DC Universe: Rebirth 2016 #1 - back issue - $9.00

Wally West, who has not been seen in the new 52 Universe, finds himself aged back to a youthful Kid Flash existing outside of the normal timeline. He appears to Batman hoping that Bruce will remember him and help him, but gets pulled back into the Speed Force before that happens. Wally recalls how the New 52 Universe was formed as the result of undoing the Flashpoint universe, but only Wally is aware that some outside force manipulated events so that some things were different in the New 52 Universe than in the pre-Flashpoint universe, including stealing 10 years from the heroes lives.

Wally appears to an elderly Johnny Thunder pleading with him to find the Justice Society, unaware that Johnny no longer has his Thunderbolt. Maggie Sawyer detains an unusual suspect. Ryan Choi discovers that Ray Palmer has disappeared while investigating a disturbance in the timeline. Jaime Reyes consults with Ted Kord about how to remove his Blue Beetle scarab, but Dr. Fate appears with a warning about the true origin of the scarab. Pandora confronts a mysterious force.

The Superman of the New 52 universe has died, and heroes gather at the site where he fell to pay their respects. Green Arrow and Black Canary, who are strangers in the New 52 universe, sense a past connection. Clark, Lois, and Jon from the pre-Flashpoint universe try to keep a low profile, but Clark is confronted by Mr. Oz with a mysterious warning. Aquaman proposes to Mera. Wally, seeking to return to the normal timeline, is drawn to his anchor Linda Park, but Linda does not remember him, and a heart-broken Wally, without the bond of Linda's love, is drawn back into the speed force.

Rejected by Linda, Wally bounces in and out of the timeline, appearing to those he is familiar with, but no one remembers him. Finally, he appears before Barry Allen. Initially Barry does not remember him either, but as Wally is about to dissolve out of existence, Barry suddenly remembers and pulls Wally from the Speed Force into the normal timeline, restoring Wally to life. Meanwhile Batman discovers an object in the Batcave that was left behind when Wally was drawn back into the speed force.

On Mars, a broken watch is pulled apart and repaired, apparently a parallel as to what happened to the DC Universe when the Flashpoint Universe transitioned to the New 52 Universe. 2 unseen characters discuss whether they did the right thing.

• - Wraparound cover.
• - All black page inside front cover
• Chapter 1: Lost - Batman is seen in the Batcave pondering what the Mobius Chair meant when it told him that there were 3 Jokers, as shown in Justice League (DC, 2011 series) #50. In an attempt to get through to Batman, Wally tells Bruce to remember how he got the letter from his father Thomas. This letter had been brought back from the Flashpoint universe by Barry Allen and given to Bruce, as shown in the Flashpoint 2011 mini-series.
• Chapter 2: Legacy - Johnny Thunder is next shown in The Flash (DC, 2016 series) #21 searching for the Justice Society. Saturn Girl is next shown as a patient in Arkham Asylum who can foresee the future in Batman (DC, 2016 series) #21. Ryan Choi tracks down the missing Ray Palmer in Justice League of America (DC, 2017 series) #12-17.
• Chapter 3: Love - Grail with her father Darkseid re-incarnated as an infant, seeks Wonder Woman's twin brother, whose existence was revealed in Justice League (DC, 2011 series) #50. Superman of the New 52 universe died in Superman (DC, 2011 series) #52. Superman, Lois, and their son Jonathan from the pre-Flashpoint Universe were shown to be secretly living on Earth in the New 52 universe in Superman: Lois & Clark (DC, 2015 series).
• Chapter 4: Life - Wally states that his father Rudy West had a sister Iris West, and a brother Daniel West. Wally says that Daniel had a son also named Wally West (the African-American Wally West of the New 52 universe), who is a cousin that the original Wally never met. This contradicts events in The Flash (DC, 2011 series), where the African-American Wally refers to Daniel (also known as the Reverse-Flash) as his uncle. In that series, the African-American Wally was also Iris' nephew, but it was never revealed who his parents were. As Rebirth re-establishes the DC Universe, it should now be accepted that Daniel West is actually the father of the African-American Wally (his mother still unknown). That is seemingly contradicted later in Teen Titans: Rebirth (DC, 2016 series) #1 and The Flash (DC, 2016 series) #8, where the African-American Wally refers to his uncle Daniel, the Reverse Flash. However in The Flash (DC, 2016 series) #9, Barry reveals to the second Wally that Daniel is in fact his father, even though Wally had erroneously believed Daniel to be his uncle. Batman discovers a smiley face button left behind when Wally was drawn back into the speed force. Batman and the Flash compare notes and agree to investigate the mystery of the smiley face button and who has been manipulating their timeline in Flash: Rebirth (DC, 2016 series) #1. The follow up to this appears in "The Button" storyline in Batman (DC, 2016 series) #21-22 and The Flash (DC, 2016 series) #21-22.
• - All black page appearing before the epilogue
• Epilogue - The imagery of the watch cogs, the clock-face with Roman numerals, the planet Mars, one of the voices belong to a character named Adrian, and the other voice using blue caption boxes suggests that the 2 characters are Ozymandias [Adrian Veidt] and Doctor Manhattan of the Watchmen series. This storyline is addressed in Doomsday Clock (DC, 2018 series).
• The Clock is Ticking Across the DC Universe! - Credits listed by chapter, illustration of a blood-spattered clock with the time of a quarter to twelve.
• The Greatest Heroes... Their Greatest Threats... - 2 page illustration of many of the DC Universe Rebirth characters. This image was also used for a DC Universe: Rebirth poster.
• DC Universe Rebirth - 11 single-page promos for the following DC Universe Rebirth titles: Titans, The Flash, Batman, Teen Titans, Green Lanterns, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, Action Comics, and Superman.
• DC Universe Rebirth Checklist - Inside back cover checklist of issues and on sale dates for the Rebirth one-shots for the various DC titles.