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Flashpoint
Flashpoint
Not a dream, not an imaginary story, not an elseworld. This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It's a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war - but where are Earth's Greatest Heroes to stop it? It's a place where America's last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, SHAZAM!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar, yet altered, faces! It's a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can't find the villain who altered the time line!
Collecting: Flashpoint 1-5
Collecting: Flashpoint 1-5
168 pages, Hardcover
First published August 31, 2011
1829 people are currently reading
5713 people want to read
About the author
Geoff Johns
2,735 books2,390 followersGeoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.
His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.
Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.
His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.
Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,286 reviews
November 5, 2022
(B+) 79% | Good
Notes: Wherein big names play plot devices and the universe, ironically, reboots with a story about restoring the status quo.
Notes: Wherein big names play plot devices and the universe, ironically, reboots with a story about restoring the status quo.
July 11, 2017
One of the DC’s modern crown jewels!
I bought this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen this TPB edition to be able of making a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects “Flashpoint” #1-5.
Creative Team:
Writer: Geoff Johns
Illustrator: Andy Kubert
Inker: Sandra Hope
ROAD TO HELL…
Indeed the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Barry Allen (aka The Flash) just wanted to save his mom, whose have been murdered when he was still a kid and his father was wrongly accused for the crime.
He is the fastest man alive and he’s able to travel through time, so the temptation of getting back to the past and saving his mom is too strong.
After all, saving his mom, avoiding that his dad would go to prison, all that is something positive, right? So, if he does it, nothing could come out wrong from that, right?
WRONG!!!
It’s sad and tragic, but some bad things happened for a reason.
Also, nobody is an island, and your own impact, or the lack of it, can affect too many people around you, since if you aren’t there to do what you did, nobody will do it, each decision is of each person, and nobody else.
ONLY ONE CUP PER CUSTOMER
It wasn’t a timeline aberration, Barry wasn’t correcting the timeline, for better or worse, his mom’s death was a fact in the original timeline, so changing that would provoke gigantic repercussions, not only to his own personal life, not only his closest friends and allies, but for the entire world, and millions of lives will be lost.
Millions of lives, innocent lives, for saving only one life, maybe the most important life in your existence, but still sadly and unfairly, only one life can’t justify millions of deaths.
Barry Allen must find a way to fix it and get back to the reality that he knew it before.
But…
…the worse of all?
Time is like a cup, if you break it, never will be the same, maybe you’d be extremely lucky of fix it in many details, BUT…
…small fragments will be lost forever and the crack will be impossible of making up entirely, you haven’t a new cup, you can’t do a new cup, it’s the original cup, the only cup and it was broken, there isn’t a glue good enough to erase the marks of the fracture.
What was, never will be the same, not matter how much you'd try it.
Villains are able to do terrible things…
…but ironically, heroes can do it worse.
I bought this in its single comic book issues, but I chosen this TPB edition to be able of making a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects “Flashpoint” #1-5.
Creative Team:
Writer: Geoff Johns
Illustrator: Andy Kubert
Inker: Sandra Hope
ROAD TO HELL…
Indeed the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Barry Allen (aka The Flash) just wanted to save his mom, whose have been murdered when he was still a kid and his father was wrongly accused for the crime.
He is the fastest man alive and he’s able to travel through time, so the temptation of getting back to the past and saving his mom is too strong.
After all, saving his mom, avoiding that his dad would go to prison, all that is something positive, right? So, if he does it, nothing could come out wrong from that, right?
WRONG!!!
It’s sad and tragic, but some bad things happened for a reason.
Also, nobody is an island, and your own impact, or the lack of it, can affect too many people around you, since if you aren’t there to do what you did, nobody will do it, each decision is of each person, and nobody else.
ONLY ONE CUP PER CUSTOMER
It wasn’t a timeline aberration, Barry wasn’t correcting the timeline, for better or worse, his mom’s death was a fact in the original timeline, so changing that would provoke gigantic repercussions, not only to his own personal life, not only his closest friends and allies, but for the entire world, and millions of lives will be lost.
Millions of lives, innocent lives, for saving only one life, maybe the most important life in your existence, but still sadly and unfairly, only one life can’t justify millions of deaths.
Barry Allen must find a way to fix it and get back to the reality that he knew it before.
But…
…the worse of all?
Time is like a cup, if you break it, never will be the same, maybe you’d be extremely lucky of fix it in many details, BUT…
…small fragments will be lost forever and the crack will be impossible of making up entirely, you haven’t a new cup, you can’t do a new cup, it’s the original cup, the only cup and it was broken, there isn’t a glue good enough to erase the marks of the fracture.
What was, never will be the same, not matter how much you'd try it.
Villains are able to do terrible things…
…but ironically, heroes can do it worse.
February 7, 2017
So this is the lead-in for the New 52 re-boot?
Huh.
Well, it's not particularly bad, but it's not exactly mind-blowing, either. I can see why quite a few other reviewers were disappointed in it.
It had that squished together, forced out, and then squished together again kind of feel to it. Blah. It could have been so much better.
Possibly it just didn't work for me because I've always felt that The Flash was one of the least cool members of the Justice League. It takes a lot of work and a great storyline for me to be able to take him seriously.
I think this one will go down as Required Reading because of the re-boot, but beyond that it's nothing special.
Huh.
Well, it's not particularly bad, but it's not exactly mind-blowing, either. I can see why quite a few other reviewers were disappointed in it.
It had that squished together, forced out, and then squished together again kind of feel to it. Blah. It could have been so much better.
Possibly it just didn't work for me because I've always felt that The Flash was one of the least cool members of the Justice League. It takes a lot of work and a great storyline for me to be able to take him seriously.
I think this one will go down as Required Reading because of the re-boot, but beyond that it's nothing special.
April 10, 2015
Barry Allen wakes up from a nap to discover that the world he knew has radically changed. BOO!
But his murdered mother is now alive and well. YAY!
But Barry’s dad is still dead. BOO!
But Barry’s dad wasn’t wrongly convicted of his mother’s murder and lived a long happy life. YAY!
But Barry now doesn’t have his Flash powers. BOO!
But Barry realizes that no one has ever heard of Superman. YAY! (That’s not a mistake. Superman is boring as hell.)
But Barry learns that Atlantis and the Amazons, led by Aquaman and Wonder Woman, are at war and have killed millions of people and destroyed a big chunk of Europe. BOO!
But Batman is still around. YAY!
But Batman is not Bruce Wayne. BOO!
But Batman is Bruce’s father Thomas who survived the mugging that killed him originally. YAY!
But young Bruce was killed instead. BOO!
But Thomas loves the idea that Barry comes from a reality where Bruce survived so much that he agrees to help set the world right. YAY!
But then things get sad. BOO!
But saving reality reboots it and serves as a jumping off point for the New 52. Yay? Boo? I’m really not sure….
As other reviewers have noted, this feels kinda short and rushed for being such a major event. For example, a huge chunk of time is devoted to getting Batman on board with trying to stop the war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman because he’s such a super awesome tactician that no other super powered people will sign on unless he’s the man with a plan. However, his brilliant scheme is that they all go to London and start punching people. Hell, I could have drawn that up. Maybe it pays off more in the Batman Flashpoint books, but it seems like a pretty big missing chunk of plot here.
And while there are some genuinely moving moments to this, I saw the ending coming a mile away. As will anyone who has seen a certain episode of classic Star Trek or about a thousand variations on it in sci-fi.
But his murdered mother is now alive and well. YAY!
But Barry’s dad is still dead. BOO!
But Barry’s dad wasn’t wrongly convicted of his mother’s murder and lived a long happy life. YAY!
But Barry now doesn’t have his Flash powers. BOO!
But Barry realizes that no one has ever heard of Superman. YAY! (That’s not a mistake. Superman is boring as hell.)
But Barry learns that Atlantis and the Amazons, led by Aquaman and Wonder Woman, are at war and have killed millions of people and destroyed a big chunk of Europe. BOO!
But Batman is still around. YAY!
But Batman is not Bruce Wayne. BOO!
But Batman is Bruce’s father Thomas who survived the mugging that killed him originally. YAY!
But young Bruce was killed instead. BOO!
But Thomas loves the idea that Barry comes from a reality where Bruce survived so much that he agrees to help set the world right. YAY!
But then things get sad. BOO!
But saving reality reboots it and serves as a jumping off point for the New 52. Yay? Boo? I’m really not sure….
As other reviewers have noted, this feels kinda short and rushed for being such a major event. For example, a huge chunk of time is devoted to getting Batman on board with trying to stop the war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman because he’s such a super awesome tactician that no other super powered people will sign on unless he’s the man with a plan. However, his brilliant scheme is that they all go to London and start punching people. Hell, I could have drawn that up. Maybe it pays off more in the Batman Flashpoint books, but it seems like a pretty big missing chunk of plot here.
And while there are some genuinely moving moments to this, I saw the ending coming a mile away. As will anyone who has seen a certain episode of classic Star Trek or about a thousand variations on it in sci-fi.
February 9, 2019
Flash’s mom was murdered when he was a kid so he decides to travel back in time and stop the killer. Except messing with the timestream has kinda caused everything to get fucked up - oopsies! Who’da thunk it?! Really, superheroes have just gotta get over their tragic backstories and move on…
So Flashpoint was kinda the beginning of DC’s New 52 line in that Barry Allen’s selfish meddling with time caused every title to be rebooted/relaunched. But it’s also not because nothing that happens here - besides Flash’s actions - has any bearing on the New 52! It’s essentially an Elseworlds book, though not an especially inspired one.
In this world, there’s no Flash, Green Lantern is still Abin Sur, there’s a different, much more psychotic Batman, Superman’s unknown and missing, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with each other and are trying to take over the world for no reason!
I guess it’s because Flashpoint is flashpointless that Geoff Johns doesn’t really put much thought into the motives of either Wonder Woman or Aquaman. We never really find out why Wonder Woman’s claimed Britain as New Themyscira or why Aquaman’s suddenly decided to turn evil and flood land masses. We find out why the two hate each other in a throwaway one-liner towards the end but it’s silly nonsense.
It’s kinda interesting to see familiar characters in unusual situations, and Brian Azzarello manages to get a decent Batman story out of this version of the character in one of the spinoff books. Andy Kubert’s art is fine and the scene where Barry tries to get his Flash powers back by recreating his original experiment, and gets badly burned and nearly killed for his stupidity, actually made me laugh!
Johns’ writing though is as clunky as ever, particularly all of Obama’s exposition dialogue which couldn’t have sounded less convincing and absurd. And, try as he might, Johns can’t make anything that happens here seem remotely weighty - this overwrought tale only ever feels throwaway, indeed all the more so in the years since the New 52 experiment ended.
As with most of Geoff Johns’ books, Flashpoint is a slick production but dumb as rocks, tries too hard to seem dramatic and exciting, and fails at both.
So Flashpoint was kinda the beginning of DC’s New 52 line in that Barry Allen’s selfish meddling with time caused every title to be rebooted/relaunched. But it’s also not because nothing that happens here - besides Flash’s actions - has any bearing on the New 52! It’s essentially an Elseworlds book, though not an especially inspired one.
In this world, there’s no Flash, Green Lantern is still Abin Sur, there’s a different, much more psychotic Batman, Superman’s unknown and missing, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with each other and are trying to take over the world for no reason!
I guess it’s because Flashpoint is flashpointless that Geoff Johns doesn’t really put much thought into the motives of either Wonder Woman or Aquaman. We never really find out why Wonder Woman’s claimed Britain as New Themyscira or why Aquaman’s suddenly decided to turn evil and flood land masses. We find out why the two hate each other in a throwaway one-liner towards the end but it’s silly nonsense.
It’s kinda interesting to see familiar characters in unusual situations, and Brian Azzarello manages to get a decent Batman story out of this version of the character in one of the spinoff books. Andy Kubert’s art is fine and the scene where Barry tries to get his Flash powers back by recreating his original experiment, and gets badly burned and nearly killed for his stupidity, actually made me laugh!
Johns’ writing though is as clunky as ever, particularly all of Obama’s exposition dialogue which couldn’t have sounded less convincing and absurd. And, try as he might, Johns can’t make anything that happens here seem remotely weighty - this overwrought tale only ever feels throwaway, indeed all the more so in the years since the New 52 experiment ended.
As with most of Geoff Johns’ books, Flashpoint is a slick production but dumb as rocks, tries too hard to seem dramatic and exciting, and fails at both.
July 8, 2025
The premiere of the new Flash television series gave Comixology and DC Comics a reason to markdown some excellent digital collections that I just found it the right time to read Flashpoint by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert.
My impression of DC crossovers was that a single artist is usually unable to draw it for the entire duration of a miniseries; examples would be Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis. I was impressed by how Andy Kubert managed to provide full pencils for the entire 5-issue miniseries, It really provided a uniform visual style that in itself was appealing.
The writing was done by the reliable Geoff Johns and I think he outdid himself here with a dystopic version of Earth without its major heroes. With Kubert churning out the best work of his life, I wished this was longer than five issues.
This miniseries was important for DC. Not only did it bring to prominence one of its iconic characters that often is overshadowed by the World Finest duo in Batman and Superman; it restarted the entire DC superhero line giving us the polarizing New 52.
For better or for worse, Flashpoint changed the DC superhero line. Taken as a single story, Johns and Kubert managed to give comic book fans a memorable story.
My impression of DC crossovers was that a single artist is usually unable to draw it for the entire duration of a miniseries; examples would be Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis. I was impressed by how Andy Kubert managed to provide full pencils for the entire 5-issue miniseries, It really provided a uniform visual style that in itself was appealing.
The writing was done by the reliable Geoff Johns and I think he outdid himself here with a dystopic version of Earth without its major heroes. With Kubert churning out the best work of his life, I wished this was longer than five issues.
This miniseries was important for DC. Not only did it bring to prominence one of its iconic characters that often is overshadowed by the World Finest duo in Batman and Superman; it restarted the entire DC superhero line giving us the polarizing New 52.
For better or for worse, Flashpoint changed the DC superhero line. Taken as a single story, Johns and Kubert managed to give comic book fans a memorable story.
May 12, 2017
I came into this reading not expecting much, because Flash has never been one of my favorites, and so I was surprised Flashpoint was as entertaining as it was. But why a 5 star rating, you ask?
Couple of purely personal reasons.
One, I love "What If" stories. Yeah, they have been done to death, but I still like them. Guess that is why I also read alternate history novels.
Two, I'm a man who is very close to his mother as well as being very close to my own kids, so a couple of the story lines emotional touched me.
Third, I like Kubert's art. It's purdy. (Pretty for those of you who do not speak the southern dialect of American English.)
Fourth, Batman cried. How often do we ever see that.
Couple of purely personal reasons.
One, I love "What If" stories. Yeah, they have been done to death, but I still like them. Guess that is why I also read alternate history novels.
Two, I'm a man who is very close to his mother as well as being very close to my own kids, so a couple of the story lines emotional touched me.
Third, I like Kubert's art. It's purdy. (Pretty for those of you who do not speak the southern dialect of American English.)
Fourth, Batman cried. How often do we ever see that.
February 19, 2021
Rating: 4.5 stars.
I watched the animation version of this story first and I admit the animation version is an improvement over an already impressive story.
The comic version of the story isn’t narrated in the exact same way like the anime: Barry Allen/The Flash woke up to find himself losing his power the world isn’t the same like he once known, his mother (who was murdered when he was a child) turned out to be still alive, Justice League is nonexist, no one has ever heard of Superman, Batman is killing criminals in Gotham and more importantly, Aquaman and Wonder Woman were at war, destroying half of Europe and were about to destroy the rest of the world.
The artwork is okay-ish, not my favorite type but it’s passable, the story is pretty impressive, the most interesting part is how Cyborg tried to gather up enough super-humans (e.g. Captain Thunder, Enchantress, Element Woman, the Outsider etc) to try to stop Aquman and Wonder Woman when JL is nonsexist and Batman refuses to help.
The best part of the story is of course, as Batman!!!! The Flash is doing great as well (love how he got his power back although the scene in the anime is even better!) but on the other hand, Professor Zoom (the villain) is like, a bit underwhelming?
It’s a fast read, will recommend it! I also wants to read the story with the Flashpoint!Joker in it, I know this one has to be somewhere out there!
PS: Pirate!Slade and Pirate!Clayface are hot, super hot! Too bad they barely show up in the story...
I watched the animation version of this story first and I admit the animation version is an improvement over an already impressive story.
The comic version of the story isn’t narrated in the exact same way like the anime: Barry Allen/The Flash woke up to find himself losing his power the world isn’t the same like he once known, his mother (who was murdered when he was a child) turned out to be still alive, Justice League is nonexist, no one has ever heard of Superman, Batman is killing criminals in Gotham and more importantly, Aquaman and Wonder Woman were at war, destroying half of Europe and were about to destroy the rest of the world.
The artwork is okay-ish, not my favorite type but it’s passable, the story is pretty impressive, the most interesting part is how Cyborg tried to gather up enough super-humans (e.g. Captain Thunder, Enchantress, Element Woman, the Outsider etc) to try to stop Aquman and Wonder Woman when JL is nonsexist and Batman refuses to help.
The best part of the story is of course, as Batman!!!! The Flash is doing great as well (love how he got his power back although the scene in the anime is even better!) but on the other hand, Professor Zoom (the villain) is like, a bit underwhelming?
It’s a fast read, will recommend it! I also wants to read the story with the Flashpoint!Joker in it, I know this one has to be somewhere out there!
PS: Pirate!Slade and Pirate!Clayface are hot, super hot! Too bad they barely show up in the story...
November 6, 2017
Purchased this TPB after watching the Flashpoint Paradox DC animated movie, lured by Andy Kubert's awesome artworks.
Not bad at all, a nice
But for that I really enjoyed this storyline leading to DC New 52 and Flashpoint Thomas Wayne is just one of the best and badass alternate Batman ever.
January 20, 2025
One would think this would have landed better, Geoff Johns and Adam Kubert doing a dark alternate DC reality, but this crossover was just exhausting after the previous years. Some of the ideas like the Tomas Wayne Batman weren't bad, but the execution was so rushed. Adam Kubert is frankly better at drawing a skulking Wolverine than an epic Flash time travel saga. And of course, it led to the New 52, and this company's comics haven't been as good since...
Still curious how they'll do the movie adaptation
Still curious how they'll do the movie adaptation
November 25, 2021
I know I’m biased because The Flash is my favorite hero, but I think this is dollar for dollar one of the best story arcs in all of comics.
Even compared to The Watchman, V for Vendetta and The Sandman.
Notice those are all DC?
I’m a DC guy if you didn’t know. Marvel makes some fine films, but DC comics are better.
I talked to a friend some time ago and asked the DC or Marvel question and she had an interesting response: Marvel better overall but DC has the best villains.
And that leads me to our villain here, Flash’s oldest and most nefarious, Reverse Flash, Professor Zoom. Eobard Thawne is to Barry Allen as The Joker is to Batman – his opposite, his foil, and yet, the yin to his yang, his equal shadow. An argument could be made that Thawne is more evil than The Joker. In the D&D alignment system The Joker is often shown as the perfect example of chaotic evil, but Thawne has an odd lawful evil sentimentality as the focus of his malevolence is The Flash.
So, Allen wakes up and his world is different, and this leads him to find Batman in this alternate reality – where Thomas Wayne is The Batman and a war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman has and is devastating the world. Superman is a pale version of himself, and Cyborg is the preeminent superhero.
Excellent, excellent world building that would usher in the New 52 universe and change the face of DC for a few years.
Even compared to The Watchman, V for Vendetta and The Sandman.
Notice those are all DC?
I’m a DC guy if you didn’t know. Marvel makes some fine films, but DC comics are better.
I talked to a friend some time ago and asked the DC or Marvel question and she had an interesting response: Marvel better overall but DC has the best villains.
And that leads me to our villain here, Flash’s oldest and most nefarious, Reverse Flash, Professor Zoom. Eobard Thawne is to Barry Allen as The Joker is to Batman – his opposite, his foil, and yet, the yin to his yang, his equal shadow. An argument could be made that Thawne is more evil than The Joker. In the D&D alignment system The Joker is often shown as the perfect example of chaotic evil, but Thawne has an odd lawful evil sentimentality as the focus of his malevolence is The Flash.
So, Allen wakes up and his world is different, and this leads him to find Batman in this alternate reality – where Thomas Wayne is The Batman and a war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman has and is devastating the world. Superman is a pale version of himself, and Cyborg is the preeminent superhero.
Excellent, excellent world building that would usher in the New 52 universe and change the face of DC for a few years.
December 30, 2016
I could do a very long-winded review, but this image sums it up so much better.
March 12, 2018
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
This is the story that sets things in motion for what everyone knows as the New 52 for the DC Universe. Flashpoint puts The Flash center stage as the world’s fastest man alive wakes up at his desk completely oblivious to all the life-changing events taking place around the world. Slowly realizing that things aren’t what they used to be, with people who weren’t supposed to be alive suddenly all happy and well, and others who simply don’t exist anymore, Barry Allen seeks help from the one person who could demystify everything: Batman. As things continue to not go according to plan, Barry Allen finds himself with another puzzle as Batman isn’t really… Bruce Wayne.
This event is of major importance to DC’s attempt to freshly reboot its line-ups with various new series set in the New 52. The status quo of the era is now suddenly shifted onto a whole new lane where brand new ideas and direction are pursued. What The Flash comes to realize by the end of Flashpoint forces him to take matters into his own hands, but the end result isn’t as clean as he’ll hope it was. What you can always expect from Geoff Johns is that his ideas are always clever and huge. With Flashpoint, he however goes for something pretty simple, but also extravagant in every way possible. In fact, Flashpoint is a what-if story that plays a lot on emotions, but also on the relationship between key characters in the DC Universe.
The artwork is similar to what you’d find in the New 52 Justice League run and tends to highlight the drama and action as often as possible. What Andy Kubert ultimately delivers is a stunning and epic portrait of the destruction and chaos that unfolds, and his ability to showcase it all is phenomenal. From the rapid action sequences to the full-two-page artwork, there’s simply nothing that can disappoint readers in that department, especially if its the kind of style that entertains you. It’s explosive and often cruel and dangerous. The artwork does justice to the storyline and successfully embellishes it.
While the event itself is original and powerful, the five-issue miniseries does rush through things and doesn’t take the time to flesh out some of its ideas and characters. A lot happens in such a short span of time, but I do also believe that the purpose of this story lies in its premise and the introduction of the ripple effect that this event has in store for the future New 52 stories. In fact, there’s a bunch of tie-in stories that attempt to build on this event, and bashing Flashpoint by Geoff Johns for wanting to simply set the foundation to it all seems wrong to me.
Not much of a surprise, but my favourite part of this whole event is definitely the introduction of Flashpoint Batman. This characters isn’t who you’d expect it to be and the fact that he’s so dark, gritty and grizzled in every way possible makes him such a fascinating character. The pain that this character withholds is even more intense than the traditional Batman and its amazing what he accomplishes throughout the story. In fact, Flashpoint Batman leads us to such a touching ending that it almost had me crack a tear myself. Honestly, Flashpoint is a great story for everyone to check out as it does a fantastic and quick job in showing readers what DC superheroes are capable of.
Flashpoint by Geoff Johns was also adapted as DC Animated Movie called Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox and it is one of the best adaptation that a fan could wish for. It stays very loyal to the source material, even adds in some extra content, and delivers all the bloody and gory action, with some extra sauce, to reveal one of the more mature and violent DC movies out there. The voice-acting is also quite impeccable and the visuals is as stunning as always. You can easily watch this movie as a stand-alone, as long as you know your basic Justice League members as the whole twist on their stories is what makes this story arc so fascinating. Oh, and also if you’re good with a little bit of violence with your superheroes.
Flashpoint was also loosely adapted in the third season of CW Network’s The Flash TV series. Anyone who follows the DC shows knows what kind of repercussions this event had on the universe, and knows who to blame for it all. It is however worth mentioning that the TV series adaptation barely portrays the grandeur of the event, since the TV shows don’t have some of the A-list superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman. But one thing the show does well is explaining it all and making it all easy to chew for viewers. I guess it’s one of the upside of these family-targeted TV shows.
Besides the animated movie adaptation and TV series adaptation, Flashpoint is also planned to be adapted onto the big screen as The Flash’s first solo movie. This is a very bold move by DC and could turn into a disaster if not done properly, but it is without a doubt an exciting project. For those who know the story of Flashpoint, the fandom is pretty pump at the idea that some actors we’ve seen so far in the movies could take on some very big roles in a Flashpoint movie. Just imagine Of course, with the way the movies so far have been done, I wouldn’t be surprised if they change up the original storyline a lot. However, Flashpoint could also turn out to be a beautiful opportunity for DC to reboot its movie line-up and bring new, original and fresh stories to all our beloved DC superheroes. It will all depend on Warner Bros and the directors/writers who will have the monumental job of adapting these stories.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
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This is the story that sets things in motion for what everyone knows as the New 52 for the DC Universe. Flashpoint puts The Flash at the center of it all as the fastest man alive wakes up at his desk completely oblivious to the life-changing event that took place. Slowly realizing that things aren't what they used to be with people who weren't supposed to be alive suddenly all happy and well, and other people who simply don't exist anymore, Barry Allen goes to the one person who could help him out, only to realize it isn't exactly who he hoped it was: Flashpoint Batman.
This event is of major importance to DC's attempt to restart its comic series fresh with various new series set in the New 52. What The Flash comes to realize by the end of Flashpoint forces him to takes things into his own hands, but the end result isn't as clean as he'll hope it was.
The artwork is similar to what you'd find in the New 52 Justice League run and highlights the drama and action as often as possible. It definitely doesn't disappoint on that level if its the kind of thing that entertains you.
This story does rush through things and doesn't take the time to flesh out some ideas and characters, but I think the purpose of this story lies in its premise and what the ripple effect it has for future New 52 stories and bashing it for anything else would just be wrong.
The best part in this for me is definitely the introduction of Flashpoint Batman as his character was dark, gritty and epic in every way possible. This is a great story for anyone to check out as it does a nice and quick job in showing us what these DC superheroes are capable of.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
This is the story that sets things in motion for what everyone knows as the New 52 for the DC Universe. Flashpoint puts The Flash center stage as the world’s fastest man alive wakes up at his desk completely oblivious to all the life-changing events taking place around the world. Slowly realizing that things aren’t what they used to be, with people who weren’t supposed to be alive suddenly all happy and well, and others who simply don’t exist anymore, Barry Allen seeks help from the one person who could demystify everything: Batman. As things continue to not go according to plan, Barry Allen finds himself with another puzzle as Batman isn’t really… Bruce Wayne.
This event is of major importance to DC’s attempt to freshly reboot its line-ups with various new series set in the New 52. The status quo of the era is now suddenly shifted onto a whole new lane where brand new ideas and direction are pursued. What The Flash comes to realize by the end of Flashpoint forces him to take matters into his own hands, but the end result isn’t as clean as he’ll hope it was. What you can always expect from Geoff Johns is that his ideas are always clever and huge. With Flashpoint, he however goes for something pretty simple, but also extravagant in every way possible. In fact, Flashpoint is a what-if story that plays a lot on emotions, but also on the relationship between key characters in the DC Universe.
The artwork is similar to what you’d find in the New 52 Justice League run and tends to highlight the drama and action as often as possible. What Andy Kubert ultimately delivers is a stunning and epic portrait of the destruction and chaos that unfolds, and his ability to showcase it all is phenomenal. From the rapid action sequences to the full-two-page artwork, there’s simply nothing that can disappoint readers in that department, especially if its the kind of style that entertains you. It’s explosive and often cruel and dangerous. The artwork does justice to the storyline and successfully embellishes it.
While the event itself is original and powerful, the five-issue miniseries does rush through things and doesn’t take the time to flesh out some of its ideas and characters. A lot happens in such a short span of time, but I do also believe that the purpose of this story lies in its premise and the introduction of the ripple effect that this event has in store for the future New 52 stories. In fact, there’s a bunch of tie-in stories that attempt to build on this event, and bashing Flashpoint by Geoff Johns for wanting to simply set the foundation to it all seems wrong to me.
Not much of a surprise, but my favourite part of this whole event is definitely the introduction of Flashpoint Batman. This characters isn’t who you’d expect it to be and the fact that he’s so dark, gritty and grizzled in every way possible makes him such a fascinating character. The pain that this character withholds is even more intense than the traditional Batman and its amazing what he accomplishes throughout the story. In fact, Flashpoint Batman leads us to such a touching ending that it almost had me crack a tear myself. Honestly, Flashpoint is a great story for everyone to check out as it does a fantastic and quick job in showing readers what DC superheroes are capable of.
Flashpoint by Geoff Johns was also adapted as DC Animated Movie called Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox and it is one of the best adaptation that a fan could wish for. It stays very loyal to the source material, even adds in some extra content, and delivers all the bloody and gory action, with some extra sauce, to reveal one of the more mature and violent DC movies out there. The voice-acting is also quite impeccable and the visuals is as stunning as always. You can easily watch this movie as a stand-alone, as long as you know your basic Justice League members as the whole twist on their stories is what makes this story arc so fascinating. Oh, and also if you’re good with a little bit of violence with your superheroes.
Flashpoint was also loosely adapted in the third season of CW Network’s The Flash TV series. Anyone who follows the DC shows knows what kind of repercussions this event had on the universe, and knows who to blame for it all. It is however worth mentioning that the TV series adaptation barely portrays the grandeur of the event, since the TV shows don’t have some of the A-list superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman. But one thing the show does well is explaining it all and making it all easy to chew for viewers. I guess it’s one of the upside of these family-targeted TV shows.
Besides the animated movie adaptation and TV series adaptation, Flashpoint is also planned to be adapted onto the big screen as The Flash’s first solo movie. This is a very bold move by DC and could turn into a disaster if not done properly, but it is without a doubt an exciting project. For those who know the story of Flashpoint, the fandom is pretty pump at the idea that some actors we’ve seen so far in the movies could take on some very big roles in a Flashpoint movie. Just imagine Of course, with the way the movies so far have been done, I wouldn’t be surprised if they change up the original storyline a lot. However, Flashpoint could also turn out to be a beautiful opportunity for DC to reboot its movie line-up and bring new, original and fresh stories to all our beloved DC superheroes. It will all depend on Warner Bros and the directors/writers who will have the monumental job of adapting these stories.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
_______________________
This is the story that sets things in motion for what everyone knows as the New 52 for the DC Universe. Flashpoint puts The Flash at the center of it all as the fastest man alive wakes up at his desk completely oblivious to the life-changing event that took place. Slowly realizing that things aren't what they used to be with people who weren't supposed to be alive suddenly all happy and well, and other people who simply don't exist anymore, Barry Allen goes to the one person who could help him out, only to realize it isn't exactly who he hoped it was: Flashpoint Batman.
This event is of major importance to DC's attempt to restart its comic series fresh with various new series set in the New 52. What The Flash comes to realize by the end of Flashpoint forces him to takes things into his own hands, but the end result isn't as clean as he'll hope it was.
The artwork is similar to what you'd find in the New 52 Justice League run and highlights the drama and action as often as possible. It definitely doesn't disappoint on that level if its the kind of thing that entertains you.
This story does rush through things and doesn't take the time to flesh out some ideas and characters, but I think the purpose of this story lies in its premise and what the ripple effect it has for future New 52 stories and bashing it for anything else would just be wrong.
The best part in this for me is definitely the introduction of Flashpoint Batman as his character was dark, gritty and epic in every way possible. This is a great story for anyone to check out as it does a nice and quick job in showing us what these DC superheroes are capable of.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
February 5, 2015
I'm tired of writing about how much I hate Geoff Johns. I'm tired of writing about how much I think the New 52 completely ruined DC Comics. But seriously -- there's no comics publisher more uniformly generic in 2015 than DC. The art's the same, the stories are the same, the writing's the same, and it's all shit. DC has a warehouse-sized bank of cool, weird characters and almost 100 years of history, and somehow they've compressed it all into one flavorless batch of meh.
In whatever normal comic-book reading world we used to live in, it wouldn't matter if one art style and one writing style was a buzzkill for me. I could still enjoy superhero comics because there's supposed to be ONE GUY drawing and ONE GUY writing ONE BOOK. And then there would be A THOUSAND OTHERS for me to choose from.
Superhero comics are already kinda samey -- I mean, get real bro. They are. But somehow DC decided to up the sameiness to the max, and pump out book after book of identical humps of crap. If you love the one identical thing DC Comics does now -- the limited sampling of unhappy heroes with truncated backstories kinda-sorta drawn like a Jim Lee knockoff? Great. Bully for you. But if you don't? If you think your favorite character's twisty-windy backstory was kind of idiosyncratic and interesting, and you have this crazy idea that a Superman story and a Batman story and a Lobo story shouldn't have the exact same look, feel, and tone?
Well then I guess you're not buying DC Comics, bro. Go read the old stuff. DC Comics is dead to you now.
DC Comics looks like videogame art and reads like angry Power Rangers. I don't think I'm going to bother even referring to their individual comics by name any more. As far as I'm concerned, they're all called DC Comics.
In this DC Comics, Sad Hero 12 gets sent to Sad Hero World 11 and meets Sad Heroes 6, 5, 13 and 8. 13 and 8 fight. 6 is unhappier than usual. 5 motivates the plot with his powers. 12 realizes it's the fault of Villain 4, then learns he's wrong. Everything reboots. Nothing matters.
About five pages of this book introduce Element Woman, who is a genuinely weird hero that I would totally follow in a monthly series. Pretty sure she got wiped out in the reboot though, because fuck everything.
In whatever normal comic-book reading world we used to live in, it wouldn't matter if one art style and one writing style was a buzzkill for me. I could still enjoy superhero comics because there's supposed to be ONE GUY drawing and ONE GUY writing ONE BOOK. And then there would be A THOUSAND OTHERS for me to choose from.
Superhero comics are already kinda samey -- I mean, get real bro. They are. But somehow DC decided to up the sameiness to the max, and pump out book after book of identical humps of crap. If you love the one identical thing DC Comics does now -- the limited sampling of unhappy heroes with truncated backstories kinda-sorta drawn like a Jim Lee knockoff? Great. Bully for you. But if you don't? If you think your favorite character's twisty-windy backstory was kind of idiosyncratic and interesting, and you have this crazy idea that a Superman story and a Batman story and a Lobo story shouldn't have the exact same look, feel, and tone?
Well then I guess you're not buying DC Comics, bro. Go read the old stuff. DC Comics is dead to you now.
DC Comics looks like videogame art and reads like angry Power Rangers. I don't think I'm going to bother even referring to their individual comics by name any more. As far as I'm concerned, they're all called DC Comics.
In this DC Comics, Sad Hero 12 gets sent to Sad Hero World 11 and meets Sad Heroes 6, 5, 13 and 8. 13 and 8 fight. 6 is unhappier than usual. 5 motivates the plot with his powers. 12 realizes it's the fault of Villain 4, then learns he's wrong. Everything reboots. Nothing matters.
About five pages of this book introduce Element Woman, who is a genuinely weird hero that I would totally follow in a monthly series. Pretty sure she got wiped out in the reboot though, because fuck everything.
April 12, 2022
I decided to read this after hearing about Ezra Miller doing some totally out of character behavior in Hawaii, since let’s be honest true believers, this Flash movie will never come out. And now I don’t really know why I walked all the way to the library to read this dumbass book. God it’s so fucking dumb. I hate this book alot. Hopefully that sequel thing Geoff Johns is doing is good, because I did like Doomsday Clock alot, but this? Not so much.
Flashpoint is just not a very good Flash story, and it honestly flabbergasts me how this is always the comic that gets adapted in media constantly. Like it’s total fucking shit, and I don’t even like Kubert’s art like I used to. The day Flashpoint stops getting reprinted and adapted will be a good day for comic fans everywhere. Geoff Johns is easily the worst thing to ever happen to The Flash, like my dead turtle has more personality than Barry Allen. Best thing that dude did was die in Crisis. The animated movie is the only adaptation that I have liked, and even “like” is a bit of a stretch. This just ain’t for me.
Flashpoint is just not a very good Flash story, and it honestly flabbergasts me how this is always the comic that gets adapted in media constantly. Like it’s total fucking shit, and I don’t even like Kubert’s art like I used to. The day Flashpoint stops getting reprinted and adapted will be a good day for comic fans everywhere. Geoff Johns is easily the worst thing to ever happen to The Flash, like my dead turtle has more personality than Barry Allen. Best thing that dude did was die in Crisis. The animated movie is the only adaptation that I have liked, and even “like” is a bit of a stretch. This just ain’t for me.
September 22, 2017
I'm a big sucker for time travel stories. The adventure, the speculation, the paradoxes, I just love it all. So the possibilities of the extent of The Flash's powers fascinate me. And so I really wanted to read this popular story that essentially reset the entire DC Universe.
Flashpoint begins when Barry Allen wakes up at his desk and the entire world has changed. There is no Justice League, his mother is alive, and the world is on the brink of disaster due to a globe-spanning turf war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. So in order to figure out what happened to change the world and how he can get it back, he tracks down the Batman for help, but what he finds is the biggest challenge he's ever had to face!
What impresses me with the few books I've read so far by Geoff Johns is his great knack for taking the insanely complicated world of the DCU and luring out the cool aspects, crafting enjoyable stories that are relatively easy for newcomers to follow. This book is impressively easy to jump into without knowing a lot about the world of DC comics. Johns also does a good job at keeping this huge story grounded emotionally, thanks to the great character work with both The Flash and Batman, which led to a touching ending. And aside from that it's an exciting story with great pacing, just the right amount of action and featuring more than enough surprising twists, as well as one of the coolest DC villains, the Reverse Flash.
My one big critique is that it does surprisingly feel too short. I usually never think that something should be longer, but I actually feel that the book would've ultimately been stronger if it expanded it's rich world-building even more, and we spent more time with the characters. The story here is ripe for exploration and I would've welcomed a deeper dive!
Flashpoint begins when Barry Allen wakes up at his desk and the entire world has changed. There is no Justice League, his mother is alive, and the world is on the brink of disaster due to a globe-spanning turf war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. So in order to figure out what happened to change the world and how he can get it back, he tracks down the Batman for help, but what he finds is the biggest challenge he's ever had to face!
What impresses me with the few books I've read so far by Geoff Johns is his great knack for taking the insanely complicated world of the DCU and luring out the cool aspects, crafting enjoyable stories that are relatively easy for newcomers to follow. This book is impressively easy to jump into without knowing a lot about the world of DC comics. Johns also does a good job at keeping this huge story grounded emotionally, thanks to the great character work with both The Flash and Batman, which led to a touching ending. And aside from that it's an exciting story with great pacing, just the right amount of action and featuring more than enough surprising twists, as well as one of the coolest DC villains, the Reverse Flash.
My one big critique is that it does surprisingly feel too short. I usually never think that something should be longer, but I actually feel that the book would've ultimately been stronger if it expanded it's rich world-building even more, and we spent more time with the characters. The story here is ripe for exploration and I would've welcomed a deeper dive!
January 22, 2016
Yeahhhhhhh, that was nice. It started out a little confusing, but that was the purpose. Great art. Super great concept.
February 9, 2017
Past Crisis-level (with the exception of Identity Crisis) crossovers of DC are either multiverse-wide cataclysms or a war with the gods. They happen in space, an alternate universe or some crazy, otherworldy place. Geoff John's Flashpoint is a way more simple than that. The story that gave birth to DC's shortlived New 52 era plays under the premise that someone mysteriously messed up the timeline. And you know? It works. I liked reading Flashpoint, as with many other series written by Geoff Johns. It is very, very easy to follow.
DC's Flashpoint launched the New 52 era.
I love how Geoff Johns manages to pull the strings in today's DC world, how he reconciles different story arcs and events into a huge cohesive DC mega-arc. If you loved his work in DC Universe Rebirth #1, this should be definitely on your read list.
DC's Flashpoint launched the New 52 era.
I love how Geoff Johns manages to pull the strings in today's DC world, how he reconciles different story arcs and events into a huge cohesive DC mega-arc. If you loved his work in DC Universe Rebirth #1, this should be definitely on your read list.
November 14, 2023
I finally read it! And, for such a (for the time) fundamental and impactful text I found it to be quite rushed...though I guess in a Flash story that's to be expected!
It was worth reading, ultimately, but one of the rare cases where I think I preferred the animated film adaptation.
It was worth reading, ultimately, but one of the rare cases where I think I preferred the animated film adaptation.
August 14, 2016
UPDATED: I went back and read The Flash: Rebirth, The Flash, Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues and The Flash, Vol. 2: The Road to Flashpoint and then read Flashpoint again. I'm elevating my rating to four stars, because I genuinely liked this story, but I do think there are some flaws.
For some reason this felt "smaller" than what I was expecting. Perhaps because I thought this was at the level of a Crisis story, resulting in the New 52 Universe, or my expectations were too high.
It's a good story with a fairly simple but strong emotional core, not only for the Flash but for Batman as well. Only after reading it and mulling it over do you realize what the ramifications of it truly mean. So it comes off as a pretty big Flash story where Barry does something wrong, yet you can understand where he was coming from, but it's a sneaky epic story that will ripple across the DC Universe.
I didn't know beforehand that Andy Kubert did the art and boy have I missed seeing his work. It really looks fantastic. He had some small quirks before with anatomy but those are gone now but he still retains his style.
For some reason this felt "smaller" than what I was expecting. Perhaps because I thought this was at the level of a Crisis story, resulting in the New 52 Universe, or my expectations were too high.
It's a good story with a fairly simple but strong emotional core, not only for the Flash but for Batman as well. Only after reading it and mulling it over do you realize what the ramifications of it truly mean. So it comes off as a pretty big Flash story where Barry does something wrong, yet you can understand where he was coming from, but it's a sneaky epic story that will ripple across the DC Universe.
I didn't know beforehand that Andy Kubert did the art and boy have I missed seeing his work. It really looks fantastic. He had some small quirks before with anatomy but those are gone now but he still retains his style.
March 17, 2024
Flashpoint was the series that started the New 52. I think-it's hard to keep track of the reboots, so I won't. Let's just view the story for what it is.
Barry Allen wakes up to a new world. His mother is alive and that's great. But the world has turned to shit. Nothing is the same. Wonder Woman has conquered England and wages a ferocious war against Aquaman and Atlantis. Meanwhile Cyborg is trying to recruit a group of super-heroes and villains to stop them. Here we run into Batman, but it's Thomas Wayne. I rather liked this even darker and grimmer Batman.
It looks like Thawne, Reverse Flash, has changed the time stream..or did he? That I shall not answer. On the whole a really cool story and one I enjoyed. The different settings and outlooks for the superheroes was rather interesting and of particular note is Batman and Superman.
Geoff Johns writes another fun D.C. tale and it was fairly entertaining. The artwork is well done as well. So if you like an Elseworlds type of setting then you will enjoy this series.
Barry Allen wakes up to a new world. His mother is alive and that's great. But the world has turned to shit. Nothing is the same. Wonder Woman has conquered England and wages a ferocious war against Aquaman and Atlantis. Meanwhile Cyborg is trying to recruit a group of super-heroes and villains to stop them. Here we run into Batman, but it's Thomas Wayne. I rather liked this even darker and grimmer Batman.
It looks like Thawne, Reverse Flash, has changed the time stream..or did he? That I shall not answer. On the whole a really cool story and one I enjoyed. The different settings and outlooks for the superheroes was rather interesting and of particular note is Batman and Superman.
Geoff Johns writes another fun D.C. tale and it was fairly entertaining. The artwork is well done as well. So if you like an Elseworlds type of setting then you will enjoy this series.
August 3, 2019
Re-read 2019
I felt like this was really worth the reread. I took more in this time around, understood a bit more, and still really liked how dark it was. Even though this is a Flash story, I think my favorite is still Batman. He took broodiness to a while new level.
First read review below:
This was my first Flash comic, and other than watching Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, I don't know much about the character or his life. Even so, I wanted to give him a try, and I'm happy I started with this. It was dark, disturbing and really fascinating to read. The artwork was great, and I really enjoyed the plot.
Definitely interested in trying out more Flash comics in the future.
I felt like this was really worth the reread. I took more in this time around, understood a bit more, and still really liked how dark it was. Even though this is a Flash story, I think my favorite is still Batman. He took broodiness to a while new level.
First read review below:
This was my first Flash comic, and other than watching Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, I don't know much about the character or his life. Even so, I wanted to give him a try, and I'm happy I started with this. It was dark, disturbing and really fascinating to read. The artwork was great, and I really enjoyed the plot.
Definitely interested in trying out more Flash comics in the future.
December 7, 2020
A pretty entertaining alternate timeline story that was solid as Flash/Batman centric adventure, but kinda weak as the starting point of whole new DC timeline, not much information about that here.
March 4, 2020
Alternative realities.
The most overused trope in modern comics.
FLASHPOINT is the book that destroyed a happy lifetime of reading and collecting DC Comics by obliterating their long history with a bland kinda-sorta reboot. I have put off reading this book for nearly a decade.
So...now that I've finally gotten around to reading it?
I found it surprisingly innocuous. Writer Geoff Johns brought this to a neat and tidy conclusion, and things could have, and probably were going to, return to status quo. Publisher Dan DiDio used this as a catalyst for his long-sought reboot, and the rest is history. DC is still dealing with the fallout today, and is about to launch yet another reboot, which may or may not be canceled due to the recent firing of the aforementioned Dan DiDio.
Johns hits all of the alternative universe tropes: One hero remembers the way things used to be, attempts to get the band back together, we touch on how the world is affected by the changes in the timeline, blah blah blah. Very bland stuff. I did enjoy Johns' take on a Superman who is raised like a veal, and villain Reverse-Flash really is a slimy piece of shit, but he is deliciously unrepentant, which makes him a blast to read. Aside from those few bright spots, this was a predictable bore.
The most overused trope in modern comics.
FLASHPOINT is the book that destroyed a happy lifetime of reading and collecting DC Comics by obliterating their long history with a bland kinda-sorta reboot. I have put off reading this book for nearly a decade.
So...now that I've finally gotten around to reading it?
I found it surprisingly innocuous. Writer Geoff Johns brought this to a neat and tidy conclusion, and things could have, and probably were going to, return to status quo. Publisher Dan DiDio used this as a catalyst for his long-sought reboot, and the rest is history. DC is still dealing with the fallout today, and is about to launch yet another reboot, which may or may not be canceled due to the recent firing of the aforementioned Dan DiDio.
Johns hits all of the alternative universe tropes: One hero remembers the way things used to be, attempts to get the band back together, we touch on how the world is affected by the changes in the timeline, blah blah blah. Very bland stuff. I did enjoy Johns' take on a Superman who is raised like a veal, and villain Reverse-Flash really is a slimy piece of shit, but he is deliciously unrepentant, which makes him a blast to read. Aside from those few bright spots, this was a predictable bore.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2021
This was such a good and emotional story. And till date remains one of my fav stories ever.
It starts with Barry waking up in his lab seeing the world has changed around him as he sees his mother alive and something seems strange and thus begins his quest to find out what and we follow him as he tries to solve this mystery, teaming with this world's Batman aka Thomas Wayne and as we follow this quest, we see what this world is like, Aquaman vs Wonder woman, the fate of other beings and its a crazy and emotional roller coaster ride and the ultimate fight and then Reverse flash and we find the truth about who and what caused it and so much more and finally the big resolution that changes the DC Universe forever for good!
Its an epic storyline and has a big scope and leads to the relaunch of DCU with New 52 and is very much a crisis but its also a personal story of a man just trying to save his mother and the costs associated with it and like the Bruce-Thomas plot was so well done, its one of the best laid ones. And finally the art here is so good, each panel so detailed and like definitely compliments the story. Just such an awesome story with lots of heart and scope!
It starts with Barry waking up in his lab seeing the world has changed around him as he sees his mother alive and something seems strange and thus begins his quest to find out what and we follow him as he tries to solve this mystery, teaming with this world's Batman aka Thomas Wayne and as we follow this quest, we see what this world is like, Aquaman vs Wonder woman, the fate of other beings and its a crazy and emotional roller coaster ride and the ultimate fight and then Reverse flash and we find the truth about who and what caused it and so much more and finally the big resolution that changes the DC Universe forever for good!
Its an epic storyline and has a big scope and leads to the relaunch of DCU with New 52 and is very much a crisis but its also a personal story of a man just trying to save his mother and the costs associated with it and like the Bruce-Thomas plot was so well done, its one of the best laid ones. And finally the art here is so good, each panel so detailed and like definitely compliments the story. Just such an awesome story with lots of heart and scope!
June 19, 2014
MINI-REVIEW: the world is broken and it's all Flash's fault. How did he do it? You'll have to read the book but know that the DC world has changed: Bruce Wayne was murdered so his father is a more brutal Batman, Superman came to Earth but is a test prisoner of the military, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are disgruntled lovers with no loyalties to humanity who are literally tearing the globe apart and the list goes on and on. The animated movie follows this graphic novel very well, by the way. Evocative artwork with an epic scope.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus.
OVERALL GRADE: B plus.
February 26, 2023
One moment Barry Allen was the Flash and the next he wakes up in a whole different world. His mother is alive, no one has heard of the Justice League or Superman, and the Europe has been devastated by war between Atlantis and the Amazons.
The Flash is determined to find help and goes to the one friend he believes is still around, Batman...
Flashpoint is a surprisingly straightforward story. It has had such an impact on DC comics that I was already quite aware of the storyline. I thought there was more to it than there was, but it was still enjoyable. This story utilizes my preferred time travel theory, the butterfly effect. Change one thing and it is possible that everything changes. That is what Barry Allen learns to his shock and utter dismay.
The Flash is determined to find help and goes to the one friend he believes is still around, Batman...
Flashpoint is a surprisingly straightforward story. It has had such an impact on DC comics that I was already quite aware of the storyline. I thought there was more to it than there was, but it was still enjoyable. This story utilizes my preferred time travel theory, the butterfly effect. Change one thing and it is possible that everything changes. That is what Barry Allen learns to his shock and utter dismay.
February 23, 2016
A five-part DC Comics event from 2011, focusing on the Flash. Barry Allen wakes up one day in a world where every hero friend he has is either absent or changed dramatically (including himself - he's lost his powers, his mom is alive, Iris West has no idea who he is). Wonder Woman and Aquaman are warring leaders of their respective nations, have decimated Europe, and are on their way to sinking the UK. Barry has no clue what's going on, and his only hope lies in the (almost) familiar form of Batman. The conclusion of this event and kicked off yet another reboot of the DC Universe in the form of the "New 52".
The general dislike I've seen for Geoff Johns stumps me when he turns out a concise, fun, creative time traveling event like this with a heart and a nice twist at the end. It's frenetic and the number of characters makes it sometimes hard to pick up on who's important and who isn't, but those are typical symptoms of the large casts of crossover events. Johns keeps these things managable and focuses on the Flash's efforts to undertand where he is and how to fix it - a seemingly impossible task for one unpowered labrat. Some of the revelations about what happened to our familiar heroes are fun and logical, forming an entirely new and darker DC Universe that hangs together well. Compared to other time traveling stories I've read from Marvel relatively recently - Days of Future Past, Age of Apocalypse, Age of Ultron - this one is easier to follow, has better pacing, and does the same amount in fewer issues. Like the two Ages, there are a lot of "sidestory" books, but they tell stories from the alternate timeline and aren't necessary to follow the main event. Andy Kubert's art is good as well and fits the darker tone of the story, but I did miss the bright, optimistic designs of Francis Manapul.
The general dislike I've seen for Geoff Johns stumps me when he turns out a concise, fun, creative time traveling event like this with a heart and a nice twist at the end. It's frenetic and the number of characters makes it sometimes hard to pick up on who's important and who isn't, but those are typical symptoms of the large casts of crossover events. Johns keeps these things managable and focuses on the Flash's efforts to undertand where he is and how to fix it - a seemingly impossible task for one unpowered labrat. Some of the revelations about what happened to our familiar heroes are fun and logical, forming an entirely new and darker DC Universe that hangs together well. Compared to other time traveling stories I've read from Marvel relatively recently - Days of Future Past, Age of Apocalypse, Age of Ultron - this one is easier to follow, has better pacing, and does the same amount in fewer issues. Like the two Ages, there are a lot of "sidestory" books, but they tell stories from the alternate timeline and aren't necessary to follow the main event. Andy Kubert's art is good as well and fits the darker tone of the story, but I did miss the bright, optimistic designs of Francis Manapul.
June 4, 2017
Cross overs can be really bad. Hardly do we get good ones. I usually believe "events" aren't very good (Infinite Crisis/Civil War ect...) but every once in awhile we get some good stuff. Flashpoint decides to make it grand yet small. Where there's stakes but it focuses only on a few characters like Thomas Wayne (Batman) and Cyborg, and of course our main lead Barry (The Flash). Barry has screwed up and now he needs to fix it, so is this event worth checking out? Yep!
What I liked: The art is very solid. It has a lot of dower moments but filled with hope (mostly cause of flash) also this is pretty bloody. This is def a interesting outlook on the DC world. The story is also pretty solid. Flash is a great main lead here (and deserves it) as he is always the MOST hopeful of all the heroes. Watching him get the spotlight was fun. Thomas Wayne is great as Batman. A radically different Batman yet still holds true to his style. I also gotta say the final issue is outstanding and hits a lot of emotions that the series needed before jumping into New52.
What I didn't like: You miss a lot of backstory. I would have liked another 100 pages to get the emotional connection of characters like Superman, Wonder Women, Aquaman and so on. I know can collect the others but it should have been included here in the big style version of this book.
Overall this is very much worth reading. You can read it without any real past knowledge. Also giving the flash the spotlight (even though he's to blame actually haha) is nice. I'ma go with a 3.5-4/5.
What I liked: The art is very solid. It has a lot of dower moments but filled with hope (mostly cause of flash) also this is pretty bloody. This is def a interesting outlook on the DC world. The story is also pretty solid. Flash is a great main lead here (and deserves it) as he is always the MOST hopeful of all the heroes. Watching him get the spotlight was fun. Thomas Wayne is great as Batman. A radically different Batman yet still holds true to his style. I also gotta say the final issue is outstanding and hits a lot of emotions that the series needed before jumping into New52.
What I didn't like: You miss a lot of backstory. I would have liked another 100 pages to get the emotional connection of characters like Superman, Wonder Women, Aquaman and so on. I know can collect the others but it should have been included here in the big style version of this book.
Overall this is very much worth reading. You can read it without any real past knowledge. Also giving the flash the spotlight (even though he's to blame actually haha) is nice. I'ma go with a 3.5-4/5.
September 9, 2015
I do like it better than the cartoon, but I felt like the plot was pretty paper-thin (even for an else-when story). I still think that Batman: Earth One series that Johns is part of is the superior comic. And yes, if I want more story for this one, there are like a bajillion tie-ins. But according to a lot of people they suck, so why bother? Good concept, weak execution, bright side being that the art is superior to a lot of the crap I've subjected my eyes to over the past couple of years.
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