Flashpoint #1 - *SPOILERS* I want to believe BUT….
Thursday, May 12 2011 - Comic Verses - by: chris_cm
Greetings, Monkey Maniacs!
So according to some media sources, Flashpoint will be THE biggest game changer for DC since Infinite Crisis and Crisis on Infinite Earths. That’s quite the claim, and after reading issue #1 as well as other DC Comics of the last two weeks I want to believe this BUT somehow I just can’t.
Let me start with Flash #12 which was the conclusion to the “Prelude to Flashpoint” storyline. This issue was okay as the conclusion of its own story, but totally unnecessary for anyone jumping onto Flashpoint proper.
Issue #11 revealed that the “big bad” would be Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash, something more or less spoiled by solicitations from the various Flashpoint mini-series. So in issue #12, Professor Zoom spends a lot of time doing and saying nasty things in his evil cackling way. At the root of his latest plot is his apparent discovery that his “reverse speed-force” allows him to do some very experimental things regarding time-travel and possibly other new powers. In addition, he can now accelerate or decelerate his age by draining life force from other living persons. (The downside being, according to Zoom himself, that he gets memory “flashes” – pun intended - from his victim’s lives.)
In the end, the transition to Flashpoint is barely connected to the story itself. After killing an alternate reality version of Barry Allen, Zoom escapes Flash and Kid-Flash (Bart Allen). In a 2-page sequence at the end, we get Zoom waiting as he begins saying “Everything changes….”, then yellow lightning streaks across the sky. As Zoom professes “…now!”, the lightning reverses direction and turns red before we get a final splash page of a mysterious explosion that I can only guess is a tear in the Bleed, the wall between alternate worlds. The premise apparently being that in draining the life-force of a being from an alternate reality, Zoom can now use his reverse speed-force to travel between alternate dimensions.
This is the “final” issue of the current run, though obviously some Flash title will be released following Flashpoint. The first story arch “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” was far superior in quality and, in my opinion, art.
Flashpoint #1 begins with a beautiful multi-page re-telling of the Barry Allen Flash story by artist Andy Kubert, with mystery narration. Cut to modern day and Barry is awoken in his lab at Central City’s C.S.I. labs. Lo and behold, Barry thinks he’s in his regular world but soon discovers that the JLA doesn’t exist and neither does the Flash! In addition to these changes, Barry’s mother (who was killed in Earth Zero continuity by Professor Zoom) is alive and Iris West (Barry/the Flash’s wife) is unmarried and dating another man.
Meanwhile Batman is hunting down a Joker disciple named Yo-Yo who serves as a kind of weird version of Harley Quinn. Unsatisfied with her answers, he throws her off a building to her apparent death. Yo-Yo is saved at the last second by Earth’s greatest hero … CYBORG!
As it turns out, Cyborg quickly forgives Batman for this latest “accident” and is there to recruit Bats to join an army of meta-powered beings to put a stop to a war between the Atlanteans, led by Aquaman, and the Amazons, led by Wonder Woman. Recently, Atlantis sank part of Europe into the ocean, killing millions. Meanwhile, the Themyscirans have slaughtered all the males in England (in a really vile and emasculating way) and turned it into New Themyscira.
When Batman refuses to join the other “heroes” also back out.
This sequence seems designed solely to introduce the alternate Earth variants of these characters in order to get readers to buy the umpteen some tie-in mini-series.
Among these are an electrical powered young man named Farooq, aka Black-Out who is being hunted by another meta from India named The Outsider so that he can be used as a battery to provide power to The Outsider’s nation.
Also, a mysterious group called the Secret Seven, five of whom appear here only as disembodied voices (Shade the Changing Man & Enchantress are the two who actually appear).
Citizen Cold, who apparently is an anti-hero, a hero without the moral imperative not to kill, is the hero of Central City. One of his former victims, the Pied Piper, has had his voicebox/larynx shattered by Cold and restored via some sort of electronic device thanks to Cyborg.
Also present are the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Abin Sur, who gets no revealing character time here.
And finally the Agents of S.H.A.Z.A.M., 6 random individuals who were aboard a subway train hijacked by The Wizard and each imbued with one aspect of the SHAZAM powers. They are accompanied by a real-life tiger they have named Talky-Tawny. When they all say the magic word, they join together as the Superhuman Captain Thunder.
This last is perhaps the best aspect of the book so far. For those not in the know, Captain Thunder was the name originally designed for the character who became “Captain Marvel” at Fawcett and DC. Captain Thunder only appears twice to my knowledge. Once in the ashcan where the character originally appears, then later as an alternate reality Captain marvel in a one-off Superman story. (Superman Vol. 1, #276)
This move really makes sense as DC has abandoned the use of the Captain Marvel name and gone with Shazam which makes no sense as the character reverts to human form upon saying his own name. I’m hoping we’ll see Cap joined by Thunder Lad or Thunder Lass/Lady Thunder.
In the end, a harried Barry goes to a desolate Wayne Manor. No Alfred, no massive car garage or trophy room (other than a gun in a case). Here Barry encounters Batman whom he tries to make a connection with, mistakenly believing him to be Bruce Wayne. As it turns out, our mystery narrator from the story’s beginning is Batman himself who is revealed on the final page to be Thomas Wayne, whose wife and son were killed by a gun-wielding criminal.
How this story sets up some sort of permanent line-wide reality change for the DCU proper is beyond me.
Currently, I’m finding that DC is already on a nice track towards a more cohesive universe. (That’s if you ignore the media-attention-grabbing short story from the back of Action #900 by David Goyer that looks like it will quickly fall out of continuity from Cornell’s Superman in Action and the Chris Roberson’s Superman who in this same
week’s issue gives a one page soliloquy on the great American way.)
The Batman Family is fairly self-inclusive at this point. Gail Simone has complete control over Secret Six and Birds of Prey. The Green Lantern books are interlocked and have their own corner of the DCU. The Legion appears to finally make some sense after its many reboots (although I’d love to know where the 5-year Legion fit into anything).
Even Wonder Woman, who was set on a somewhat tenuous and self-destructive path, by JMS seems to be hitting her stride under Phil Hester.
I will admit here, I have no concrete idea where DC is headed at the end of this event. Some sources believe this will herald the return of the Infinite Universes, while Rich Johnston seems to believe that we are in for some sort of mass renumbering this fall across the DC lines. (Something I think would be a terrible mistake.)
Could we end up with a Universe where Flash’s mom and Bruce’s father are brought back? It’s possible but in both cases it would seem to completely muddy the character’s reason d’etre.
Books that are most in line for a directional change are Adventure (switching from Legion related material to a split book dealing with characters such as Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, and the Atom among others), Wonder Woman, Justice League of America, Supergirl and Teen Titans.
In addition, look for an avalanche of new #1’s come the fall. Among these I expect to see: Doom Patrol, Freedom Fighters (these last two were just canceled but both left on a sort of “To be continued” note), Seven Soldiers (springing from Flashpoint’s “Secret Seven”), Captain Thunder/Power of Shazam, Swamp Thing, Red Lanterns, Hawkman, Aquaman and Justice League International.
So until next time, when I hope to maybe give equal time to Marvel’s equally successful “Fear Itself” event, keep reading.
Cheers.
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