Batman and the Flash team up to discover the biggest secret of Rebirth!
Creative Staff:
Writer: Tom King
Art: Jason Fabok
Color: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Deron Bennett
What They Say:
“THE BUTTON” part one! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!
Content: (warning, content sections may contain spoilers)
It’s time to explore the mystery of that smiley button that Batman discovered in the wall of his cave in Rebirth # 1. We start on the close up of a tv playing a hockey game. The announcers are talking up two players, Shuster and Taylor, who seem to have a bad rivalry going. The zoom out shows us in what appears to be a prison or a mental hospital, where a female resident (potentially Saturn Girl?) yells that one of the two will die before being taken away. Moving to the Batcave, Batman is finally examining the button, simultaneously having the same hockey game, where things have heated up and Taylor and Shuster are openly fighting now. Batman shuts the game off just as things seem to be headed really south, and discovers the button having a reaction to Psycho Pirate’s mask.
For a brief second, a very surprising figure appears, but disappears just as fast. Batman contacts Flash to relay the information about the reaction, but Flash says he’ll be there in a minute since he’s dealing with something else. As a countdown starts, Batman is confronted by Reverse Flash. Reverse Flash proceeds to start beating the Dark Knight, until he discovers the letter that Barry gave Bruce after Flashpoint. Reverse Flash takes his taunting to a new level, but Batman starts to mount a defense. Reverse Flash isn’t stopped by this however and discovers the button Batman was researching. Reverse Flash disappears and reappears with a blue energy decomposing him, but no known cause other than a “god” he mumbles about. Flash finally arrives at the scene, Batman bloody on the floor and Reverse Flash a skeleton in torn rags of a costume.
In Summary:
This is a great start to this mystery (not for Batman though). Obviously, the button has the power to send people somewhere when placed near the Psycho Pirate’s mask, but where is the question. The hockey game shown throughout the book may seem superfluous at first but actually may be a parallel to the events of the book. The two players have a grudge against each other, much like Reverse Flash has one against Batman for what Thomas Wayne did to him during Flashpoint. Similarly, Flash gets there too late to prevent one of the players from dying, just like he got there too late to stop Reverse Flash’s seeming death.
The button is a mystery that needs to be solved before someone else gets hurt it would seem. Batman surprisingly flounders under Reverse Flash’s assault for most of the issue, and Flash was dealing with another problem at the time. There’s a good amount of action here, and the art is spectacular, conveying emotions and actions well. The tone is both one of mystery and grimness. Batman was trounced by Eobard Thawne, but the big problem still lies with the button. Where did it send Thawne, where it come from, and what sent it here? This issue served as a great set up to this mystery story, and it certainly started with a bang. We’ll have to see how this works out in Flash # 21!
Grade: A
Released By: DC Comics
Release Date: April 19th, 2017
MSRP: $2.99
