Posted - January 11, 2024

Batman Rebirth 1

The New 52 lasted around five years with its version of the Batman; a highly acclaimed one by Scott Snyder. With Rebirth we jump into yet another Batman version this time by Tom King. How successful is this? Very. This run started in Rebirth is still the current run circa 2024.

After a peaceful one-pager wherein Duke Thomas presents himself at Wayne Manor we are immedately taken into the thick of a Batman vs. Calendar Man fight.

Calendar Man is releasing deadly spores into the air. What does Batman do? He releases an electrical charge to kill the spores.

We are taken to what might be a flashback; it is only labeled as "Tuesday.Summer". The most eye-catching thing about this Tuesday is the peculiar - even spectacular - way Bruce Wayne is working out.

Here's a closer look.

While he is doing this he is talking to Lucius Fox who has, once again, successfully defended the Wayne fortune. And by extension, unknowingly defended the Batman - a very high maintenance hero.

Now back to Calendar Man after he has been put behind bars.

According to Batman the Calendar Man is older because he ages and is reborn not in terms of human lifetimes but in terms of the seasons - so he goes through youth and age every year. Imagine if we could do the same.

By the way we are in the Batcave and it is jaw-dropping.

Batman shows Duke the outfit and he, Duke, is understandably enthralled.

And into the action once again! What an issue! There is a device underneath icy waters set to release more of Calendar Man's spores. Batman has dove in with no breathing apparatus so he has only a few minutes to destroy the device.

Initially I was puzzled about why Batman didn't adjust the timing so that he could get out of the water before the explosion. It just occurred to me that that the explosion must happen before the spores got released. That's the first realization. The second realization is that, as can be seen in the previous panels, Batman was running late on this venture and he was also running out of air. So the explosion happens while Batman is in the water.

Fortunately it doesn't harm him, at least not fatally, instead the explosion pushes him out of the water for a rendezvous with the chopper.

The following panels are pretty grisly, they show how the Calendar Man gets "reborn".

We transition to the Wayne Manor grounds where Bruce and Duke are working out using this tree.

I'll admit it and say I'm not entirely okay with this because I'm worrried about the tree. The Batman's kicks, in particular, could be powerful enough to take down that tree, maybe. I wish this two would just go inside and work with the punching bag.

And that's the issue.