With Rebirth now in full swing and so many exciting new titles to try, we can’t blame anyone for needing a reminder of what happened in the last issue. Or maybe you’re looking to add a new book to your list and need to get caught up on earlier chapters? Either way, we’re here to help. Every Tuesday, we’ll be recapping the prior issue of that week’s new Rebirth and Hanna-Barbera comics, as well as sharing our favorite moment. It’s a quick, easy way to ensure you’re up to speed and ready for New Comic Day. We hope you find these recaps helpful, but be aware that they do contain some spoilers!

Batman #3

By Tom King, David Finch, Danny Miki and Jordie Bellaire

Batman digs deeper into the truth of the city’s newest super-powered duo, Gotham and Gotham Girl, to uncover their civilian identities as Hank and Claire Clover. The brother and sister team were inspired by a childhood encounter with Batman to become heroes in their own right, working as volunteers with charity organizations both within the city and abroad. At some point, on a venture out of the country, they contacted their parents to ask for a considerable sum of money, and a month later, returned to the city. Shortly afterward, Gotham and Gotham Girl made their first appearance. Before Bruce can dig any further into the nature and source of Hank and Claire’s metahuman abilities, a suicide bomber, chanting about the Monster Men, attacks the Vincefinkle Bridge. At Batman’s direction, the rookie heroes come to the rescue and save the civilians caught in the fray. The two of them do good work, but there’s no rest for the weary in a city like Gotham. They barely have time to pause before yet another bomb goes off. This one might be a little more than a routine rescue operation, however. When Gotham and Gotham Girl arrive at the scene they come face to face with Professor Hugo Strange, standing beside a surprising alley: Roger Hayden, the Psycho Pirate.

Unforgettable Moment: Fans of Tom King’s OMEGA MEN will be familiar with his use of nine panel grids, and this issue features a particularly masterful one: a deconstructed call back to the original Bruce Wayne origin story, told with a slightly different bent. Hank Clover and his family were very nearly the victims of their own similar tragedy before Batman stepped in. It’s a sequence that is immediately recognizable even with this new spin.

Green Arrow #3

By Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra

Oliver Queen is a dead man. Or, at least, that’s what the world believes. After secretly surviving an attempt on his life, Ollie has been left with no friends, no money and nowhere to turn in his quest to seek out and destroy The Ninth Circle, a mysterious organization that has been working out of Queen Industries right under his nose.  His next step is to infiltrate his own former office building and confront Cyrus Broderick, the company’s CFO turned CEO in Ollie’s absence—something, it turns out that’s easier said than done. Broderick springs a trap on the Emerald Archer, leaving him hotly perused by Shado. Meanwhile John Diggle and Dinah Lance continue their independent investigations of Ollie’s disappearance and the Ninth Circle. It’s Diggle who uncovers the truth: the Ninth Circle a bank, brokering deals and funding crime and violence across the planet from the shadows. Unfortunately, this information may not do anyone any good. Ollie revealing himself to Broderick alerted the Circle that their attempt on his life failed and now each of Ollie’s friends and allies have become a target all over again in their quest to finish what they started.

Unforgettable Moment: Diggle’s informant explains exactly what’s at stake: “The bad guys make trouble, but the really bad guys make trouble possible.” Dinah once called Ollie out for buying his friends, but it turns out he bought his enemies as well.

Justice League #1

By Bryan Hitch, Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea and Tomeu Morey

The planet is in the process of being ravaged by a string of natural disasters. A chain of earthquakes have torn through nearly every country, leaving devastation in their wake and the Justice League with their hands full. And as if massive earthquakes and tidal waves aren’t enough, each member of the League begins to experience the same strange phenomena: the civilians they save, speaking in unison in a voice that is decidedly not their own. Someone or something is exerting control over the people of earth, and whatever it is, it feels as though the League has stolen their abilities from it. It calls itself the Kindred, and one by one as the crowds begin to close in on them, the members of the League find their powers and abilities fading. With their abilities sapped, their forces scattered to the winds and the catastrophes showing no sign of stopping, the League will have to dig their heels in harder than ever against the oncoming storm.

Unforgettable Moment: With Wonder Woman’s 75^th anniversary coming up, it’s all the more appropriate for the first Justice League issue to be book ended by amazing Dinah moments. We start with the Amazonian Princess deep in the fray of a warzone and end with her fearlessly declaring to the Kindred that she and her friends aren’t going to wait for them to make the next move.

Superman #3

By Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Jorge Jimenez and Alejandro Sanchez

Superman, Lois and Jon arrive in the Fortress of Solitude, where they’re confronted by Eradicator. As Superman and Eradicator exchange blows, a piece of the fortress wall collapses. But before it can crush Lois and Jon, Eradicator saves them—causing the fight to end. Jon is placed in Kryptonian machinery that scans his body to shed some light on his inconsistent physiology. But before Jon’s parents have a chance to study the results, Eradicator sets his sights on Jon, revealing his plans to separate the Kryptonian genome from the “impure” human one within his body in an attempt to restore the Kryptonian race. As Eradicator releases an energy blast towards Jon, Krypto jumps in the way and is swallowed up into Eradicators body—leaving just his cape along with one sad and very ticked off Jon.  

Unforgettable Moment: Few things are stronger than the bond between a boy and his dog. This issue shows just that. When Krypto sacrifices himself to save Jon, seeing the pain it leaves… Well, you can’t help but get choked up.

Green Lanterns #3

By Sam Humphries, Tom Derenick, Robson Rocha, Jack Herbert, Neil Edwards, Tom Palmer, Jay Leisten, Keith Champagne and HI-FI

Atrocitus, Bleez and the Red Lanterns have arrived on Earth. As Bleez explores the rage-filled planet, she confronts Simon and Jessica. Making quick work of Jessica, Bleez turns her attention to Simon. Elsewhere, Simon’s sister and brother-in-law stumble upon the mysterious Guardian that we last saw in issue #1. Bleez tries to infect Simon with rage, but he uses his new power, Emerald Sight, and instead removes the rage from her—turning her back to how she was before she became infected. Jessica rejoins the fight, causing Bleez to become infected with rage again, and prompting an argument between Simon and Jessica. Realizing that the bigger picture is destroying the Hell Tower, the two Green Lanterns stop fighting and head in its direction. But just as they get there, Jessica becomes the latest victim to be infected with rage.   

Unforgettable Moment: Seeing Bleez in her normal form, however briefly, gives us hope that there is always a possibility for one to change for the better.  

Aquaman #3

By Dan Abnett, Philippe Briones and Gabe Eltaeb

With the attack on Spindrift Station still fresh in everyone’s minds, tension between humans and Atlanteans is at an all-time high. After a brief discussion and some fighting, Black Jack, the woman who rescued Black Manta, successfully recruits Manta to work for the group called N.E.M.O. and their yet-to-be-seen boss.  Aquaman meets with the President to try and ease tensions, but while at the White House, the Deluge attacks an American ship in the name of Atlantis—convincing the President that Aquaman served as a distraction for the savage assault. Wanting to show the surface world that he had nothing to do with it, Aquaman turns himself over into government custody.  

Unforgettable Moment: Aquaman leaving in cuffs is symbolic of his continuing struggle to prove his (and Atlantis’) good intentions towards Earth’s humans, but it seems like nothing ever goes right.

Nightwing #1

By Tim Seeley, Javier Fernandez and Chris Sotomayor

With the explosive device safely and secretly removed from Damian’s brain, Dick is free to start on his plan to infiltrate and dismantle the Parliament of Owls from the inside. However, despite his success during his assignments, Dick’s moral code and unwillingness to kill has not gone unnoticed. The Parliament’s suspicions about his commitment to their cause are beginning to rise. If he wants to maintain his cover deep within their ranks, he’ll have to perform above and beyond expectations while under the watchful eye of a new partner: an assassin turned Parliament operative named Raptor. Dick may not think he has anything left to learn, after all, he was raised and trained by the very best, but Raptor is here to prove—on no uncertain terms—that everything that Batman taught him was wrong.

Unforgettable Moment: Before leaving the country for his next Parliament of Owls assignment, Dick requests a meeting with Babs—it’s not a date, he assures Damian, except that it’s kind of totally a date. Too bad no one told Babs as much.
 

We'll be back in a week with another set of Reader Recaps. Also, don't miss our weekly new comic book unboxing every Tuesday on Periscope for an exclusive preview of the week's new comics!