Let’s see what this week’s DC: Rebirth has for us!

Justice League #2 (Hitch/Daniel): The Kindred rise; the Justice League assembles; Jessica continues to struggle with her powers; Arthur finds a mystery; and Diana and Bruce make a decision that may have horrible consequences. The mystery is intriguing; the Kindred remind me of something and I’ve no idea what is going on with Jessica and Simon. The artwork is dynamic though and gives a sense of urgency to the proceedings and I love how well Bruce and Diana communicate without saying a word as it emphasizes their decades long friendship. Now if only I knew what the hell happened with Clark….

Three out of Five Shockwaves

Green Arrow #2 (Percy/Ferreyra): Sigh. Dinah becomes a damsel in distress because … reasons. Diggle is now a part of the DC universe and Oliver’s incompetence from the show carries over to the comic, as does his inability to ask for help when he needs it. Oh, and Emi is apparently a traitor. So. Yeah. I went into this comic hoping it would be even a modicum better than the show but it’s…not. Gender politics aside the resolution of whatever is going on between Oliver and Diggle is hilariously poorly executed as is the plot which involves a cult, because of course it does. The artwork is better than the writing deserves but still doesn’t shake me up.

Two out of Five Lye Baths

Superman #4 (Tomasi/Gleason): The Eradicator attacks Clark, Lois and Jon and all hell breaks loose. Seems that half-human/half-Kryptonian children offend its delicate sensibilities and it’s on a mission to take Jon out of the equation. Of course, Clark and Lois have other ideas and Jon’s no slouch either. With appearances by old school Superman characters, some ingenuity on everyone’s part and a good old fashioned family reunion via the astral plane, this issue is packed. It has an old time Superman feel without making Clark a jerk and Lois a damsel (they save each other multiple times in this issue). The artwork made me smile as it’s just the right amount of cheesy without being too much.

Four out of Five Submersibles

Nightwing #2 (Seeley/Fernandez): Dick (like his baby bro) is deep undercover and the Court of Owls is his target. They’ve assigned him a partner in the form of Raptor, and together they are gold. Raptor is the antithesis of everything Dick has learned with Bruce and his tendency to just wing it (and have some insanely weird things on hand that are a straight up shout-out to Batman) leads to some laugh out loud banter between the two. Dick’s not used to being the sensible one and it shows but there’s more to Raptor than meets the eye and a mission to complete. The artwork is catchy and interesting and there’s an excellent jump scare when you least expect it.

Five out of Five Symbols

Overall, this batch of Rebirth issues are okay; however, the lack of originality (Oliver and Dick’s storylines are fueled by the same basic premise) in some of the stories is a detriment to the long-term focus. Unless some of these things converge (and there’s no hint that they will), it’s shoddy world-building in the long run.