Flashpoint #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Sandra Hope (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Nothing is as it seems!  Everything isn’t as it should be!  Alright, some things are kind of the same!

The Review: I’m a huge fan of parallel-universe nonsense; there are few things quite as fun as taking the familiar and spinning it in a different direction, either by a bit or a big leap.  When DC revealed the premise of Flashpoint, I immediately flashbacked to Marvel’s House of M, which I followed and enjoyed, and reading this first issue, I can’t help making some connections and comparisons between the two storylines.

Flashpoint drops us right into the thick of this new world without actually seeing it come into being with a physical event, unlike Scarlet Witch’s infamous “red wave” of magic.  This has the effect of immediately upping the tension, making us as disoriented and anxious as Barry as he finds everything he knew or had has been twisted away.  Before he can go into full-panic mode, he discovers not all the twists are bad—but some are even worse.

Johns very successfully carries that sense of tension throughout the issue as every panel offers a discovery that’s either majorly altered from what we recognize, or entirely brand-new.  HoM had a focal point from which all the changes of its world took place, but Flashpoint has none.  That means the sky’s the limit for Johns and the other writers to wreak havoc on the DCU.

You can really see the imaginative leaps in store for this series when Cyborg tracks down Batman with his team in tow (though you can’t call them a team when most seem to downright loathe each other).  Johns goes all-out creating new characters with already intriguing histories, like the disfigured Outsider’s interest in using the teenaged Blackout as a power source for India.  Otherwise, Johns boldly messes with the status quo: my favorite has to be scar-faced, vengeful Captain Thunder (formerly known as Captain Marvel) and his giant, armored saber-toothed tiger.  Kudos—if you’re going for this kind of story, go big, and Johns is aiming for that.