Many comic news sites have already covered the recent events that have transpired in the Rebirth Era last week as Superman– Reborn Aftermath wrapped up and the second installment of “The Button” was released in The Flash #21.

In the following post, I try to delve in depth past what is merely on the surface and offer what may be a different view on the events or what was presented.

For my thoughts on the other parts of the following storylines check out this post where I cover the Reborn Aftermath Superman family titles and part 1 of “The Button” from Batman #21

Superman Reborn and The Button (Part 1)

Now that you are all caught up let’s begin:

First up:

Action Comics #978: Superman, Reborn Part 2.

Superman continues to review his history at the Fortress of Solitude looking for the thing that has been bothering him since he was Reborn.

This is Your Life Superman

Superman recounts the first time he saved Lois, ala Christopher Reeves in Superman the Movie after the helicopter she is in crashes. He sees how his arrival affects the public and Lex Luthor once Lois gives him the name Superman.

He pauses his review of his history, saying that this is how he remembers things yet something still seems off.

He then views is experiences at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent and how he hid he alter ego at the expense of Clark Kent.

Next, we get a full-page splash of his villains, some of his Post-Crisis looks, and when he proposes/ reveals his identity to Lois.

Death and Life of Superman

Next Superman lives his first fight with Doomsday that resulted in his death and his marriage to Lois.

He then views the death of Ma and Pa Kent, finding out Lois was pregnant, and the birth of Jonathan. It was during this time that he said that he took a leave of absence from being Superman and the Justice League to protect his family (Lois was doing her exposes of Intergang also at this time under the guise of Author X). Superman continued to work unseen out of the public eye as the family also moved to Hamilton County.

We see his encounter with Ulysses and Mxy and Kelex says that there is no more to review.

Superman Hears a Who…

While reviewing his history he also hears the inaudible sound again that he heard the last issue even though his robot Kelex says nothing can be detected.

Later on, Superman not only hears the voice again but sees a projection of Mr. Oz, who blasts him through the statutes of Ma and Pa Kent, that he just made back in Superman Rebirth.

He recognizes “Mr. Oz,” who told him that he and his family are not what they think they are (The REBIRTH of the DC Universe (Part 5): Chapter 3 – Love ) and that he is dealing with forces beyond him. Superman flies off to warn the others.

Superman Revenge Squad

This is issue continues the subplot of the mysterious figure going around and recruiting Superman’s enemies.

The mysterious person revives Eradicator from the surface of the moon and the Eradicator recognizes the mysterious person. The two join the Blaque and Metallo (who has a new body) and it is revealed who the mysterious person is that is creating this group.

Hank Henshaw, who in the PreNew52 Universe was Cyborg Superman but was saved from the events that transformed him in the NEw52 DCYou by the Pre-Flashpoint Superman.

Quick Thoughts on Action Comics #978

Superman’s origin remains, for the most part up until the time following his death at the hands of Doomsday. It is only when we see the snapshot of events that followed does a new origin begin to take shape. I don’t know that much about Superman’s death but even I noticed that something is missing in the flashback of time following his “death”

Notably missing from the beings who claimed to be Superman is Superboy aka Kon-El aka Conner Kent, the clone that Cadmus made using Superman and Lex’s DNA.

This is probably intentional since Jonathan is now filling this role in the Rebirth era but it would be nice to know that Conner is still around in some way.

The origin of Lois being pregnant and the birth of Jonathan have also been retconned is this issue. No longer was Lois pregnant and give birth during the Convergence Event but it happens in continuity with Batman and Wonder Woman being present at the birth which took place in the Fortress of Solitude, not the Flashpoint Batcave.

There have been events from The New52/ DCYou era that have been included with some slight modifications

Superman wore both the New52 Superman costume and the black one worn by the Pre-Flashpoint Superman just at different times. The New52 Clark Kent went out west to California after his identity was exposed as he was chasing Vandal Savage, Superman says that he and Lois took Sabbaticals from the Planet and moved to California for a brief time Lois wrote books as Author X exposing the government corruption… no mention if InterGang was included like in the Superman Adventures of Lois and Clark DCYou series. Pre-Flashpoint Superman had his Fortress of Solitude in the Himalayan Mountains, this is retconned to him building the second one so the one in the Arctic could be a safe house. Superman remembers facing such threats as Ulysses and Mr. Mxy but there is no mention of him being depowered, having his identity exposed, possessing a Solar Flare power, or a relationship with Wonder Woman. In the panels above, in the upper right-hand corner is The Oracle who first appears in Superman #17 (2011) “Fury at World’s End” and appeared in the pages of the Convergence event with a very Watchmen/Doctor Manhattan-ish line .

When looking back at the different times in his life Superman does recall these events that happened Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths in the Pre-Flashpoint Universe.

Here is where my Superman history is weakest.

Superman from Action Comics Annual #2 (1989): Memories of Krypton’s Past” Superman has to fight various warriors on Mongul’s Warworld, while a cleric who once preached on Krypton mind links with him and teaches him Krypton’s past. Could not find if this was a suit he wore to protect himself from Kryptonite or when he was not able to fly into space -any help? Eradicator influenced Superman following the events of Action Comics Annual #2 Electric (Bugaloo) Superman – Superman had developed energy-based abilities, which eventually forced him to adopt a blue and white containment suit to prevent the energy dispersing and also left him as vulnerable as a normal human, Superman on the far Left- “classic look” unsure of the item he is holding has any significance or story

I am also unsure if the events surrounding the marriage of Clark and Lois have been retconned either or restored to the Pre-Flashpoint status quo

The Superman Revenge Squad

This is not the first Superman Revenge Squad that has formed. It will be interesting to see how they explain Hank Henshaw and if he, in fact, becomes Cyborg Superman and how that will affect the New52/Rebirth version that is Kara’s father.

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FLASH #21 The Button Part 2

The mystery of The Button and death of Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash continues.

The second part of The Button opens with Johnny Thunder, who was last seen in the DCU Rebirth Special – Chapter 2 – Legacy. Johnny is still looking and trying to summon Thunderbolt and telling the nursing home staff that the lightning told him to find the Justice Society. One can probably assume that it is Jay Garrick that is communicating with him.

I also find it interesting in the dichotomy between these subplots in Batman and The Flash.

In Batman, there is Saturn Girl who is from the Legion of Superheroes from the future and The Flash with Johnny Thunder, who is looking for the Justice Society from the past. Both teams seem to be separate fractures on either side of the New52/Rebirth Universe.

BARRY ALLEN – CSI

When we first see Barry he is in the Batcave and trying to piece together Reverse-Flash’s attack on Batman.

This is Barry doing what he does best. He is able to tell that Thawne’s attack was to torture Batman, not kill him. Barry is also conflicted because his mother’s killer is dead but it was not justice. Barry also discovers that his Speed Force residue is on Thawne’s corpse…leaving him to wonder if he was the one who killed Thawne sometime in the future.

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After doing what he can in the Cave, Barry goes up and checks on Bruce and to talk about the attack. Bruce tells Barry about how the Button reacted with the Medusa Mask and that he saw his father, the Flashpoint Batman. Before Flash leaves to chase down some other leads in the case, he tells Bruce about the vision of Jay’s helmet (even though he didn’t know the significance) and that the Button, itself is missing, most likely it did not return with Thawne.

Justice League (of Hoarders)

Barry travels to the Justice League Watchtower in search of the one thing that will hopefully give him some answers: The Cosmic Treadmill.

Apparently, the Justice League are all a bunch of hoarders as they have a room where they store the stray artifacts from their adventures or as Barry recalls Hal referring it to the Justice League Lost and Found (full of Easter Eggs see below):

Visions

As Flash is getting ready to use the treadmill, Batman shows up and the two enter the timestream looking for answers and encounter turbulence caused by a time storm… they also see visions from the Pre-Crisis timeline:

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Welcome to the Flashpoint Universe

After they see these visions the time storm engulfs them and the Cosmic Treadmill explodes and Batman and Flash find themselves in the Batcave of Thomas Wayne the Flashpoint Batman.

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Quick thoughts on The Flash #21:

Barry does have a “Flash Forward” in the Flash Rebirth issue which seems to insinuate he kills Thawne.

Barry killing Thawne is similar to the Pre-Crisis events that transpired between the two speedsters.

After Thawne (apparently) kills Iris, who was Barry’s wife at a party, vibrating his hand into her head. It took Barry awhile to get his life back together after her death but he did find love again with Fiona Webb. Zoom reappears, threatening to kill new fiancee Fiona Webb on the wedding day. Terrified that history would repeat itself, Allen instinctively and inadvertently kills his enemy, breaking Thawne’s neck in a final struggle. He would later be charged with murder though found not guilty of murder in the subsequent trial. After the trial Barry would retire to the 30th century and live with the resurrected Iris, only to later die during the Crisis on Infinite Earths,

Easter Eggs:

This issue had a lot of Easter Eggs scattered throughout. He is my attempt to identify them:

Lobo’s Chain, possibly New52 Lobo’s … as he is currently in Larfleeze’s collection (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #13) PreCrisis Key’s Keyblaster Rover. Nightmaster Sword and Cloak (wrongly identified as Azrael’s Sword of Sin and the Cloak of Sorrows) Sargon the Sorcerer Costume. Sargon was an original JLA honorary member and All-Star Squadron member New God’s/Apokolips armor – Found a similar looking suit in New Gods v.4 #15 (1997); art by John Byrne and Bob Wiacek, that is part of The Source Wall Dial H for Hero Dial – Dial is mysterious in the sense that in spite of having been confirmed as been seen as far as 20,000 BC, it contains Interlac scripture, not invented until the time of the Legion of Super-heroes in the 30th century. This is due to time-traveling, but the origin of the Dial is still unresolved. Phantom Zone Projector which can transport someone to the Phantom Zone, a dreaded dimension filled with vast space, where time is frozen yet the inhabitants are not. Kryptonian sun stones … Base of Phantom Zone projector Eternity Book – A book written by Merlin that contains the known history of the universe. Resting on it is a wand of some sorts, possible Matter Master’s wand. Hourman’s Worlogog – New God’s time-spanning engine that could be used to bend time and space. It is an exact working model of the entire space-time continuum in miniature and maps everything from the Big Bang to the Omega Point. Tangent Universe Green Lantern lantern: a lantern that can resurrect someone until they finish their unfinished business if placed on their grave. Lucifer’s Trident a magical item that sends forth blasts of Hellfire, which have the power to send demons back to Hell. Leaning on the Trident is what looks to be post-Crisis Wonder Woman’s shield Green Bell of Uthool, the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath and the Red Jar of Calythos containing the demons Abnegazar, Ghast, and Rath The Universe Orb containing the history of the multiverses . Its contents were gathered by Harbinger and later used by Donna Troy Cosmic Egg from JLA/Avengers crossover, Came into being after the JLA and the Avengers defeated Krona –speculated to give birth to another universe. Martian Manhunter Costume Scepter of State, a Martian artifact designating the leader of the Green Martian community, controlled by opposing factions during the Martian civil war on Mars Kryptonian rocket (possible Supergirl’s?) also similar to the rocket found in DC Comics Presents #97 “Phantom Zone which is an untold Pre-Crisis story. Religious vestments of unknown A satellite of some sorts Blue Beetle ship possibly from Ted Kord’s early adventures Statues of some sort Hourman’s Time Boat capable of moving through both time and space (most time travel vessels can only move through time). It was constructed in the 853rd Century and is composed completely of tachyon particles. Doctor Fate helm from New52 Earth-2 New God Big Barda’s Omega Rod Doctor Destiny’s Materioptikon/Dreamstone: able to create false illusions or realities Starman (Ted Knight) Gravity Rod Skeets – Booster Golds companion.

I tried my best to figure out what all the objects/costumes were, it also gave me an opportunity to reread the original Who’s Who in the DC Universe (1985- 1986). Some of the objects of to the side are not very specific items that can be pinpointed to a specific DCU event or character.

There is a common theme running between most of the items, as they are either devices that are Time travel/multiverse items, magical items, New God tech, or personal effects. I think it should also be noted that the Justice League has a very lax policy when it comes to storing these items.

One really shouldn’t leave these items just sitting out.

A Kirby Dot /Kirby Krackle Purple healing Ray: A healing device created by Baroness Paula von Gunther and used by the Amazons. There is also has a “Purple Death Ray” version. Hourman (Rex Tyler) cowl Star Spangled Kid cowl Mister Terrific (Terry Sloan) cowl??

Hyperclan, a White Martian vanguard for an all-out takeover of Earth who masqueraded as alien superheroes with the intent of displacing the JLA in the affections of the people of Earth. Costumes (right to left): ZüM a super-speedster, Protex the leader of the Hyperclan, Primaid. Armek’s helmet is sitting on top of the canister holding the Green Lantern Ring Prometheus costume’ Unidentifiable costume Green Lantern ring / Power Ring (Earth-3)? Starro the Conqueror Spores (perhaps from the Justice Leagues first PreCrisis adventure).

Visions

The first vision the two see is the Pre-Crisis forming of the Justice League, Flash notes that this is not the way it happened in the current universe

The second one was the dark past that was revealed during Identity Crisis that not only did the members of the League vote to mind wipe the villains but also Batman

What is odd and probably done for art reasons is that Black Canary is missing from the vision that Batman and Flash are having

The third vision is of Barry trying to warn Batman of the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths

It makes sense that the glimpses of the old universe the two see are of their selfs before the timeline was altered. Speaking of which it is this vision that they don’t see anymore and are thrown into the Flashpoint Universe. All these visions are Pre-Crisis events which reinforce my theory that time was altered sometime around the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, so as to avoid /negate the events where the heroes became dark and gritty. One would think that they would also see Post-Crisis events also but instead are hurled in the Flashpoint Universe.

This would also suggest that the changes could have been done after the conclusion of the original Watchmen story if it were Doctor Manhattan’s attempt to prevent the outcome that befell the Watchmen Universe in another Universe, given his new interest in humanity( Rebirth of the DCU Part 6 – Who Watches the Watchmen ).

Flash and Batman are hurled to the Flashpoint Universe where they end up meeting Thomas Wayne aka Batman in his Batcave

Which is where Batman #22 picks up this week.

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Overall, these were both great issues that seem to be building towards somewhat of a reveal at the end leading into the larger Summer Rebirth/Watchmen event.