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The new DC Universe is now upon us. Flashpoint has come to an end and we are now entering the new universe with the new Justice League. When Flashpoint first started, I had no idea that it was going to be leading into such a massive change for DC. From what I've read, most didn't either. The statements by some that they were not finishing out the titles they were reading showed a level of disappointment and hopelessness that I thought only came from "real world" problems. I really enjoy my comics. I have enough Green Lantern collectibles to decorate a large home and dress myself for over a month without needing to do laundry (I'm talking shirts here). Still, let's be real folks. It is not the end of the world. But, I do understand some of the "Why bother?" attitude some had. However, I am a completist and so I wanted to finish all the runs of what I was reading. I wanted to see if the titles I was reading went out with a bang or a whimper (Secret Six was definitely a bang). Back to my point of the change though, and the vehicle which brought it. Please be aware, this point forward is full of spoilers for Flashpoint (mainly #5), some of its included titles and the new Justice League.
Flashpoint #1 was a great issue in my mind. The revelation of Thomas Wayne being the Batman of the Flashpoint world was a jaw dropping revelation to me, and I'm not a Batman fan. That of course was enough of a shocker to get me to buy Batman: Knight of Vengeance, which I had not originally planned on buying. While the first issue of that title was not too impressive the next two were amazing. The reveal of the Joker's identity was more impacting that that of Thomas Wayne as the Batman. Plus, it gave me more insight into the Batman that would be accompanying the Flash through the duration of the Flashpoint event.
Along with the Flashpoint world's Batman we were introduced to a number of new versions of familiar characters. Some were less than interesting to me (the Outsider), while others were both amusing and interesting (the new take on Captain Marvel being a hybrid of Captain Marvel, Captain Planet and He-Man). Then there was the obvious missing piece, Superman. Again, I had no plans to read Project Superman, but due to his lack of presence (and my belief he would be showing up) I ended up getting the title so I would be ready for his eventual appearance in the main Flashpoint title. Once again though, we were missing a major player at the start of the Flashpoint story, and that was the absence of Eobard Thawne, Professor Zoom.
While I didn't read everything personally I was well aware from friends, and from reading online, that Professor Zoom had been "seen" in places outside of the Flash title that preceded Flashpoint. Plus, Booster Gold also made reference to him being up to something. That "something" of course was the new Flashpoint world. In his attempt to make the Flash's life miserable Professor Zoom had been causing problems for Barry Allen ever since his return. One of the largest revelations though was that Professor Zoom was responsible for the death of Barry's mother, and in turn all the problems that came from it. So, it wasn't difficult to imagine that Zoom would go so far as to disrupt the timeline to such a degree as to create a DC Universe that was falling apart at the seams (the Earth at least). But, not all was as it seemed.
In Flashpoint #5 we are hit right out of the gate with the largest revelation of the entire story. Professor Zoom is not the person responsible for the Flashpoint universe, Barry Allen is. When the facts are explained by Zoom, they are unavoidable. It is not some poor writer tying together various threads to force a "twist" ending. The obvious factor of truth was there from the start, and that was that Barry's mother was alive in the Flashpoint universe. Zoom would never return to her Barry for a chaotic world. Zoom's focus was always Barry Allen, the Flash. He didn't care about others. He was out to hurt Barry, and Barry alone. In a moment of grief Barry did the one thing Professor Zoom could not, he unintentionally kept himself from becoming the Flash by saving his mother, and caused a major ripple effect through the entire DC Universe.
There was however another problem in this, and that is that before the Flashpoint started, Zoom could never kill Barry as that would keep Eobard Thawne from becoming Professor Zoom. But, as Zoom was in the timeline when Barry reset things, he was no longer part of the current universe. He was a paradox. Taking Barry Allen's life was no longer something that could be done. It was a matter of "when", not "if". These are all the things that come to a head in the first few pages of Flashpoint #5. From there, it's a race (pun intended) to put things right.
With Barry down for the count it falls to the Flashpoint Batman to come to the rescue. As this Batman is not only prepared to see his world end (which it is doing anyway), he also wants it to end so that his son may again live. Chaos reigns on the field of battle between Aquaman's and Wonder Woman's armies. It is then that the Flashpoint Superman finally arrives and shows that even in a universe where he was treated as nothing more than a lab rat, he is still one of Earth's protectors. It is at that time that Barry makes the final decision to set things right. Now, some may wonder "how" Barry is able to push the big reset button as he is significantly depowered for much of Flashpoint. While you don't see it, Bart Allen is the one responsible for making sure Barry has the juice to do what has to be done. You can pick up all of Kid Flash Lost, but the main element that ties into the end of Flashpoint is in Kid Flash Lost #3. It gives you the information to make sense of Barry's sudden power and shows exactly how much Bart is like Barry.
In a two-page spread the timeline is reset, but in that two-page spread purpose is set to the past and we receive hints to future events. It is revealed that the past three areas of the DC Universe were purposely separated. Those three areas are the mainstream DC Universe, the Vertigo line, and the Wildstorm Universe. Apparently the concept now is that all three were supposed to be one, but something purposely split them apart. It may seem cheesy to some, but for me it actually makes some sense. When you look back at DCs past events it does create this picture that the timeline has always been shaky. Pick your event. Any of the crises going back to the original shows timeline issues, and now due to a lot of that recently we've had more issues showing up in Booster Gold's title, Batman being lost in time and the existence of more than one Legion of Super-Heroes.
Now we've been given the comic book reasoning of "why" this situation of multiple timelines happened, and we've also been told something big is coming. When is it coming? Who knows. Frankly, I would like to be event free for a while. I think DC owes it to themselves and the readers to really cement this new universe, and that a major event in even a year's time will only detract from it. For this new universe to truly survive it has to do so with the merit of its regular existence. If DC can pull that off then they may even attract readers who are suffering from event burnout. I'm sure the wallets of readers would also be grateful.
Overall I've really enjoyed Flashpoint. I think that originally it may be been designed to be more of an "event" than a full DC reboot, but they tied it together nicely. I didn't read all the side stories but I enjoyed the majority of the ones that I did. Plus, ones that I didn't even plan on buying turned out to be some of the best reads. I may go back and pick up collections of those that I didn't get as time goes on. I feel like I was lucky and got the stories that addressed important factors that tied into the main storyline at the end, so I'm happy about that.
I did want to offer one quick note on Justice League. The story is setting up the new timeline's emergence of its age of heroes as we were told. We will get to see their original introductions to each other. The first issue is all about Batman and Green Lantern, with the next issue apparently being adding at least Superman to the mix. The art is good (hey, it's Jim Lee) and the dialogue is really good. Geoff Johns definitely has Hal's flyboy attitude down. Yes, his attitude does seem more like that of Green Lantern as seen in the movie if you're wondering. Also, speaking of DC movies you might want to get used to the changes in uniforms. New pictures of Superman's uniform in the upcoming movie have dropped finally and they are definitely closer to the new costume than the classic look.
Things move forward folks. Whether we like it or not, change happens. We can fight it all we like, but it will come. Will these changes stay? Who can say. I for one am going in with the attitude that Flashpoint has given us new and permanent changes. I figure if I have that attitude I will be able to immerse myself in what is happening and find more enjoyment in it. Now, would things have been easier if they happened over time? Maybe. Then again, maybe it would have seemed like a series of smaller "surrenders" regarding the characters we cared about. So, why not move forward? It's not easy, especially when powered by the Flash. Instead of a step forward, we've ended up with flash forward. At this point, I'd say you need to run or get lost in the dust.
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