DC Rebirth's Superman Mystery Solved

What is dead may never die.

By Jesse Schedeen

One of the bigger mysteries of DC Rebirth has finally been answered in Action Comics this week.

Warning: full spoilers for Action Comics #976 follow!

When DC Rebirth began last year, readers learned that the New 52 reboot was the result of Doctor Manhattan meddling with the DC timeline, removing ten years and profoundly altering the lives of DC's heroes and villains. But that didn't answer the question of why there were two versions of Superman and Lois Lane occupying the same world - the New 52 versions and the classic versions that escaped the death of the pre-Flashpoint universe. That confusion only grew after the New 52 versions of Superman and Lois both died in separate but similar circumstances last spring.

This issue made the relationship between the New 52 and DC Rebirth much more clear. It turns out that neither Superman is the "real" Superman. Instead, each is a different piece of the same whole, pieces that were created when Manhattan split the DC timeline into two divergent paths. The two Supermans and two Loises ultimately merged together in this issue, creating restored, unified versions with memories of both the New 52 and original DC Universes. For the first time since Flashpoint, Superman and Lois are whole again.

Art by Doug Mahnke. (DC Comics)

This all came as a shock to the ever-watchful Mr. Oz, who couldn't believe that Superman and Lois achieved what he thought was impossible. The implication is that all of DC's characters are capable of going through similar transformations. There may be alternate versions of Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and everyone else trapped in limbo somewhere and waiting to merge with their New 52 selves. This could be a way for DC to restore more of the continuity that was lost with the advent of the New 52.

Art by Doug Mahnke. (DC Comics)

Let us know what you think of the new, improved Superman and whether you want to see other heroes go through similar transformations in the comments below.

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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