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Ranking The DC Rebirth Comics Of 2016: 30 - 21

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When DC Rebirth, the new rebranding of DC comics was first announced, initial reception was poor to say the least. Granted, 2016 showed that people are easily upset over the most trivial of things, but scepticism in this case was somewhat warranted, for it was going to be revealed that the poorly received New 52 was the product of the machinations and tampering of......



......Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen.

Naturally on paper this sounded total bollocks. A paper-thin excuse to explain why the New 52 sucked so much, and more milking by DC from the Watchmen cowl; a comic whose success and influence has hung over the company for decades. So many expected this to fail instantly, but here I am now, about to tell you the exact opposite.

DC Rebirth is bloody AWESOME!

Sure, not every comic has been good, but not only have majority of them ranged from good to awesome but the entire series has felt like a big apology to the fans for making things to dark, and having stupid rules like having established couples not be together. So much of DC Rebirth has been about returning beloved characters to how they once were and severely knocking down the angst and the bullshit.

Not only has the use of Watchmen been restrained and well done, but it ends up working on a Meta level as well. So much of the attempt of comics to be 'grown-up' and 'dark' was a by product of Watchmens success, so by having the supposed antagonistic entity over the dark changes made to these character be a Watchmen character makes the new series feel like one massive APOLOGY from DC itself. They're sorry they've been aping that comic so much and are trying to actually have their comics be fun.

And now that 2016 has finally closed its door, it's time to rank every comic in the series from weakest to strongest. Before we begin, a few things to remember:

1. Only DC Rebirth comics in this list. None of the DC Young Animal stuff or other comics.

2. One shots won't be counted, but mini-series will.

3. It's important to know that the release schedule for these comics differ. Some are released once a month whilst others are released twice a month. This is important because a lot of the higher choices are ones that are twice monthly, whilst a lot of the lower entries are there largely because there's simply not a lot of it. In fact there's only two or three comics in the entire series that I actually dislike.

With all that out of the way, let's begin!




Ranking the DC Rebirth Comics of 2016: 30 - 21





30) Harley Quinn



Reading Harley Quinn I've been constantly asking myself the same question: why is this being released twice monthly?

Okay, I DO know the actual answer to that. It's because Harley Quinn is a really popular character now and DC are trying to cash in on the success, but reading the 10 issues they've released so far it's very apparent how little interesting material they've got for her solo comic. Hell, the entire comic starts with a bloody zombie apocalypse story. That's how creatively stagnant her entire comic is.

Though to be fair at least that comic has some cohesion. Afterward that story ends the whole comic just feels like some bizarre stream of consciousness where several things happen and often with little connection to the previous one. This coupled with a massive cast of characters who are really forgettable and you've got a comic that completely fails to engage me in any way.

I get that this is supposed to be the most lighthearted DC Rebirth entry and I genuinely do like seeing Harley Quinn free from the Jokers abusive control (would've been nice is the Suicide Squad film had done that too), but Harley herself gets tiresome and annoying after a while. I'm starting to think that she's one of those characters that works best in small doses, and here it's way too much.

As I said before not every DC Rebirth comic is a winner, and Harley Quinn is easily my least favourite of the bunch.



29) Cyborg



This got very close to being my least favourite, but unlike Harley Quinn it at least has a more cohesive narrative.

Like Harley Quinn Cyborg is another character that really doesn't deserve a twice monthly release. It honestly feels like he's only got it because he's not a Justice League member, but the problem with Cyborg is that he's quite frankly a really boring character. I think the only iteration where he's been anything remotely compelling was the 2003 Teen Titans animated series version, and there that was because he was surprisingly upbeat. His comic iteration by comparison feels a lot more gloomy and boring.

Another problem with Cyborg is that he literally seems to have only one story: He's a cyborg and that makes him upset. I get that that WOULD be quite a big deal, but I struggle to remember a story centred around Cyborg that wasn't to some degree based around it. With his current comic I'll give them some points for connecting it to his relationship with his father, the man who made Victor Stone the way he is, but thus far the comic's really pushed that to the back of the story.

The art for this comic is also easily the most erratic of any of the comics. At times it's some of the very best DC Rebirth has had this year, and yet at other times I swear I could do better art for this comic, and I'm shit at drawing.

It's just a really boring comic about a really boring character folks. Not worth the time.



28) Blue Beetle



I was really let down by how low I'm placing this comic. I love Blue Beetle and I had high hopes for his own comic, but what we've gotten so far has been a...mixed bag.

Granted, what we've gotten hasn't been much. Harley Quinn and Cyborg are being released twice monthly and are genuine stinkers, but everything else on this part only have one issue per month releases, so I'm inclined to be kinder to the rest on this list. There's simply been less to critique.

But what I've gotten of Blue Beetle so far has not been particularly impressive overall. I dunno why but the banter between Jamie Reyes and Ted Kord often feels a tad forced and at first the story felt more than a little unfocused. Not Harley Quinn level bad, but still rather unfocused. Chapter 2 in particular was pretty bad as they seemed to trying to kick off some quasi-romance between Rayes and some really annoying anti-hero chick that through contrived bullshit caused massive collateral damage. Really bad chapter.

But to the comics credit it's gotten better in its last two chapters, due to two reasons. Firstly they're focusing more on how the Scarab is getting out of control and might end up killing Reyes and they are searching for a way to remove it from his back, and that's been fairly interesting so far. The second reason is because Doctor Fate has appeared, which is a huge deal because Doctor Fate was completely gone during the New 52, and his appearance brings up possibilities that he and Blue Beetle may have some role in DC Rebirth's overarching narrative.

If I do a list like this again in 2017 I wouldn't be surprised if Blue Beetle is much higher by then, but so far the series has been a mixed bag. There are signs that it's getting better but I'm being reserved about my hopes.



27) Batgirl and the Birds of Prey



Batgirl and the Birds of Prey isn't bad, but I'm not finding it especially good either. The story is somewhat interesting in how it involves Barbara Gordan - once again Batgirl - trying to uncover who is using her old alias Oracle to perform criminal acts with the help of Black Canary and begrudgingly the Huntress.

Like Blue Beetle part of my problem is the banter between the three leads which also feels forced and struggles to be entertaining. Doesn't feel natural if ya know what I mean, and in the cases of Batgirl and Black Canary both of these characters feature in other comics and are way more interesting in those comics. Batgirl in particular I like a lot more in her solo comic because in this comic there's probably way too much self doubt and people questioning whether she should be a crimefighter again, as opposed to her solo comic which doesn't have any of that and is far more interesting because of it.

But the comic isn't boring and it's at least cohesive. It's just not anything particularly engaging either.



26) Justice League Vs Suicide Squad



And now we're getting to the stuff I genuinely like.

Justice League vs Suicide Squad is the first miniseries event of the DC Rebirth comics. The Justice League have finally learnt of the existence of the Suicide Squad, and as they naturally disagree with Amanda Waller's team the Justice League set out to decommission the team, prompting the two teams to fight one another.

Thus far it's essentially been a battle royale between both teams with much of a plot, save for Maxwell Lord also forming his own team of villains for his own reasons, and it's all been pretty fun thus far. Seeing the Justice League react in disgust to the existence of the Suicide Squad is naturally fitting and so far the comic hasn't played the fighting out two one-sidedly in favour of the Justice League, even if on paper they probably would wipe the floor with the Suicide Squad. Deadshot himself makes the right point that while the Justice League aren't willing to kill, THEY certainly are.

So if it's good then why is it so low? Well that's simply because it's only released two of its four chapters, so there's simply not enough to place it higher. This will be a recurring reasoning for a lot of the choices below.



25) Teen Titans



Teen Titans is the second of two comics surrounding the Titans team. This comic specifically involving Damien Wayne forming a team with Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven and the New 52 Kid Flash in order to fight Ra's Al Ghul who wants Damien Wayne to return to his side as a loyal assassin, or die by the hands of one of his other prodigies.

Damien also happens to choose those four heroes because they've been singled out as targets by four more apprentices of Ra's Al Ghul, giving them a common enemy. Heh.

What's pleasantly surprising about this comic is how much it's channelling the colourfulness and style of the 2003 Teen Titans animated series, which is by no means the worst way of gaining my approval. The team up isn't exactly the same sure, but I dare any fan of the 2003 series to read this comic and not get some familial vibes to that classic cartoon.

It's debatable how intentional it all is but if it is intentional then it is nice to think that even after all these years that series is still relevant. Granted, I guess Teen Titans Go sorta still makes it relevant, if only as a constant reminder of how much TTG show is pissing on something so many of us loved.



24) Supergirl



So much of the DC Rebirth has been about restoring these characters to how people remembering them most fondly, and Supergirl opens with her restoring her once lost powers. So yea, DC is definitely on the right track.

Supergirl's only had one story so far, but that one story has been pretty solid. Supergirl is pitted against Cyborg Superman who has created more Cyborg Kryptonians like itself in a bid to take over the world. This is as well as Kara dealing with her insecurities and issues in her civilian life whilst also gaining an internship with Cat Grant.

It's in that last part where it becomes quite apparent that the comic is taking more than a few influences from the excellent Supergirl TV series, and that's not unwelcome. Once again there's not much else to say at the moment but so far Supergirl has been pretty fun.



23) Superwoman



Superwoman is difficult to talk about because what makes the comic stand out is based on a twist that happens early on but I don't want to spoil, so this'll be brief. It starts with Lana Lang and the New 52 Lois Lane, who after the death of the New 52 Superman gained powers like this, and the two decide to hold up his legacy and become heroes themselves.

Like I said I'm a bit stuck on what I can say here, but I will say that the comic is becoming a pretty good corner for a lot of Superman's partners and friends to hang out. Along with both Superwomen is Steel and a supposedly reformed Lex Luthor who through his tech has become his version of Superman as well. It's all been pretty fun so far, though been once per month there isn't much.



22) Batman Beyond



Being a fan of the original animated series I was more than chuffed at reading a comic version of it. I know it's not the first Batman Beyond comic but it's my first and it's definitely quite the novelty to me.

And yea if you've watched the animated series this comic is largely a lot of that. Terry McGinnis is still a total badass and his side cast is intact, though apparently Bruce Wayne is presumed dead at this point, though this being a comic I doubt that'll stay like that forever. The depiction of future Gotham is as Blade Runner-esque as you'd imagine it would be and the Jokerz, clown attired gangs inspired by the original Joker, are legit threats and are even trying to revive the original Joker!

Once again there's not a lot to talk about so far, but what we've gotten has been pretty fun and faithful to the original animated series.



21) Trinity



Trinity is a comic book that focuses exclusively on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. I'd wager this was inspired by the three appearing to together for the first time on film in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but thankfully this comic is much better than that turd of a film.

The story thus far has been the three heroes initially eating a meal together at Superman's home before finding themselves in Kansas back when Clark Kent was still a child, giving Superman a chance to see his deceased father once again. What's really happening I won't spoil, but I will say that the comic is enjoyable largely for the slower and more character centric pacing it's taking.

It seems quite apparent that the comic is more about the relationships these three have, particularly with the pre-52 Superman taking over the responsibilities of the now-deceased New 52 Superman, who Batman regarded as a friend and Wonder Woman regarded as a lover.

Funnily enough it's Wonder Woman that has the least problems accepting the new (or old) Superman. Batman's just being grouchy.

It's ultimately a good comic that's exploring these three characters and their relationship to one-another. It was tough to leave it of the top 20 but that should be telling of how good the competition is.
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screwinon's avatar
Still waiting on the part 2 of this list. 8/