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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 Comics 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 saving the world! No continuity changes were 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…

What to Read Before The Justice League Rebirth Comics?

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


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

Justice League Rebirth Reading Order:

I. Rebirth: Justice League Comics Volume 3

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

Justice League vs. Suicide Squad! A comics crossover between the Justice League and The Suicide Squad, this storyline doesn’t substantially affect the Justice League members and could be skipped if you only follow the classic Justice League comics. This little event has a bigger impact on the Suicide Squad comics, and the aftermath is dealt with 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 comics as a direct response to the ending.

Following the confrontation with Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad, Batman creates a new Justice League of America team. You can read the first three collected editions of the title without any interruptions as they mostly contain 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 team play a role in this event and this story will shape what’s to come for the leaguers. We delve deeper into the event in our article about the best way to read the Dark Nights: Metal comics in order (which includes an issue-by-issue order).

  • Dark Nights Metal Omnibus
    Collects Dark Nights: Metal #1-6, tie-in stories from Dark Days: The Forge #1, Dark Days: The Casting #1, Batman: The Red Death #1, Batman: The Devastator #1, Batman: The Merciless #1, Batman: The Murder Machine #1, Batman: The Drowned #1, Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1, Dark Nights: The Batman Who Laughs #1, Batman: Lost #1, Hawkman: Found #1, Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1, Nightwing #29, The Flash #33, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32, Green Arrow #32, Suicide Squad #26, Teen Titans #12, and Justice League #32-33.

II. DC Universe: The Justice League Comics Volume 4

DC decided to get rid of the Rebirth banner and just go with DC Universe, which is simply a continuation of the Rebirth era 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.

Snyder and James Tynion’s Justice League comics (and adjacent) are now collected in one big omnibus.

  • Justice League by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV Omnibus new
    Collects Aquaman #41-42; Teen Titans #28; Justice League: No Justice #1-4; Justice League #1-25; Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth Special #1; Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth Special #1; The Batman Who Laughs #1-7; Justice League Annual #1.

Here is a more detailed version, following the trade paperbacks and everything else not written by Snyder and Tynion. It starts with the one-shot Justice League: No Justice comics that introduced three different Justice League comic book series.

Spinning out of Justice League: No Justice stories, DC Comics launched a new Justice League comics, but also a new Justice League Dark comics, and the Justice League Odyssey comics. Each book is centered on a team charged with dealing 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, starting with Volume 4 of the Justice League Comics.

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 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, we have a dedicated Justice League Dark reading order.

  • Justice League Dark: Rebirth Omnibus new
    Collects Justice League Dark (2018) #1-29; Justice League Dark Annual #1; Justice League Dark 2021 Annual; Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1; Aquaman (2016) #66; Black Adam: Endless Winter Special #1; The Flash #767, #777-779; Justice League #58, #72-74; Justice League: Endless Winter #1-2; Superman: Endless Winter Special #1; Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1; Wonder Woman #56-57; Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1; And Material From Justice League (2018) #59-71, Future State: Justice League #1-2, And Secrets Of Sinister House #1

These Justice League Dark comics have also been collected in trade paperbacks:

Dark Nights: Death Metal! The follow-up to Dark Nights: Metal sees the Justice League team 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. To explore in detail this massive event, check out our guide to reading the Dark Nights: Death Metal comics in 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 article dedicated to the 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.

The Justice League Rebirth Deluxe Editions

Above was a reading order following the Justice League trade paperbacks. DC Comics 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?

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

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