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Justice League Rebirth Reading Order (with Justice League of America, Justice League Odyssey and Justice League Dark)

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Following the ending of The New 52 era, DC relaunched its entire line in 2016 under the Rebirth banner. For this occasion, the company restored the timeline to a form much closer to what it was before the famous Flashpoint storyline while still maintaining several elements of the New 52.

What does it mean for the Justice League? The most famous DC superteam still continues to save the world in this era. No continuity changes have been introduced at the beginning, but the team’s roster changed with the two Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz joining the League (taking the place of Hal Jordan).

Here is the official synopsis: Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Cyborg. Green Lantern. They’re more than just a team of superheroes. They’re the Justice League…and they’re about to enter a whole new era! The Superman these incredible heroes once knew is dead, leaving an older, wiser Man of Steel from a vanished universe to take up the fight against evil. Hal Jordan, the greatest of the Green Lanterns, has taken to the stars, entrusting his place in the League to his powerful but untested young protégés, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz. Now the Justice League must get used to these new faces and learn to work as a team once more. But they’d better do it fast. They’re about to confront the biggest threats they’ve ever faced, from godlike machines capable of converting all life on Earth into a weapon, to a humble hacker who’s ready to hit them where it hurts most…

Before The Justice League Rebirth

As a new era is launched, it’s fairly safe to just jump right in with the one-shot DC Universe Rebirth #1 serving as an introduction. But if you want a little more context, here is what to read before:

As the Justice League is active since the 1960s, you can obviously explore the team’s past.

Justice League Rebirth Reading Order:

Justice League (vol. 3)

Justice League is relaunched with Bryan Hitch as the main writer (and several artists including Tony S. Daniel, Neil Edwards and Ferando Pasarin) until issue #31. After that, Christopher Priest took over for the last part, with artists Pete Woods, Ian Churchill and Philippe Briones.

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad! A crossover between the Justice League and The Suicide Squad, this storyline doesn’t substantially affect the Justice League and could be skipped if you only follow the classic Justice League. This little event has a more biggest impact on Suicide Squad, and the aftermath is dealt in Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Burning Down The House. But the most significant effect of this story is the creation of the Justice League of America series as a direct response to the ending.

Following the confrontation with Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad, Batman creates a new Justice League of America. You can read the first three collected editions of the title without any interruptions as there are mostly no references to other events.

Dark Nights: Metal! This Batman Event written by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced the Dark Multiverse and this triggers events that will change the DC Universe. Members of the Justice League plays a role in this event (except for some ties-in in The Resistance part) and this story will shape what’s to come for the team. For more information, check out our Dark Nights: Metal reading order (with an issue-by-issue order).

  • Dark Nights: Metal
    Collects Dark Nights: Metal #1-6, and Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 and Batman Lost #1.

  • Dark Nights: Metal: The Resistance
    Collects “Gotham Resistance” (Teen Titans #12, Nightwing #29, Suicide Squad #26, Green Arrow #32) and “Bats Out Of Hell” (The Flash #33, Justice League #32-33, Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #32), plus Batman Lost #1 and Hawkman Found #1.

DC Universe Justice League (vol. 4)

DC decided to get rid of the Rebirth banner and just go with DC Universe, which is simply a continuation of Rebirth and considered part of it as there are no interruptions or continuity changes. Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV became the creative force behind the title (with art from Jim Cheung, Jorge Jimenez, Francis Manapul, Bruno Redondo), building their epic tale to lead us to Dark Nights: Death Metal.

Spinning out of Justice League: No Justice stories, DC launched a new Justice League, but also Justice League Dark and Justice League Odyssey. As each team dealt with different story elements, you can read whichever you want. And despite the fact the stories take place concurrently, you don’t have to read them together if you don’t want to. So we opt for a listing by series.

Justice League – Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl and John Stewart join the Justice League as the team goes into uncharted territory– from the Source Wall at the edges of the cosmos to the bottom of the ocean to a miniaturized adventure inside of Superman’s body, and more.

At this point, the story written by Snyder and Tynion continues into Dark Nights: Death Metal. But we still have two Justice League trade paperbacks taking place in an undetermined time after Justice League Vol. 5, the first one written by Robert Venditti and the second by Simon Spurrier and Jeff Loveness.

Justice League Odyssey –  Starfire, Cyborg, Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, Azrael, and, yes, Darkseid are the members of the Justice League Odyssey, a team formed to bring order to the newly created space sector known as the Ghost Sector. The first issues are written by Joshua Williamson (with artist Stjepan Sejic), then by Dan Abnett (with art from Will Conrad).

Justice League Dark – Wonder Woman is the leader with members Swamp Thing, Detective Chimp, Man-Bat and Zatanna. Magic is disrupted and the beings who created it are coming to take it back. Written by James Tynion IV with art by Alvaro Martinez. To know more about JLD, check out our Justice League Dark reading order.

Dark Nights: Death Metal! The follow-up to Dark Nights: Metal sees the Justice League at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and must fight to survive. This event leads us to the next event Future State and a new era, Infinite Frontier.  For a complete listing with all the tie-ins, and a reading order issue-by-issue, check out our Dark Nights Death Metal reading order.

Justice League: Endless Winter! Though a mostly self-contained story, this little event is a sort of filler between two eras, taking place after Dark Nights: Metal but just before the launch of the Infinite Frontier era. To know a little bit more about it, go to our Justice League: Endless Winter reading order.

  • Justice League: Endless Winter
    Collects Justice League: Endless Winter #1-2, The Flash #767, Superman: Endless Winter Special #1, Aquaman #66, Justice League #58, Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1, Justice League Dark #29, and Black Adam: Endless Winter Special #1.

Other Collected Editions

Above was a reading order following trade paperbacks. Marvel has also collected some of those issues in Deluxe Editions: 

Justice League Rebirth Deluxe Edition

Justice League of America (Rebirth) Deluxe Edition

  • Justice League of America: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition
    Collects Justice League of America: Rebirth #1, Justice League of America: Killer Frost #1, Justice League of America: The Ray #1, Justice League of America: The Atom #1, Justice League of America: Vixen #1, Justice League of America (vol. 5) #1–6

Justice League by Scott Snyder Deluxe Edition

What to read after Justice League Rebirth?

Justice League Vol. 4 continues in the Infinite Frontier era, with Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez as the creative team with Justice League Vol. 1: Prisms.

Last Updated on December 23, 2022.

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