Second phase, price increase, and the end of Rebirth
In September 2016, DC announced the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad miniseries for release in December 2016 through January 2017, which would "reintroduce a supervillain that hasn't been seen for some time." Johns called the story in the miniseries "another building block to 'Rebirth'" that would "set the stage for 'Rebirth' Phase 2" with the reemergence of "a surprising team... and another piece of the puzzle of the future of the DC Universe, and the past, [coming] into focus." The second phase of Rebirth began in February 2017, with the launch of Justice League of America, Super Sons, and Batwoman. In January 2017, DC announced the four-issue storyline "The Button" for release in April and May 2017. Taking place in issues 21 and 22 of Batman and The Flash, the storyline continues plot elements from the DC Universe: Rebirth Special with Batman and Barry Allen investigating the mystery of the Comedian's smiley face button found in the Batcave. Shortly after, DC revealed that in April 2017, all of the monthly titles releasing at the time (Batgirl, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Batman Beyond, Batwoman, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, The Hellblazer, New Superman, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Super Sons, Supergirl, Superwoman, Teen Titans, Titans, and Trinity), would increase their price to US$3.99, with All-Star Batman continuing to maintain its US$4.99 price. To account for the price increase, each physical copy came with a code to redeem a free digital copy of the title. DC also indicated that the semi-monthly titles would stay at the US$2.99 price point.
In May 2017, DC announced the miniseries Doomsday Clock for release in November 2017. Written by Johns with art by Frank, it continues the story presented in the DC Universe: Rebirth Special and "The Button" storyline focusing on Superman and Doctor Manhattan. Speaking on the project, Johns said, "It is Watchmen colliding with the DC Universe. It is the most personal and most epic, utterly mind-bending project I have ever worked on in my career. With Rebirth, I opened the door to Manhattan. Part of that was I loved the real-world influence Watchmen has. I put Manhattan out there, and always thought there was a Manhattan/Superman story to be told... at the core of it, there's a being who has lost his humanity and distanced himself from it, and an alien who embodies humanity more than most humans. I love the idea that Watchmen influenced DC, but what would that look like in reverse? And it goes well beyond that." Johns indicated the miniseries would not be a sequel to Watchmen and would be a stand-alone story, with no tie-in material. Despite this, Johns noted Doomsday Clock " have an impact on the entire DC Universe. It will affect everything moving forward and everything that has come before. It will touch the thematic and literal essence of DC." Johns also noted that the miniseries would be set one year in the future of the DC Universe, so by the time the final issue releases, "the rest of the universe will have caught up to it — and the repercussions of the event will become known."
In October 2017, DC revealed that they would be discontinuing the Rebirth branding and logo from their titles in December 2017, releasing everything under a single umbrella title as the "DC Universe". Coincided with the release of the New Age of Heroes imprint, DiDio explained, "We want to make it clear that this is all the DC Universe... Rebirth pretty much the DCU now; while we're taking Rebirth off the books, we'll be following the direction that Rebirth established." Titles also received new trade dresses, with those "that tie in clearly to our larger DC Universe" having a "DCU logo on them" in addition to corner boxes with icons of the characters to help identify the family of titles; titles outside the DCU, such as Injustice 2 and DC Bombshells would simply have the DC logo on them. DC planned to continue their dual cover release of titles as they have "seen a genuine interest in them, as they're well accepted by both fans and retailers".
