I posted this on another forum, and I've cleaned it up a bit, but I don't think I can phrase my thoughts any differently or better.
Everything in Rebirth is absolute tripe. Morrison explained most of this sutff in Final Crisis barely 6 months ago in much more satisfying ways. Johns is just moving plots and characters around with the clumsiest pen strokes to create false tension and suspense. Nothing in this comic book felt genuine, and Wally's speed metaphor wasn't even the worst offender. Even the art is crap in places, and I'm an EVS fanboy; check out Alan on the bottom of the JSA/Jay Garrick page. He looks like a withered old vampire about to strike. Johns telegraphed what will happen with the clumsy structure of this issue. Spoilers: guess what? HIS DAD WAS FRAMED, GUYS! Just like he always thought.
Why is Barry being a total prick to everyone and everything? When he returned in FC, what did he do? He ran to help Wally, had some nice moments alone with him, then ran to kiss his wife and rescued her from Anti-Life. At no point were there any hints of him losing his individuality and being a close, belligerent, obsessive jerk. Didn't seem like the kind of guy who would skip out on welcome-back parties.
Why does Robin claim that Bart was Wally's biggest detractor? I read all of YJ, a large chunk of TT, and a couple issues of Bart's Flash, and the worst feelings Bart ever expressed were mild annoyance at a parental figure and/or sadness that Wally didn't fully accept him. Why does he hate Barry so much, too? Know why? It's a completely transparent audience-insertion. Johns is saying "Hey, why do you hate Barry? You used to hate Wally, but you came to accept him over the years. Now you're upset that Barry is coming back, right?" He knows there are people who feel exactly that way and figures if he has a character in the story acknowledge it, that makes the story good.
Why is the corpse of what appears to be a Black Flash laying in a corn field somewhere? That's just an aspect of the Black Racer/Death in general, so why is he there? Is this like that Family Guy episode where nobody can die?
Why do we have another, newer explanation for why Barry is back? Morrison explained this: the DC universe/multiverse brought him back on its own because it needed Barry to save it. Johns tries to have Barry pass this buck to Wally; hey, guess what? If Barry wasn't sent back having the Black Racer hot on his tail, Darkseid wouldn't have got got. Nix Uotan explicitly says that the universe - which is sentient - has natural defenses. Johns - who CO-WROTE DCU #0 - had a hand in this explanation.
You might say "ah, poo poo, this could just be the universe's way of bringing Barry back!" I'd agree with that if he didn't state, in Final Crisis, that he was sent back knowing specific things for a specific purpose. In Rebirth #1, he outright says he wasn't watching, he wasn't looking down; it was all just lightning until he was sucked back, seemingly against the natural order of things. You can't have it both ways, because that is retarded. I also know and acknowledge that stuff like this is retconned in comics all the time, but when the explanation is this shoddy, this soon after the previous status quo was established, it just doesn't hold any water. Johns handwaves it away when Barry says "I knew but now I'm forgetting." Garbage.
I don't think Geoff Johns is a good writer, and rarely enjoy his comics, so this should come as a surprise: he is a much, much better writer than this, and I am very disappointed in this first issue. The dialog and caption boxes are even poorly written. GL: Rebirth, for all its faults and flaws, at least wasn't boring, was absolutely beautiful, and at least read like a competently structured story. This comic has absolutely nothing going for it. |
