Appearance Spotlight: Tempest (post-Rebirth)

DC's Rebirth initiative has two goals, which at first seem at odds with each other, but seem to be working so far. The first is to shake up the majority of their line, taking their books in new directions that feel fresh. The other is to make it feel more like the pre-New 52 DC Universe by bringing back fan favorite characters, iconic outfits, and popular backstories. I guess there's also a third category that falls in between these two, which is adjusting their books to better match popular adaptations. This falls under that third category.

When Aquaman's sidekick, Aqualad, first appeared in the 60s, he looked like this:

As the Teen Titans grew up, they took on new superhero identities and changed their appearances. Aqualad became Tempest in a miniseries of the same name (1996), and he adopted a costume that was similar to a blue one Aquaman had started wearing, but keeping the red color scheme that was associated with him.

In 2003, the Teen Titans got their own animated series. Although Aqualad was not a member of the team, he did appear in the first season and made several appearances after that. However, his look was much different from anything seen in the comics at that time.

Tempest did not appear in the New 52 for several years, not until Aquaman #42 (July 2015). This version wears a blue version of his classic Tempest outfit, which makes sense as it contrasts Aquaman's warmly colored outfit, just like Tempest's red contrasted Aquaman's blue.

But then Rebirth happened. Tempest is still wearing blue, but as you can see, his new outfit his clearly inspired by his animated one. It debuted in Titans: Rebirth #1 (June 2016).