Created by the late, great Monty Oum, Rooster Teeth Animation's RWBY first hit the Internet in the summer of 2013. The anime-inspired series follows Team RWBY, a group of huntresses who have trained to protect the World of Remnant from evil, ravenous creatures known as Grimm. Before long, our heroes and their allies find themselves at the center of a much greater conflict -- one that threatens existence as they know it.
RWBY is currently in the midst of its seventh volume, with its heroes making moves in an attempt to save a world already on the brink of collapse. At the same time, however, DC has partnered with Rooster Teeth to produce a comic book adaptation of RWBY, which turns back the clock a bit.
RWBY's first three volumes take place at Beacon Academy, where the titular heroes and their friends go to hone their craft as huntsman and huntresses. Following the Fall of Beacon at the end of Volume 3, a time skip found Team RWBY and Beacon's other survivors a little bit older, a little bit wiser and a lot worse for wear after the traumatic experience. Written by Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by artists Mirka Andolfo and Arif Prianto, DC's RWBY largely takes place during this time skip, filling in the blanks between Volumes 3 and 4. That said, the comic has already added a fair amount of lore and character details to the series that Rooster Teeth could potentially pull from as the on-screen adventures of Ruby Rose and company carry forward.
After the Fall
Something that is alluded to in RWBY but shown up close and personal in DC's comic is the public's distrust toward Beacon's hunters following the academy's fall. Due to a conspiracy orchestrated by villain Cinder Fall and her comrades, the general public was left to believe Vale's young warriors were being trained as merciless child soldiers, rather than protectors.
This paranoia manifests in a rather interesting comic book chapter, which sees Ruby and the newly-christened Team RNJR happening upon a village being ravaged by a Grimm. Even though they save the town and its people, they are shunned, lambasted and refused entry -- even after they warn more monsters are likely on the way. Naturally, this prediction comes to pass, and our heroes must once again save the day. It's all very X-Men, really, and it not only offers an interesting snapshot of civilian life post-Fall of Beacon but also makes it clear that even Remnant isn't immune to disinformation.
A Team Divided
As alluded to before, when RWBY Volume 4 kicks off, Ruby Rose is instead a member of Team RNJR alongside former JNPR members Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc and Lie Ren. The reason for this? Well, at this point in the chronology, Team RWBY had effectively ceased to be.
Following the Fall of Beacon, the members of Team RWBY had all gone their separate ways. While Ruby was venturing toward the kingdom of Mistral with the rest of RNJR, Weiss Schnee has been forced to return to her home kingdom of Atlas, Blake Belladonna had retreated to her own homeland of Menagerie and Ruby's sister, Yang Xiao Long, was back at home recovering after losing her right arm.
The comic delves a bit deeper into this period of time, offering a look at how each RWBY member is coping with it all. The show dealt with this, of course, but the comic's format affords the opportunity of an even closer examination. This leads to some rather intriguing character moments, such as Ruby lashing out in anger at the villagers who rejected her and her friends, Weiss attempting to shatter the proverbial snowglobe she is being kept in, Blake setting sail on her lonesome and Yang undergoing a Mr. Miyagi-esque series of tasks as part of her journey to regain her confidence.
Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts
While DC's RWBY mostly takes place in the intervening period of time between Volumes 3 and 4 of Rooster Teeth's animated series, there are many examples of the comic turning the clock back even further. It features flashback sequences from various points in the main characters' lives that provide even more details regarding their experiences, their motivations and, ultimately, how important they are to one another.
For instance, we get a bit more slice of life content that deals with Team RWBY's early days at Beacon Academy. We see Yang attempting to get Blake to come out of her shell with a night on the town, not to mention a tale explaining just how deep-seated some of Weiss' elitist traits were before her friends helped her to become a better person.
Early on, there is also a very telling look at Ruby and Yang's early childhood -- one that not only offers greater insight into Ruby's perception of her mother, Summer Rose, but also a rare glimpse at the life and times of Summer herself, who has long been a mysterious figure in RWBY canon.
With how many small but meaningful details DC's RWBY has already brought to the table, it should certainly prove interesting for longtime fans of Rooster Teeth's series to see what other revelations the book has in store as its final chapters roll out, as well as if and how the main series implements these previously unseen details.