Blue Beetle Volume 1: More Things Change (2016)
Written by Keith Giffen
Art by Scott Kolins
Jaime Reyes continues his tenure as the Blue Beetle, but this time he is given a mentor in Ted Kord, the former Blue Beetle. Over the course of this volume, Jaime investigates but fails to resolve the mystery of kids from his high school disappearing. He also learns his mother is providing medical services for The Posse, a gang of teenage metahumans that are sometimes antagonists for Beetle. In the background, Dr. Fate issues enigmatic warnings to Ted Kord about the true nature of the Scarab, the object which gives Beetle his power. Everything Jaime thinks he knows about this item appears to be wrong.
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Harley Quinn is living on Coney Island, New York with the former members of a traveling carnival and apparently, Egg-Fu’s son and a Deadpool knockoff? Well, an alien lands on Earth and gets chopped up into some ground meat causing a zombie apocalypse to break out. Poison Ivy shows up to help with that one. Then a gang of armored medieval knights attacks a mailman which leads Harley to put together a punk band. All of that is done by order of the New York mayor. Yeah, this is Harley Quinn.
Who is Cyborg? The first reaction to this question would be to say he’s former NFL hopeful Victor Stone, but this opening volume of the Rebirth revival asks us to think about that for a second. Cyborg is still operating under the watch of his father, Dr. Silas Stone, partnering with STAR Labs colleagues Dr. Thomas Morrow and Sarah Charles. In the shadows, a dark cybernetic being watches Cyborg and other robotic denizens of the DC Universe (Red Tornado, Amazon, Robotman, etc.). This being unleashes the alien technological entity Kilg%re on Cyborg as a test which leads to a behind the scenes shake-up in the protagonist’s personal life.
Dick Grayson has existed in many forms over the years. Acrobat in Haly’s Circus, sidekick to Batman, leader of the Teen Titans, independent crime fighter, secret agent, but now he returns to his Nightwing identity. Grayson has gone undercover in the Parliament of Owls, a secret cabal that has worked against the Bat-family since the New 52 relaunch. The Owls believe Grayson has switched sides and partner him up with Raptor, an acrobatic assassin to take care of some problems started by the terrorist cult Kobra. Grayson must feign villainy while trying to access the Owls’ most guarded secrets to bring them down.
Barbara Gordon has lived through many phases in her relatively young life. She started out as Batgirl, a partner to Batman and Robin. The cruel actions of the Joker left her wheelchair-bound, but Barbara rose above her depression to become Oracle, a voice in the ear of the Justice League giving them vital information about dire situations. After years of physical therapy, she walked again and took back the mantle of Batgirl. However, there is a new Oracle out there, and Barbara wants to know who is masquerading as her. She teams up with her old partner Black Canary but the two cross paths with the vengeful new Huntress, Helena Bertinelli. This trio seeks to find a solution to their respective problems.
Green Arrow is on the hunt for a cartel of human traffickers preying on Seattle’s homeless population. He crosses paths for the first time with fellow crimefighter Black Canary, and there is an immediate spark between the two. Together they learn about the Underground Men, disfigured monstrous beings living beneath the city who are rounding up the homeless and shipping them to a nightmarish facility in the international waters of the Pacific. Green Arrow learns that they are directly tied to his family’s company and are a direct result of his neglect of this legacy. Machinations from behind the scenes quickly turn the entire city against the hero, and he must bring down this evil cabal with help from some wayward friends.
Kong Kenan is a high school bully in Shanghai, China when through a chance encounter he accidentally drives off notorious super-villain Blue Condor. This draws the attention of spunky young reporter Laney Lan and Dr. Omen, the director of the Ministry of Self-Reliance. Kenan is imbued with part of the life essence of the New 52 Superman and becomes China’s answer to the Man of Steel. He’s paired up with the Bat-Man and Wonder Woman of China who find Kenan to be an incredibly immature brat with very unreliable powers. Kenan’s father, Kong Zhongdan is an aging political activist who comes at odds with his son’s new direction in life.
John Constantine, the titular Hellblazer, has just arrived back in the U.K. after an extended stay in the States. As soon as John hits the shore, he is pulled into a battle of wills with a demon. This particular conflict involves John succumbing to a curse or figuring out how to pass this evil onto the entire population of London. I bet you can guess which route he goes. Swamp Thing shows up as a support and the petitions John’s help to finding the missing Abby Arcane. A conspiracy of supernatural beings is revealed, and it turns out Abby is deeply involved. Along the way, John pisses off bookies and demons alike, as he is wont to do.
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