for that). Barbara goes to Dinah to get her help on the situation, taking her to her new headquarters inside an old clocktower (a nod to her old HQ as Oracle back in the old continuity) and they find the lead. Elsewhere, Helena is in a church confessional and recaps her New 52 backstory before she kills the father because of his links to the Gotham mafias, who she plans to take out one person at a time. And because we need to get these these three together, by sheer coincidence, Helena's next target just happens to be the guy Babs and Dinah want information from. They end up fighting and the guy gets away, and it turns out they're being watched by this bad Oracle.

This issue is pretty bad. Honestly, what kills this for me is the art, once again, focusing on the faces. I don't know what was going in the process or who thought this was good, but throughout this issue, we have for the most part Barbara, making faces that are just not humanly possible. Either she's showing too much gum (sometimes it looks like she's biting her lip during a weird smile), her tongue's sticking out, or there's a gap between her two front teeth. Besides that, there are times where Barbara and Dinah have really pointy noses. Honestly, the one part of this story that actually looked good was Helena's confessional. But the worst art example of this book was during the flashback to "The Killing Joke" when Barbara opens the door to find Joker about to shoot her. If you remember that scene, Joker has a big smile showing his teeth. Here, his mouth his closed with a smile that looks half-hearted, like he's thinking "Yeah, I'm here. Gonna shoot you now, I guess".

Story wise, I guess it's okay and introduces an interesting idea, but I just can't get past the art. However, this is another issue that ends on a cliffhanger instead of being self-contained. Although had it ended at Helena's scene at the church, that would have been better, because it would have introduced our main characters and the threat before getting to the meat of the story when they all meet. Otherwise, this would have been better as an #1.
One thing I don't get though is why they named it "Batgirl and the Birds of Prey" instead of just "Birds of Prey." The only reason I can think of is from a marketing standpoint.

When I get the first book of this series, maybe the art will grow on me, but at this point, I'm not too invested.

Written by Simon Oliver

Art by Moritat

If you're a fan of Supernatural, you can owe its existence to John Constantine (seriously, they even based Castiel's appearance on him). Debuting in the late 80's and making some appearance across the DCU, Constantine would eventually be relegated to his own title outside the universe, "Hellblazer", which lasted for 300 issues. Shortly before the New 52 began, Constantine had been reintroduced in the proper DCU. He would be part of the Justice League Dark and eventually get his own series.

Outside of his appearances in other books, it wasn't until his short lived TV series that I really started to appreciate and understand the character. I never read his past series, but as I've been trying out new things through Rebirth, why not now?

The issue begins with Constantine about to be sent to Hell by a demon, until John points out how many souls would be waiting for him down there, which would lead to complete chaos (it does make sense for Hell to have some kind of order). The demon lets Constantine live but places a curse on him to force him to leave London, or his body would be eaten up from the inside. After years of planning, Constantine returns to London and is able to remove the curse from himself. The demon reappears and lets John know he's only spread it out to everybody in London, essentially creating a supernatural contagion. Because an influx of souls into Hell would be troublesome, the demon tries to bargain with Constantine, even offering to bring back Astrid, a young girl John condemned to Hell in his early years. It turns out John was biding time though for his psychic friend Mercury to show up and help. She reveals the demon's name, Nybbas, which removes all his power, including removing the curse and saving all of London, and sending him back to Hell. John then ends the issue talking to the reader: "If Mercury hadn't shown up...would I really have stood by while eight million souls were condemned to Hell? Well, that's something you're gonna stick around and find out for yourselves. Or not. Because, quite frankly, at the end of the day--do I strike you as the kind of guy who gives a ****?" I just love that part. It perfectly captures Constantine's contradictory nature as a guy who would stop demons from causing trouble while acting like a selfish bastard the whole time.

As my first ever issue of Constantine, it was pretty good. It helps that it includes elements shown in the TV show, with an appearance by Chas and a reference to Astrid. Before she arrived to help John, I thought Mercury was going to be Zed. In fact, why wasn't it Zed? For fans introduced to Constantine through the show, including Zed would have been a nice touch.
There's also a cameo scene featuring Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Swamp Thing. Shazam and Wonder Woman sense the magical danger and want to intervene, but Swamp Thing stops them, hoping that Constantine will sort this out. It's a scene that doesn't add anything to the plot, but more about making it clear that this title does take place in the DC universe. Besides that, Shazam kind of sounds off for a 15 year old (at least I still think Billy's 15).

Art wise, it's pretty unique compared to the other Rebirth issues so far. I'd like to think that they want to give this book its own style, much like how his own series was kept separate from the rest of the DC line for so long, not to mention this is the only supernatural/horror based book DC has at the moment.

Overall, this was another enjoyable read that has me more interested in picking up the first volume when it comes out.

Written by Scott Lobdell

Art by Dexter Soy

Of all the Rebirth books, this is the one I was most worried about. Aside from a brief interlude, Scott Lobdell has been writing a Red Hood book (both "Red Hood and the Outlaws" and "Red Hood/Arsenal") for most of the New 52, and let's just say there hasn't been much praise. With that in mind, you would think they would get someone new to shake things up with Rebirth. For whatever reason though, Lobdell remained on the character. That said, I went in with low expectation but came out pleasantly surprised.

After a flashback to Jason Todd's first meeting with Batman and induction as Robin, we cut to the present where the Red Hood is attacking the mayor. Batman intervenes, but Jason fights him off long enough to shoot the mayor point blank. At an apparent villain bar, the news is reporting the incident but with no confirmation on the mayor's condition. Nonetheless, Red Hood earns praise from everyone there. He is then approached by one of Black Mask's False Facers, offering Jason a position as the Mask's operation is expanding. Jason then heads back to his own headquarters, where Batman is already there waiting. It turns out Jason had shot an antidote into the mayor, eliminating a technovirus he had been implanted with. Bruce asks why Jason didn't tell him about his plan, but Jason reveals he wanted to use this as a chance to infiltrate Gotham's underground. While Batman doesn't fully support Jason's plan given his history, he decides to give Jason a chance, but warns him he only gets "one strike" and he'll come for him.

Obviously, this issue only focuses on Jason, and the upcoming Outlaws, Artemis (the amazon, not the archer from Young Justice) and Bizarro, will be joining in the first arc. If it wasn't for that, you'd think this would be set-up for a Red Hood solo book, which has never happened. My question is, why not? Does DC not have enough faith in a title with the Red Hood without any other characters? Do they worry about Red Hood being compared to the Punisher? Well, first off, it's not like DC has any gun-toting anti-hero vigilantes with their own book at the moment. Then again, this issue makes it clear that Jason wants to avoid going too far. In any case, DC should consider a Red Hood solo book, like trying it out as a miniseries before giving it an ongoing.

I do have to nitpick though that this issue shows Jason's previous origin in meeting Batman, where he was stealing a wheel off the Batmobile. When Jason's origin was first told in the New 52, he had been receiving medical care from Leslie Thompkins, and when he tried to run off and steal medicine in the process, that's when he met Batman. While Rebirth is all about reintegrating elements of the pre-Flashpoint continuity in the New 52, this is for all intents and purposes, the New 52 continuity. And though I wasn't a fan of how the New 52 changed some things for the sake of changing, Jason's first meeting Batman for example, I feel they really should have stuck to their guns and keep things the way they were. However, if it wasn't for this change, we wouldn't have Jason actually having the Batmobile wheel on display at his headquarters, and I found that to be a really nice touch.

This issue is pretty much a fresh start, introducing the basics of Jason Todd's character and history, while making no reference to his other series (which is another case of being a good thing). What really makes this issue though is the relationship between Bruce and Jason. Despite their differences, there's still a bond between them. Jason still has respect for Bruce and wants to earn his trust, while Bruce still cares for Jason but worries for his soul. If there's one thing I'm not sure about, it's that we have another former Robin acting as a double agent (Jason even makes note that Dick's done the same). I guess it's all about how its done, and it could be different since Jason seems more comfortable playing on the bad side than Dick is.

While this is a promising start, I have to wonder with Lobdell involved how long until the shoe drops, as well as how this book will go when Artemis and Bizarro show up. Seriously DC, consider giving Jason a solo.

Written by Rob Williams

Art by Philip Tan

Things lined up perfectly for the Suicide Squad, as the movie was coming out and Rebirth was in full swing. Which of course meant one thing: make the team in the comics match up with the movie. Suicide Squad was another thing in DC I never really had much interest in, but again, Rebirth would be a good test run, and I am curious as to how they make the book similar to the movie. Whether it means a good story or not is another thing.

The issue opens with Amanda Waller being chewed out by President Obama (DC seems to prefer to show the current President instead of placing them in shadows like Marvel does), telling her that the Suicide Squad is over and that the implications of their actions and potential discovery of them being sanctioned by the United States could be dire. In true Waller fashion, she's able to convince him to keep it going, both by saying bad things have to be done to ensure America's security and that she'll be placing someone with morals to lead the bad guys. Enter Colonel Rick Flag, making his first appearance in the new continuity as far as I know. Apparently, Flag has been secretly place in Guantanamo Bay after refusing to follow an order that got his fellow soldiers killed, so his superior had Flag locked up to keep him quiet, and not even the President or Pentagon know he's there. She makes her pitch, but Flag doesn't want to be part of it at first. Waller says he's damned either way, so why not do some good in the process?

Flag then joins Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang (holdovers from the previous series), on a mission to retrieve a kidnapped metagene researcher in China, who has been forced to make a metabomb giving a couple hundred war criminals super powers. They try to retrieve both the researcher and the bomb, but as he's being dragged away, Boomerang cuts off his hands, which was holding the bomb, and Deadshot shoots him in the head, making sure no one can use him again. But thankfully, the metabomb can also work in reverse. Harley presses the button and removes the powers of everyone there, with the issue ending with the Squad cutting everyone down.

If there's one thing I really liked about this issue, it's that it shows that the actual bad guys in the Squad are bad people, best shown by Boomerang and Deadshot's actions toward the researcher. Honestly, this does a better job at portraying the characters than the movie did. In the movie, they were bad guys somewhat looking for redemption fighting an army of innocent people turned into monsters. Here, they're still bad guys fighting actual other bad guys in control of their own actions. Now that I think about it, criminals wanting to get their own superpowers would have been a better plot for the movie than whatever Enchantress' plan was.

The art in this issue is okay, but it seems a bit rushed, almost like a poor man's Jim Lee (who does actually work on the main book after this issue).

It's not a bad introduction to the Squad, even though we don't have the full team yet, thought I'm not exactly impressed either. It might be because that I don't really read books starring villains, but maybe this book's first volume will make me think differently.

As we wrap up Rebirth Review Month next week, we take a look at a master assassin, the girl of steel, a boy and his scarab, and some super adolescents.