Top 5 Fridays: Top 5 Moments of DC Rebirth Year One

Welcome to another exciting edition of the Top 5 Fridays! Do you want to know something surprising? It has been a year since the launch of DC rebirth. In that year we have gone on amazing adventures with the superheroes we know and love, as well as new heroes. There have been moments that made us inspired, made us cry, and just flat out kick ass action. To honor the one year anniversary of this re-launch from our favorite comic company, I will be going over some of my favorite moments throughout the series. This was actually a very difficult list to make; there have been so many memorable moments that it was difficult to bring it down to five. That's why I ask you, the reader, to put down some of your own favorite moments. As always this is my personal opinion, so if you don't  see a moment you love, leave it down below. Enough chitchat! It's time to get going with this list...

5: The New Super-Man Steps Up

One series that had surprised me during the launch of Rebirth was the New Super-Man. Despite wearing an 'S' on his chest, this character was new with very little to stand on other than the fact that he was 'Superman of China.' When we first get acquainted with Kenan Kong, One would argue that he isn't worthy of the Superman title, due to his childish and cocky attitude. For a bit, I was also part of that category of reader. However, as the series went on I noticed that there was the potential for him to become something greater. This is seen most clearly in the climax of the first story arc, where despite him not having his full power, he had into danger to help his friends and plane passengers escape the clutches of the human firecracker and his cloned Starros. Since then, he has grown more and more into his own and while he still has quite a way to go before becoming someone resembling Superman, he has become a hero in his own right.

4: The "Death" of Tim Drake

Well this certainly was a punch in the gut for everyone, wasn't it? The first story arc in for Detective Comics and it kills off not only one of its leads but a fan favorite Robin. We watched him grow into his own identity without the Bat standing behind him, lead a Titans team, form a relationship, and prepared to leave the vigilante life behind to go to college and get closer to Stephanie Brown. Out of all the Robins, he was not only the one who could get out of the game with ease but also the one who had a future laid out in front of him. Sadly he made the ultimate sacrifice and tagged himself to have all of The Colonists' drones attack him to protect civilians. He put up the valiant fight, but in the end was 'blown apart.' We now know Mr.Oz took Tim 'off the board,' but this sacrifice shows why he is one of the greats.

3: The Battle of Bane and Batman

Every good villain ends up fighting the hero to the death. We saw it in the final stand of Sinestro as he fought Hal Jordan from becoming Parallax. We saw it in All-Star Superman as the Man of Steel kept blasting Lex Luthor with his gravity gun, to try and stop him. We see it plenty of times between Batman and The Joker in stories like The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, and Endgame. It's in these final moments where we see a parallel that we might not have seen before, often showing the greatest villain to the hero is often on the opposite side of the coin. This was one of those battles. In this battle, we see that Bane and Batman were a lot more alike than we would like to believe. The main difference is that where Bruce had money to fight the evil that took his parent's life, Bane didn't, and saw the only way to survive it was to become the king of it. He isn't some gimmick that can be psychoanalyzed like the other villains, but a monster created from the need to survive. If this battle isn't mentioned as one of Batman's greatest, I will be genuinely surprised.

2: A Day in the Life of Jessica Cruz

This is less of a favorite moment and more of a favorite issue of the Green Lanterns series. After the battle against the Phantom Lantern, we got a look into the life of one of our new heroes. I openly welcomed this, as we actually didn't get much of her backstory when she first joined the Justice League. In that single issue, watching her overcome her extreme anxiety on a daily basis was not only inspirational but also made me realize that she might become THE greatest Green Lantern in comic history. This is a woman who faces fears and insecurities every day, and she's wielding a ring that basically powers it's wielders when they aren't afraid... You see what makes the character amazing yet? This is a character that struggles with anxiety, yet gets up every day to do what's right. We all have fears, but people like Jessica have to face fears every day, and it makes her a more fascinating and intriguing. She's grown from rookie of the year to one of the greatest heroes, at least in this blogger's book.

1: The (Re)Birth of the Super Sons

"This is re-laying the groundwork for DC's future while celebrating the past and present. It's not about throwing anything away. It's quite the opposite"

This is a quote from Geoff Johns about his Rebirth one shot. When looking at it, I believe he was trying to change the entirety of the DCU, from characters to story, to be an amalgamation of the old and new. I think that value is best shown in these two. The Super Sons were a concept that was tossed around since the 70's, but in most cases were simply fun elseworld stories that were pushed to the side. Decades later, Batman got a son, and a decade after that so did Superman. With these characters now planted in the continuity, both being well developed and likable, it only seemed right to finally make the team. The pair might screw up on their adventures, but they're kids and it's still a fun time. That's what was missing in DC for a while; the fun. DC took an old fun concept for an old generation and made it new for the next. It is quite literally a Rebirth.

That's it for this week's Top 5 Friday! As I said before, leave your favorite rebirth moments down below and I'll see you next time!