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 issues of that week’s new Rebirth and Hanna-Barbera comics, as well as sharing our favorite moments. 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!
Suicide Squad #3
By Rob Williams, Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
As General Zod attacks the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller observes from Belle Reve Penitentiary—demanding a status report from the chaotic scene. Zod’s power is evident as he fights off the group single-handedly. Flag, Deadshot and Harley distract Zod—allowing Hack to access the lab’s computer system. Flag calls for Enchantress to use her magic to take down Zod, but Zod is one step ahead and throws Killer Croc into her before charging Hack. Just before he can land a haymaker on her, Katana intervenes by blocking his punch with her Soultaker sword. Her life saved, Hack is able to unlock a hidden munitions cabinet—to Harley and Deadshot’s delight. The two grab machine guns and mow down the soldiers who have joined the skirmish. As Flag, Enchantress, Katana and Hack continue to battle Zod, Harley and Deadshot come face to with four menacing figures calling themselves the Annihilation Brigade.
Unforgettable Moment: That Enchantress dialogue before she attacks Zod is too good!
All Star Batman #2
By Scott Snyder, John Romita Jr, Dann Miki, and Dean White
The gauntlet run between Gotham City and Harvey’s mysterious cure keeps getting more and more deadly. Each mile Bruce gains is challenged by some of the most vicious individuals on the planet, motivated by Two-Face’s promise of a reward and by the looming threat of their own skeletons being dragged from their closets. Still, no matter what—or whom—is thrown at him, from Killer Croc to Cheshire, Batman never seems to lose sight of his goal. This, of course, represents a problem for some of the more organized elements of crime in Gotham, people like Penguin, Black Mask and Great White Shark who have more to lose their just their dignity should their secrets all be made public. They form an alliance and hire in a trump card: the formerly retired Russian killing machine Anatoli Knyazev, aka the KGBeast. He’s ready to take on the Bat, but only if he’s allowed to do it his way—and his way is...messy.
Unforgettable Moment: While doing his best to support Bruce remotely from the Batcave, Duke had a startling epiphany about the reality of Harvey’s plan and supposed “cure.” He recognizes the chemical compound Harvey seems to be claiming will cure him. And what ever it is…it’s not good, and it’s certainly not a cure.
The Flash #7
By Josh Williamson, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Ivan Plascencia
The revelation that August is Godspeed has left Barry reeling in more ways than one. After narrowly escaping a fight with his former friend, Barry is left to confront the reality of the situation, namely, that August has completely lost his mind. According to him, killing the speedsters—including Meena—had been an accident, but one he’s not all that broken up about. He “simply” wants to bring the criminals of Central City—or, more specifically, the criminals involved in his brother’s murder—to justice in a way that the Flash refuses to do. He wants them gone. Permanently. And nothing will stop him from personally carrying out this mission. Then, to make things even more complicated for the Fastest Man Alive, Wally, who blames the Flash for not saving Meena’s life, reveals his own Speed Force connection to Barry in a fit of rage. It’s not ideal, but Wally’s confession and accusation helps push Barry to a revelation of his own—if the Central City speedsters can willingly give up their speed and funnel it into Barry and Wally, the two of them just might have a chance to go toe-to-toe with Godspeed and survive. The only problem is Godspeed might not be interested in fighting the Flash any more. Instead, he’s got his sights set on Iron Heights and some very specific, murderous revenge he plans on making in Barry’s name, whether Barry wants him to or not.
Unforgettable Moment: While Barry retreats to plan, Godspeed continues his horrifying crusade to right every wrong in Central City as horrifyingly as possible. This time around, that means breaking up a Black Hole hostage situation by literally fusing two of the terrorists into the walls of the building. Even scarier still, August genuinely does seem to believe that he’s helping.
Detective Comics #941
By Steve Orlando, James Tynion IV, Andy MacDonald and John Rauch
The Night of the Monster Men rages on with the Bat-family fighting for the safety of Gotham on multiple fronts. Bruce and Kate wage war on the streets, struggling to gain any ground against the constantly mutating monstrosities. Cass and Steph handle evacuations from the approaching hurricane in the caves just outside the city, a difficult task made harder by the escalating tempers of the scared civilians—tempers that flare even further when a fungal infection awakens deep within the cave causing the evacuees to be blinded by rage. Finally, Dick and Gotham Girl—acting against direct orders—do their best to handle the monster outbreak at Blackgate Prison. Gotham Girl’s compromised psyche (thanks to her recent encounter with the Psycho-Pirate) has left her volatile and rash, which is bad news for any monsters she faces, but maybe worse news for both her and Dick. When a monster she tears apart sprays viscera all over Gotham Girl and Nightwing, they find themselves dealing with an unexpected, horrifying side effect of Strange’s monster creations: whatever mutated the corpses is apparently very, very contagious.
Unforgettable Moment: When we say “contagious,” we’re not kidding. Within seconds of coming into contact with the monster’s guts, both Dick and Claire are horrifically transformed into mutated, monsterous versions of themselves. Here’s hoping that Duke and Alfred are closer to finding the source of the infection and a cure than they believe themselves to be or the Bat-family is about to lose even more members.
Action Comics #964
By Dan Jurgens, Patch Zircher and Ulises Arreola
Superman takes Clark to the Fortress of Solitude to try and figure out who he really is. There, he uses the Globe of Revelation—a tool given to Superman by a telepath he rescued years ago. When touched, the globe reveals the persons past, as well as their deepest memories and feelings. Elsewhere, the mysterious bearded man (from the last issue at the press conference) is seen placing a strange object on the Geneticron building. Back in the Fortress, Clark touches the globe and his past is revealed. It’s eerily similar to that of Superman’s—the only major difference is that Clark was visited and placed in hiding for protection by the previous Superman when the story he was working on about Geneticron put his life in danger. The current Superman asks this non-powered Clark Kent to get the word out that the Man of Steel is back and here to help everyone. He gives Clark a watch to signal Superman if he’s ever in trouble. Superman’s robot assistant Kelex is able to gain access to Genticron’s system and reveals that they were originally holding Doomsday and at least one other being, until the men broke in and took Doomsday. Superman and Clark race back to the Genticron building, only to discover that it literally vanished earlier that morning in a flash of light. Meanwhile, as the bearded man enters his apartment, a huge fiery orb floats with the Superman “S” on it.
Unforgettable Moment: This one goes to the bearded man and his apartment. Who is this guy and what is that thing he’s hiding!?!
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #5
By Robert Venditti, Ethan Van Sciver and Jason Wright
Guy Gardner is tortured by Administer Lash of the Sacrament, who wants Guy to give up the location of the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro reveals to Lyssa that he struggles with the fact that he is in the position of power he’s always envisioned, but one major piece is missing: a broken, defeated Hal Jordan at his feet. Hal comes to from the surgery performed on him by Soranik. He’s disgusted she’s now a Yellow Lantern. She tells Hal that she wanted to make the Sinestro Corps a force of positivity and explains that there are good Yellow Lanterns who want out. Hal reveals that he created his ring himself from his own will—explaining that he’s changing and that he’s either becoming pure will or is somehow connected to it in new way. He doesn’t fully understand or know how to control it, but his power was responsible for super-charging the Yellow Lanterns rings during their prior fight. He then suits up and heads towards Warworld to destroy it. Elsewhere, the Green Lantern Corps search for Guy and come across a massive Starfleet. John Stewart meets with a member of the fleet who explains to him that they’re headed to Warworld to get back their people who were taken during the Yellow Lantern raids. John agrees to provide the muscle in exchange for the all the intel the group has on Warworld.
Unforgettable Moment: Is there anything cooler than a fully-charged Hal vowing to destroy Warworld? Nope!
Wonder Woman #6
By Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo
Wonder Woman and Steve return to the world of man, where they’re quickly split up and taken in for questioning by military officials, including Etta Candy. Medical examiners are astonished at how Steve’s body has recovered since his time in Themyscira. Unfortunately, a complex language barrier prevents Wonder Woman from being able to successfully communicate with the military personnel, so the army calls in Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva. Meanwhile, Steve visits Nick’s wife and the baby his best friend never got to see. Back in her holding cell, Wonder Woman is alone and scared. As she starts doubting her decision to leave home, she’s visited by the Gods—who come to her in animal form. The next day, Steve, Etta and Barbara visit Wonder Woman, where Barbara is able to communicate with her. Wonder Woman explains that she was visited the night before by the Gods, who gave her “gifts.” Barbara and Etta debate the likelihood of Wonder Woman’s story—a discussion that quickly becomes moot when Diana rips her cell bars clean out of the ground.
Unforgettable Moment: It was a relief to see Diana visited by the Gods in her cell!
Supergirl #1
By Steve Orlando, Brian Ching and Micahel Atiyeh
Supergirl struggles on our world—she’s so used to hyper-advanced Kryptonian technology that she fumbles with our “primitive” technology. This causes roadblocks in her daily life, which result in her struggling to fit in—ensuring that if nothing else, she can at least relate to most teens. When her super-hearing picks up the sounds of an armed robbery in progress on a city passenger train, she makes quick work of the thugs. This leads to a verbal altercation with Daily Planet icon, Cat Grant, who tells Supergirl that now the criminals are too beat up to be questioned properly by authorities. Supergirl gets into more hot water when Cameron Chase, the D.E.O.’s leader, calls her back to headquarters and scolds her for leaving to join a fight without being authorized by the D.E.O. In an emotional rage, Supergirl flies off to the Fortress of Solitude, which is now hers after the death of her cousin. While there, she hears the voice of her father telling her that her that her home, Argo City, lives. When she turns, she sees him standing in the Fortress as Cyborg Superman.
Unforgettable Moment: That splash page with Cyborg Superman is too cool!
Deathstroke #3
By Paul Priest, Joe Bennett, Belardino Barbo, Mark Morales and Jeromy Cox
It’s time for a Wilson family reunion, and it involves just as much attempted murder as you might expect. After Slade is tipped off about a bounty that’s been put on his daughter Rose’s head, he has no real choice but to intervene, even if that means dragging some skeletons out of some closets he’d rather leave buried. Rose, who’s been working under the codename Ravager as a “counter hitman”—someone who keeps marked targets alive by killing the hitmen sent to assassinate them—has made her fair share of enemies, but both she and Slade are unsure who might have put the price on her head. And after the very recent debacle with rescuing Slade’s kidnapped former associate, Billy Wintergreen, it’s looking more and more like these attacks on Slade’s family and allies are less random grudges and more coordinated assault. Whoever is behind it all, from Wintergreen’s kidnapping, to Slade’s son’s abduction, to the bounty on Rose’s head, is smart, calculating, and above all, exorbitantly wealthy. Slade suspects the work of a Bat. Looks like its Gotham City or bust for him and Rose.
Unforgettable Moment: In an argument with Slade, Rose reminds her father that she knows what she’s doing—Nightwing trained her, after all. And he did! Long time Ravager fans might remember her guest appearance in NIGHTWING back in 2005, across issues #112-116 where Dick Grayson did indeed train her.
Red Hood and the Outlaws #2
By Scott Lobdell, Dexter Soy and Veronica Gandini
Jason’s efforts to secure his undercover identity as one of the Black Mask’s cronies have landed him face to face with one very angry, very unusual Amazon warrior. Her name is Artemis and she’s looking to rob the same train that Black Mask assigned Jason, which poses a pretty obvious problem for both of them. Jason agreed to play by Batman’s rules for this operation, which means no killing—not that he could have killed an Amazon even if he wanted to. Artemis doesn’t seem to have any such qualms, but sees through Jason’s “villain henchmen” routine almost immediately. They fight, but use their time dodging blows and the occasional machine gun fire from Black Mask’s men to try and come to some sort of understanding that could be beneficial (and survivable) to both of them. But things get even more chaotic when the two of them end up in close quarters with the actual target of Black Mask’s heist: not the Amazonian weapon Artemis was after, but what looks like a perfectly formed clone of Superman. It looks like Jason might be in even further over his head than he realized.
Unforgettable Moment: Jason may be working hard to move back into Batman’s good graces, but that doesn’t make him any less bitter about what he considers his former mentor’s failings. As Black Mask praises his resourcefulness under pressure, Jason recalls Bruce telling him something very, very similar back when he was Robin. And look where that resourcefulness got him.
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #2
By Julie Benson, Shawna Benson, Claire Roe, Roge Antonio, Allen Passalaqua and Hi-Fi
After interrogating Santo for his connections to the imposter Oracle, the Birds are left with at least one good lead to follow up: an account number they can use to trace the location of Oracle’s servers. It’s not an easy process, but eventually Babs’ technical wizardry nets them an address and it’s just a hop, skip and jump outside of the city. The team heads to the server farm, only to realize they’ve been lured into a trap and the building is rigged to blow. Babs manages to extract the information she needs and get the team out just moments before the bombs go off. The ladies are one step closer to tracking down their imposter, but it looks like Oracle might be one step closer to making his or her next move as well. While the Birds were off gathering intel, Oracle was moving a team of snake-themed assassins to converge on the safe house where the team has been hiding Santo, and they don’t plan on taking anyone inside alive.
Unforgettable Moment: While working on the IP trace back in the Clock Tower, the Birds are graced with a tall, dark and batty visitor. He’s concerned that this case might be too personal to Babs; that it might be clouding her judgment. But Babs is quick to remind him that every time she puts on the mask, it’s personal. That is nothing new to her.
New Super-Man #3
By Gene Luen Yang, Viktor Bogdanovic, Richard Fried and Hi-Fi
People across the world take notice of Kong broadcasting his identity on live TV—most notably Lex Luthor, the Justice League and Kong’s father and his strange associates. Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman shut him up before he can blow their secret identities too. The group then takes Sunbeam to the Crab Shell—a secret underwater prison that holds metahumans. While there, one of the prisoners recognizes Kong as Zhongdan’s son. Back at the Oriental Pearl Tower, Dr. Omen blasts Kong for his insubordination—both verbally and with a power-draining gun. Licking his wounds, Kong shares a heart-to-heart with Wonder-Woman on the roof of the tower. Bat-Man interrupts them with news that he’s discovered the two people recently targeted were a part of an ultra-private investment group. The group has a third member who will likely be targeted next—Ocean University Professor Zheng Shiqiang. The three go to investigate without telling Dr. Omen, but Zheng mistakes them for attackers and unleashes a multi-headed sea creature on them. Just as they take out the monster, the evil Freedom Fighters of China attack—leaving Kong on death’s door and the professor in their grasp.
Unforgettable Moment: Seeing the three members of the Justice League of China team up and work together for the first time was definitely an uplifting moment!
Gotham Academy: Second Semester #1
By Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, Msassyk and Serge Lapointe
It’s been a long, kinda lonely winter break for Olive Silverlock who, unfortunately, was the only member of the Pizza Club to be stuck in the dorms over vacation. Luckily, the break is drawing to a close and students are already starting to arrive back on campus. Unluckily, one of those students is new and seems to have appointed herself as Olive’s new roommate. To say Amy is strong-willed is putting it lightly. She pressures Olive into using their last night on an empty campus to explore the Academy’s more eccentric buildings, and casually vandalize in the process. Their late night snooping even brings them across a handful of secret passages and another student—Eric Jorgensen, who has been using his winter vacation to delve into some of the more occult mysteries of the campus. Amy, however, is unimpressed with Eric’s pursuits and begins to bully him mercilessly, even going as far as to steal his inhaler. Rather than continuing to succumb to Amy’s pressure, Olive stays with Eric, despite the fact that it ends up getting her caught for being in a restricted building without permission. Rather than rat Amy out, however, Olive takes the blame on her own. What a way to kick off a new semester.
Unforgettable Moment: Have no fear, the Pizza Club is about to be reunited! The morning after Olive’s rather disastrous night, Maps, Colin, Pom and Kyle arrive back on campus—and as Maps is happy to declare within seconds of stepping out of the car, the air is “fresh with mysteries.”
Superwoman #2
By Phil Jimenez, Matt Santorelli, Joe Prado and Jeromy Cox
Lex’s assistant, Mercy, is not who you think she is. She is a Bizarro shape-shifting clone that battles alongside the other Bizarro in Lex’s warship, the Gestalt, against the sole living Superwoman—who narrowly escapes them. In her retreat, Lana links up with her lover, John Henry Irons. The pair report to the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, where Lana is questioned by Maggie Sawyer about the incident. After being released, Lana and Steel head back to Steel’s hideout, unaware they’re being observed by a mysterious figure. As Steel’s niece Natasha shows Lana some new mechanized suits she’s been working on, Lana and Steel argue about the validity of Steel running tests on her to see why she’s having headaches and nosebleeds. Later, a parade in Midtown is disrupted by the Atomic Skull who claims that Lex has started torturing and experimenting on prison inmates. Steel heads him off. Meanwhile, the Mercy clone attacks Lex and transports him to a mysterious lair where at last we learn that the person behind the current events is Lena—Lex’s sister.
Unforgettable Moment: Can’t get over that it’s been Lena behind the scenes and causing all the chaos!
Earth 2: Society #16
By Dan Abnett, Angel Hernandez and David Calderon of Ikari Studio
With his mind being controlled by the Ultra-Humanite, Green Lantern tears through the Wonders as he makes his way to the Pandora Casket. Knocking out the heavy hitters on the team, Green Lantern breaks into the vault where the Pandora Casket is contained. Using his wits, rather than his bow and arrow, Red Arrow—the last line of defense—appeals to Green Lantern’s will and is able to get through to Alan. In a brief moment of clarity, Alan envelopes himself in a power sphere to block the Ultra-Humanite’s mind control, but in a surprise moment, the Ultra-Humanite appears, incinerates Red Arrow and moves in to take the Pandora Casket for himself, while simultaneously unleashing his army on the city. Batman, Firepattern, Hawkgirl and Huntress all attack the Ultra-Humanite. As they duke it out, Fury regains consciousness and opens the Pandora Casket—believing that if they can’t beat the Ultra-Humanite and his army, they might as well use its power before he has a chance to. With its power unleashed, all goes white.
Unforgettable Moment: What Red Arrow says to reach Alan and break him from the Ultra-Humanite’s mind control is exactly why we read comics!
Scooby Apocalypse #5
By Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatties, Howard Porter and Hi-Fi
While the soulless complex Velma worked at was the primary installation, it turns out that there are other, smaller, installations across the country and throughout the world. Velma uses a laptop from the Mall Mart electronics department to try and tap into the complex’s server and see if anyone else survived the crisis. Sadly, she’s unable to make much progress before the group is attacked by a horde of mindless demon monsters. Running to a backroom, they barricade themselves in. The demons initially try to break the door down, but then stop. Velma deduces that they’re a brainless breed of monster that acts on violent impulses—they attack only what they can see and hear. Fred goes to inspect the backroom and make sure the monsters can’t get in through the loading dock doors. He’s approached by a little girl who actually turns out to be a monster in disguise. Daphne blasts it with her gun and the sound of the shot triggers the demons to break down the door. As they flood in, the gang jumps up on the shelves that make up the aisles. The demons are unable to locate them and instead turn and attack each other. The group survives the encounter and fortifies the store’s backroom to stay in longterm, where Daphne finds a new laptop for Velma to use.
Unforgettable Moment: Doesn’t get much better than Scooby saving the day…twice!
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!
