Flashpoint by Geoff Johns

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

flashpointcoverTitle: Flashpoint
Stand-Alone: Yes
Universe: New 52
Writer(s): Geoff Johns
Illustrator(s): Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Alex Sinclair, Ivan Reis, George Pérez, Rags Morales, José Luis García-López, Jesse Delperdang
Publisher: DC Comics
Format: Paperback
Paperback Release Date: March 13th 2012
Pages: 176
Genre(s): Comics, Science Fiction
ISBN13: 9781401233389

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.

flashpointquote1

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.

 

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theflashpointparadox

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 Spoiler, highlight to read: « Jeffrey Dean Morgan, known for his role as Negan in The Walking Dead, who played Bruce Wayne’s father in Batman v. Superman take on the role of Flashpoint Batman, and Lauren Cohan, known for her role as Maggie Greene in The Walking Dead, who played Bruce Wayne’s mother, take on the role of Joker. » 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.

MY OVERALL RATING: ★★★★☆

Have you read it yet? Have you seen it yet?

Do you plan to?

What do you think about Flashpoint or Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox?

Share your thoughts with me!

Till next time,

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Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

33 thoughts on “Flashpoint by Geoff Johns”

  1. Sorry, you lost me at New52 😀

    One thing I am noticing, or wondering if I’m noticing, is that the stories keep on getting bigger and bigger and flashier and flashier without some solid story telling to back it up.
    I “wonder” because maybe it has always been that way and I just never noticed it when I was 16? Then I go away from comics for over a decade really, or more and when I come back, I notice things.

    I have to admit, it really bothers me and I wonder if it something I just have to accept.

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    1. Hahaha your love for the New 52 is beautiful 😂

      It does get more and more cosmic every crossover event, and I find that it is way worse with Marvel (their comics aren’t getting any better in quality too).

      Personally I don’t mind that they get bigger and bigger, unless its always the same thing happening all over again. Like the latest DC event is pretty huge and has Batman at the heart of it all (DC Metal event) and I feel like its well built. Can’t wait to review that one for you to see how huge that event is. But there are some pretty bad events that really lack in story-telling, like the Convergence event in the DC Universe.

      What I don’t like though is the amount of tie-ins that comes out with an event. Sometimes I wish the main series was just longer and well-developed rather than short with lots of subplots for other creative teams to work on.

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      1. I just looked at some old marvel comics and yeah, they were pretty bad back then too. There was a sequel and another sequel to the Infinity Gauntlet (Infinity War and Infinity Crusade) and IC crossed over into EVERY SINGLE comic in their line up. And back in the early 90’s, that was a lot! When Silver Sable gets dragged into a crossover event, you know it’s gotten ridiculous!

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  2. I like the Flash TV show (among my most visited sets for sure hahaha in the end I am pretty sure the crew knew me), but I have to shamefully admit that I have not read many DC comics whatsoever. I like Ezra Miller as the new Flash, so I would definitely watch a movie with him but the constant change in directors and them postponing it all the time worries me. I should buy more comics though … ugh, I wish I had the money for it.

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    1. Hahah The Flash definitely had the most interesting storyline among all the CW shows (except Arrow’s season 2) but then it started to go downhill for me ahahh I still watch them all though. Guilty pleasure now 😂 Won’t stop saying how lucky you were to get on so many sets during your trip!!! I definitely enjoyed Ezra Miller as Barry Allen too! I prefer him over Grant 🤭 You could always try comixology for digital comics! You’ll save some money and have more comics to enjoy!! 😁

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      1. I always put one show on hold when it comes to the CW superhero stuff (currently Arrow) but I always catch up eventually. They all have their ups and downs haha
        I … have to admit that I don’t like reading comics in digital format. I already struggle with ebooks haha I am such a snob …

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      2. Too much risk for spoilers is why I try to watch them as they release hahaha I’m sort of glad that Supergirl is on break right now and there’s only 3 shows going on right (excluding Gotham) 😂 hahahahah no worries, I don’t read ebooks in general just cause I love paper more hahahah I did try and explore digital comics cause I sort of came to realize that my comic collection is huge and it’s mostly Batman… There’s no way I’d go on to collect everything when I’m interested in everything DC! I’d be crazy broke hahaha

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      3. I don’t mind spoilers for those shows somehow and I don’t watch Gotham. I tried, but it just didn’t stick :/
        I think the only DC comic I own is a signed Superman: American Alien. Could not resist to get a copy Max Landis has actually had in hands haha

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      5. Yeah. He was filming Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency in Vancouver and apparently always has a signing at one of the comic stores there and then they keep a couple copies in stock 😊
        Oh yes, there’s loads to explore!!

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    1. Thanks Dani! I’m always happy to share some comic book/graphic novel reviews with everyone!! Even if I know it doesn’t interest a lot of people hahah 😀 Thanks for visiting and always there to put a smile on my face!!! You da real rockstar! 😉

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  4. I don’t know anything about this story line, but basically if there isn’t a movie about it I have no idea haha. I might just wait for the movie to see if I want to commit to reading the comics 🙂 great review though, I can’t think of anyone else where I would read a review about a superhero comic, but I always read yours.

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    1. Hahaha no problem! You can always check out the animated movie. It’s pretty good, and if you already watch animes, it won’t be too overwhelming to watching a DC animated movie. 😀 That’s very kind of you and I appreciate it a lot that you even take the time to read these! Thanks a lot, Asia!! ❤

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  6. Great stuff as always Lashaan, I loved reading your thoughts on this iconic story and especially appreciated that fact that you took time to also address the awesome animated movie, the TV Flash adaptation (which I think was done and dusted far too quickly) and the looming film version.

    I’d say your right in that it could’ve warranted a couple more issues to fully satisfy all the sub-plots but it seems to be endemic of all comic events in that they’re not 100% self-contained and have us heading off to the various tie-ins (*cough* Metal *cough*).

    I like how it more or less neatly set up the New 52, which I actually think produced some good stuff (although Rebirth put things fully on positive track). Kubert’s art is always a draw, he was one of the first comic artists I encountered when I picked up my first american comic, X-Men #24 back in the early 90s!

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    1. Thanks Chris. It’s a pretty important story after all. Sort of explains why it has been/will be adapted on so many different platforms. Hopefully the movie will be well-written and directed. So far, it’s still just a scary thought with all the changes that keep on happening to it.

      Oh man, tell me about Metal… I never should’ve picked these up in single issues hahahah Should have totally waited for the three trades instead. At least it has great writers on a good portion of all those tie-ins. Even Grant Morrisson makes a comeback!!! I’m saving my binge of the stories till the release of the final Metal issue. Can’t wait.

      It is interesting how it rebooted everything and had some really nice runs (some that I still look forward to going through soon). It does have its lows though, and I guess those lows were too much for a bunch of fans who hated the New 52 era.

      Wow, that’s pretty cool. That’s probably a nice beginning to your love for comics too hahah Did you end up religiously picking up the next issues as they came out or was that a really random issue that just put you on the right track? 😛

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      1. I ended up religiously picking up subsequent issues but got a bit lost because it was in the middle of a crossover called “Fatal Attractions” but continued on. Iron Man was my next big love along with Spider-Man. I recall being a fan of Batman because of the Tim Burton movie and the still awesome animated series but it was a while before I read any Batman books (making up for that now haha). I’ve just found out DC are doing an Absolute edition of Flashpoint, thing I may have to treat myself to that!

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      3. More or less, even stuff I’ve bought digitally (for example I’ve just bought the Bendis Iron Man hardcover even though I had bought and read the individual digital issues as they come out)… although I have pre-ordered a physical copy of Action Comics #1000 as that’s bound to be special.

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    1. It is, and if you don’t plan on checking the animated movie, maybe the live-action one that is supposed to be me made in the near future will give you a nice idea of how awesome this story arc was. Totally agree about Batman. Some might also argue that he’s… overused/overrated and shouldn’t ALWAYS have as much spotlight as he does. But hey, I’m definitely not one of them and will always love me some Batman whenever I can get some. 😀

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  8. One thing for sure- if ever I end up with a questions about DC. marvel or any of them superheroes and villains, you’re the man to come to… I am only tipping my toe into the whole thing and I can only imagine how vast this whole universe is. Great review, Lashaan! 🙂

    OH- by the way, I must have been under a rock for a while (read: buried in work) that I missed the blog design change! Looks really cool and I like it 🙂

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    1. Thanks Liz! Hahah I’d be glad to be a go-to person on the matter. 😉 I’m discovering a bunch about both universes my self every day too! With all the great stories, there are also pretty bad ones. You just have to pick wisely and enjoy whatever you read. 😀

      Hahah yes! Completely spontaneous decision that will surely change again later in the year! 😀 I’m glad that it’s to your taste. 😛

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  10. Pingback: Monthly Wrap-Up | March 2018 – BOOKIDOTE

  11. Comics are so fascinating because Americans would rather “flash in”and tell a quick “flashy” story and get out then develop the story fully (like you want). Manga is different. It actually gives the time, pages and space to do that development if the mangaka has it in them to do that development. This is the first time I really was seduced by your comic review. I have been reading random graphic novels more to see if I can enjoy them… and this comic sounds fascinating! I’ll have to see if the library has it! Perfect review Lashaan! 😍

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    1. I soooo agree on that. But back in the day, comics also had that manga treatment where a whole story arc could span a lot of issues and then later be compiled together. Nowadays they reformatted everything and collected editions rarely exceed 6 issues. It really is unfortunate if you ask me. But I’m glad this one was short and sweet, and extremely important in the DC universe. Well worth checking out; even the animated movie! 😉 Thank you so much!

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