8 Great Moments from DC’s Flashpoint
As we inch our way closer to the release of Warner Bros Pictures’ The Flash movie starring Ezra Miller and directed by Andy Muschietti, it’s time to take a look at 9 Great Flashpoint moments from the book written by Geoff Johns and art by Andy Kubert back in 2022 which also directly led to the New 52.
Before we proceed, SPOILER ALERT
8. The Shazam kids Prototype
Years before Johns worked on his solo Shazam title, he already showed how much he wanted to play with the Shazam/ Captain Marvel sandbox. Before it got fine-tuned to have all six kids turn into powered adult versions of themselves, the quirky idea for this Flashpoint version of Shazam was to have all six kids present to say “Shazam” before we get to see the Big Red Cheese.
He does look cool especially with that facial scar and Tawny turning into a version of He-Man’s Battle Cat.
7. Cyborg is this world’s “Premiere” Superhero
It was especially cool to see Cyborg becoming THE superhero for the US at least. In this reality with no Superman or Justice League, Victor Stone became the hero that people respect and adore. Not only was this a big update for the former Teen Titan but it also foreshadows what would eventually become the new status quo for the hero. What happens is that when the New 52 kicked in, Cyborg became a founding member of the Justice League, aiding the other heroes in defeating Darkseid and stopping the invasion of Earth by the New God’s forces.
Plus he looked really cool with all the armor and weaponry.
6. Reverse Flash messing with Barry in various issues
Whether its swapping the costume inside his Flash ring or mocking Barry Allen, the Reverse Flash is a menace and its an interesting to see him screw Barry over and over in this new reality. Plus if you think about it, he could be the real reason why this whole thing happened as he previously revealed at this point that it was him who murdered Nora Allen, Barry’s mom.
5. Superman revealed as a prisoner for years
In the Flashpoint universe, there was no Justice League as the core members have their own things and there was never a Superman that inspired the heroes to join forces. Turns out Superman exists but he’s been held captive by the US government ever since his ship crash landed to Earth decades earlier. The Flashpoint version of Superman looks so thin and frail and that’s because he was never exposed to the yellow sun. Instead he’s constantly bombarded with red sun.
When Cyborg, Batman and the Flash team up to find the most “powerful being in the Universe” they were surprised to find out that Superman is there as a prisoner all his life. So they spring him out but later escapes… but does an anti-climatic return towards the end of the book, literally dropping in on the heel turned Enchantress.
This beat gets subverted in the upcoming The Flash movie with Sasha Calle‘s Supergirl replacing Clark Kent because Henry Cavill is not Superman anymore at the time the movie was produced.
4. The Whole Atlantis vs Themyscira war
One of the things I really liked about Flashpoint was the meaty war between Atlantis and Themyscira aka the war between the Atlanteans and the Amazons which has pretty much destroyed most of the UK and the war has been fought for some time now by JLAers Aquaman and Wonder Woman.
The main book glosses over the war and the history of the blood feud but it’s certainly something fun to read especially when you see the motivation between the two heroes and how the people around them worked to sabotage what could have been a peaceful co-existence.
3. Flashpoint Batman is Thomas Wayne
2. Barry Allen running fast to make the New 52
With their plan to stop the world from dying going FUBAR, Barry’s last attempt to set things right made him run so fast that he inadvertently created the New 52, which reset everything in the normal DCU. Of course there were other forces at play here like the meddling of Doctor Manhattan and the weird involvement of the character known as Pandora who DC was trying to hype up starting with the storyline Trinity War.
1. Bruce Wayne cried after getting a letter from his father.
When he gets back to his “reality”, one of the first things Barry Allen does is to give this letter to Bruce Wayne to give Thomas Wayne’s letter which makes Bruce cry.
Manly tears man. Manly tears.
This also sets up the future storyline “The Button” which was, in hindsight, which is a team up with Batman and The Flash.
So there you go, 8 Great Moments from DC’s Flashpoint. Be sure to go and pick up the book before you watch “The Flash” movie coming June 2023 from Warner Bros Pictures.
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