This week is a big ones for DC fans following the ongoing DC Rebirth saga. Wonder Woman #31, Action Comics #988 and Detective Comics #965 have offered new insight into ongoing mysteries like the identity of Mr. Oz and the whereabouts of Wonder Woman's long-lost twin brother. Scroll down to find out what big developments unfolded this week.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Wonder Woman #31, Action Comics #988 and Detective Comics #965!
Wonder Woman learned she had a long-lost twin brother back in Justice League #50 last year, and now readers finally met this wayward character in the pages of Wonder Woman #31. It seems this demigod has been hiding out in the woods under the cover identity of Paul Jackson. Paul makes his living a a one-man lumberjack crew, proving that he has strength to rival that of his sister. And as well he should,, because this issue reveals that Paul is none other than Hercules:
This is an especially intriguing twist because, generally, Hercules has been portrayed as an enemy and enslaver of the Amazons. It would seem that this is another element of Wonder Woman continuity that DC is attempting to subvert.
Unfortunately, Diana may not actually get the chance to meet her long-lost brother. Hercules was attacked by Darkseid's daughter Grail and drained of his godly power. He may actually be dead now, as Diana is later approached by Hercules' executor, who informs her that she's just inherited his estate.
Justice League #50 also featured a major new wrinkle to Darkseid's status quo, with the formerly all-powerful villain being reduced to infant form and his daughter, Grail, becoming his guardian. That mission ties directly into Grail's motivation for attacking Hercules in this issue. She's currently trying to steal the life force of others and feed it into Darkseid's body, slowly restoring him to his powered-up, adult form.
As this issue shows, Hercules gave Darkseid a significant boost, but he's still stuck as a child for now. The only question is where Grail will turn for her next energy source. Maybe Wonder Woman herself?
Action Comics #987 dropped the big reveal about Mr. Oz, revealing that this shadowy villain isn't actually Watchmen's Ozymandias, but rather Superman's own father, Jor-El. Issue #988 delved further into this twist, revealing how Jor-El survived the destruction of Krypton and came to be the secret string-puller he is today.
Jor-El reveals to his son that he was rescued by a powerful benefactor (almost certainly Doctor Manhattan) at the very moment of Krypton's destruction. Even JorEl doesn't seem to fully comprehend Manhattan's mtoives and plans, but he tells his son he feels Manhattan recruited him to be a witness for the great changes to come. Oz also reveals that he was sent hurtling across the universe and crash-landed in Africa, where he was nursed back to health by a kindly family. Unfortunately, a local warlord manipulated the family's son into murdering the rest in exchange for food and power, an act which sparked Jor-El's newfound disgust of humanity.
As Jor-El tells his son, he feels humanity is unworthy of Superman's protection, and he hopes the two of them can seek a better life somewhere else in the universe.
As Mr. Oz has been operating from the shadows, he's been busy kidnapping and imprisoning several key heroes and villains. One of those heroes is Tim Drake, who was rescued from certain death by Oz not unlike how Jor-El was saved by Doctor Manhattan. Detective Comics #965 shows the imprisoned Tim being interrogated by Mr. Oz, who reveals that he finds Tim to be one of the few humans on Earth worth saving from the coming destruction.
Oz vanishes after revealing his true identity, leaving Tim free to escape his cell and try to reach out to Batman for help. He finds that Batman is actually a fellow prisoner. However, this Batman turns out to be an older version of Tim himself, carrying an upgraded version of the gun that killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. That gun may come in handy, as the issue ends with the pair of Tims being attacked by the escaped Doomsday.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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