Quick answer: not really.
What about the long answer?
Well, as a complete story, Flashpoint is something of a jumbled mess; revamped characters are somewhat introduced, characters appear and disappear at random points, and the emotional tethering that writer Geoff Johns is usually so careful in including with his stories feels too weighed by both the continuity leading up to it and the anticipations for what was to come. Where my previous review of the first two issues of Justice League suggested the potential for a very humanistic (and good) origin story for the DCnU, Flashpoint is the anti-climatic fall of the old DC Universe. But enough of the what: here's why the latest event crossover attempt by DC is a disappointment...
Warning: This review contains spoilers. Avert your gaze, lest you wish to read the story in detail.
The Review - What Went Wrong?
Flashpoint works on the theory that the original Mirror Master, Sam Scudder, somehow orchestrated a gigantic glass mirror that would instill enough doubt and regret in Barry Allen to literally change the world to save his mother. But it doesn't say that; in fact, the Flash's rogues don't even show up at all in the story. The whole mystery as to what caused the change isn't truly revealed until Reverse-Flash makes his appearance known to Barry: no explanation is given as to why he waits until the final showdown of the Flashpoint universe; leaving his character in a role reminiscent of the Pug in Men In Black: the look and feel of the characters are interesting, but until this character arrives to explain the entire point of the story, the plot feels empty.
At least even the characters in Men In Black are interesting and fun; the characters in Flashpoint are all angrier, darker, and corrupted versions of themselves, but no explanation is given as to what events led to them being this way in the first place. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are settling a feud, Superman has been caught by the government, and Thomas Wayne is an angrier version of his son. While many characters' stories are given some depth in their own miniseries, Flashpoint itself does not. Few select characters are, but the end result is having a lot of interesting looking characters, but not much else. Nothing happens with these characters that makes their situation understandable. It's hard not to see why Barry so desperately wanting to regain his powers; he replaced his world of interesting and more developed character with less-rounded-but-pretty ones.
Perhaps the strongest issue that exists in Mr. Johns' writing for Flashpoint is just that: when looking over the story as a whole, there's no change. Barry doesn't change. Seeing as this is a Flash-centric event, the evolution of Barry Allen should be key in emotionally connecting the viewer to the verisimilitude of the story, but that just doesn't happen. The emotional relationship between Barry and his mother, the entire reason Barry gave in to changing the whole world is hardly even touched upon. Barry hugs his mother out of happiness to see her again, but for the most part, Barry spends a great deal of time trying to get hit by lightning and admonishing the corruption of the world he's inadvertently created.
But who cares? Even now, people are still reeling from the loss of Wally West to even care at all about Barry's plight, and despite the excellence of Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul's preceding run on The Flash, Barry just isn't portrayed as an interesting enough character to envision a major event based solely around him. Even Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope's efforts are not enough to save the story, and it tries hard. Oh, there's splash pages, there's some action, there's costume redesigns, there's colorfulness, playfulness, and all sorts of terms ending with 'ness' that can be used to describe the valiant attempt to set the grim and dire mood that has swept the world of Flashpoint. But without the heart of the story, without even a good reason to exist as a story, Flashpoint just feels like the obligatory set-up for the new DCU that it was essentially purposed to be.
Which is a shame; after running on the slow-paced storytelling from Brightest Day, Flashpoint could have been an exciting return to the action-packed emotional drama that Johns so masterly crafts. But with the daunting task of simultaneously creating two new universes, the collection of Flashpoint is a sad reminder of what could have been 'the' great Flash story.
The Overall Fare of Flashpoint
At this point, the kindest thing I can say to summarize Flashpoint is that if you're a fan of Andy Kubert's art, then this is a book worth checking out. Maybe.
- Writing: 1.5/5
- Art: 4/5
Flashpoint is available in hardcover for $22.99. See your local/online comic book store for single issue availability.
Esmond Chong - Esmond Chong is a new Contributing Writer to Suite101. He aspires to one day publish a story, regardless of its success or not, in the ...
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