The Flashpoint Thread

[Swany]

For me though, there's a difference between good summer popcorn flicks and bad summer popcorn flicks.

i agree and for me this is a fun one. I will admit though that i'm an elseworlds whore, so if i gotta check my brain at the door it really helps that the story reads like an elseworld tale. I will immediately give it a little more leeway.

[Bluenote77]

Okay, was finally able to pick up the Batman tie in and holy shnikes was that fun and twisted. Of course I won't spoil but even after hearing buzz about it on the web I knew there was a twist but I still did not see that coming. What a great tie in.

Same here. Just put them down and had to comment. Here's my comment, "Holy Crap, that was...off putting"

I didn't even get over the fact that the girl was shot, and then they threw in the Joker spoiler. (I still don't want to say it out loud)

[scoundrel3000]

Picked up Batman 2 because of this thread.  That shit was dope.   

[Tom Morris]

What the hell was going on in that final issue?  Decided to read it, and waayyy too confused?

[ThePatheticClub]

What the hell was going on in that final issue?  Decided to read it, and waayyy too confused?

I didn't find it confusing but it's a terribly convoluted mess. I'm not a fan of Geoff on the Flash.

The Beat did a good job untangling everything and explaining it simply, not that it makes it any less ridiculous

"I read issue #1 of FLASHPOINT and then skipped 2-4 and this issue STILL made perfect sense. That may not be an endorsement, but I was quickly able to fill in the blanks — the off-kilter world Barry Allen experienced in issue #1 was the work of Reverse Flash, Eobard Thawne, who used Barry’s desire to save his mother from dying to turn the world into a war-torn, death-crammed, miserable parallel Earth of misery and corruption. Because, as we know, whenever you use your powers to change the past bad things happen.

As the story begins, Barry and Eobard have a big fight. And Barry’s about to die because he really wants his mommy, but Doctor Thomas Wayne, this universe’s Batman, steps in at the last moment and saves the Flash, allowing him to get back on his cosmic treadmill and create the universe where the New 52 will now take place. But at a terrible cost — because now his mother will die and all the wonderful memories will have of her will be just that…memories."

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/08/31/review-flashpoint-5-and-justice-league-1-spoilers/

[Former Poet Laureate]

I did the same thing (read only issues 1 and 5), and I followed the story, no problem. Thought the art on this issue was really rushed in places - did the whole series look like this?

[Wood]

I'm struggling with what was confusing about Flashpoint? 

I thought it was completely straightforward, and a very cool way to usher in the end of the DC we know for a DCNew that has a lot of things we remember but SLIGHT variations in other spots. 

[ThePatheticClub]

I'm struggling with what was confusing about Flashpoint? 

agreed.

I thought it was completely straightforward,

agreed.
 

and a very cool way to usher in the end of the DC we know for a DCNew

I'm struggling with what was cool about it.

[Wood]

agreed.
 agreed.
 
I'm struggling with what was cool about it.

Well, we know that they decided to "reboot" the universe. We also know that this was going to ruffle some feathers. Ultimately they could have just done the reboot with no explanation, but yet they know that 90% of fandom "cares" about continuity and history.  So rather than simply saying, "screw off continuity wonks!", they made an attempt to create a story that "matters" and keeps everything we have read for the last few decades in play (it happened, it's just that reality has now shifted thanks to the paradox), while also giving them a clean slate to reboot in a way that keeps some titles eerily similar to what we've been reading while treating other titles as completely new re-imaginings.

[legion of daves]

i didn't think it was confusing at all, i just thought it was bad.  the whole event just felt super rushed and thrown together. 

[VinceB]

Issue five was ROUGH.

I'm starting to experience Johns' idea of dialogue as sentences composed by a writer as opposed to words spoken by the various characters. He never gave me cause to notice it in his previous work, but a lot of the talky bits in his recent stuff --  Flashpoint #3-5 and Justice League #1, in particular -- feel unnatural and contrived, to me. I can see the hand of the once-invisible puppet master pushing his characters around, and that ain't a good thing.

[ThePatheticClub]

Issue five was ROUGH.

I'm starting to experience Johns' idea of dialogue as sentences composed by a writer as opposed to words spoken by the various characters. He never gave me cause to notice it in his previous work, but a lot of the talky bits in his recent stuff --  Flashpoint #3-5 and Justice League #1, in particular -- feel unnatural and contrived, to me. I can see the hand of the once-invisible puppet master pushing his characters around, and that ain't a good thing.

He's always struggled with dialog. His supreme strength is in lore building. It's hard to be brilliant at everything.

[Rustyautoparts (Russ Otto)]

Not sure if anybody else saw this, but I thought it was a really cool easter egg. Spoilers, obviously.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/31/the-justice-leagueflashpoint-crossover-everybody-missed/

[BobBretall]

Not sure if anybody else saw this, but I thought it was a really cool easter egg. Spoilers, obviously.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/31/the-justice-leagueflashpoint-crossover-everybody-missed/

Further, this could possibly extend to all 52 #1s:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/08/31/52-appearances-of-the-strange-woman-from-flashpoint-5/

[Julian Lytle]

That was a wacktacular mini series. le sigh. It was a mess.

They should've bit that two parter from JLU where Batman and John Stewart had to go through time and they saw the big hand.

[Tom Morris]

Issue five was ROUGH.

I'm starting to experience Johns' idea of dialogue as sentences composed by a writer as opposed to words spoken by the various characters. He never gave me cause to notice it in his previous work, but a lot of the talky bits in his recent stuff --  Flashpoint #3-5 and Justice League #1, in particular -- feel unnatural and contrived, to me. I can see the hand of the once-invisible puppet master pushing his characters around, and that ain't a good thing.

That's what I was thinking.  Something seemed odd.  For me though its more about the mysterious girl that says everything is being merged?  That and the whole it was Barry's fault?  How does saving Barry's mom cause Bruce to die, Superman to crash in the wrong place, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman to war? 

[JohnnyNoPrize]

How does saving Barry's mom cause Bruce to die, Superman to crash in the wrong place, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman to war? 


Basic Time Travel paradox syndrome....you mess with one thing and it sends reality off in a wonky manner.

If we HAD to go through with this reboot/launch/whatever.....at least, as Wood said, it made some sort of sense and the stories we love are still in play...somewhat. Im at least a little more calm now and can start fresh with DCNu.

[Brian G]

Issue five was ROUGH.

I'm starting to experience Johns' idea of dialogue as sentences composed by a writer as opposed to words spoken by the various characters. He never gave me cause to notice it in his previous work, but a lot of the talky bits in his recent stuff --  Flashpoint #3-5 and Justice League #1, in particular -- feel unnatural and contrived, to me. I can see the hand of the once-invisible puppet master pushing his characters around, and that ain't a good thing.

Agree with all of this, but I have to say, I think a lot of it was intentional. Johns was never the best with dialogue, but Flashpoint was not the norm at all. There was clearly an intention of keeping things extremely simple. Characters' names were repeated constantly. Other characters would repeat the plot and their itentions over and over. I think maybe it's just all catering to new/casual readers.

[Jon O]

Am I the only one that thought Flashpoint 5 was awesome?  Barry has collapsed under too much stress and made decision before (he's killed Thawne before and asked for magic brain surgery on the Top). 

I thought going back and trying to save his mother was totally in character and him having to tackle himself to keep from saving his mom was powerful stuff.  Flash is the cornerstone of the DCU, if he didn't exist I can believe that spiralling out and changing all the other heroes.  The Batman stuff at the end was really powerful too, Thomas giving the letter to Bruce, and Batman cried!  Batman cried!

I was impressed with how much the Flashpoint universe did make sense and how they managed to revamp/reboot everything in a believable for comic book logic sort of way.

[BobBretall]

Am I the only one that thought Flashpoint 5 was awesome?  Barry has collapsed under too much stress and made decision before (he's killed Thawne before and asked for magic brain surgery on the Top). 

I thought going back and trying to save his mother was totally in character and him having to tackle himself to keep from saving his mom was powerful stuff.  Flash is the cornerstone of the DCU, if he didn't exist I can believe that spiralling out and changing all the other heroes.  The Batman stuff at the end was really powerful too, Thomas giving the letter to Bruce, and Batman cried!  Batman cried!

I was impressed with how much the Flashpoint universe did make sense and how they managed to revamp/reboot everything in a believable for comic book logic sort of way.

I also thought it was a great series/event.  Far better, IMO, than Identity, Infinite, or Final Crisis.