DC Comics reviews 5/3/22 – Flashpoint Beyond #1, Batman #123

Flashpoint Beyond #1

In terms of restarting a universe, Flashpoint was a pretty fascinating event. It accomplished its purpose and didn’t overstay its welcome. But much like many game-changing moments in comics history writers can’t resist the urge to revisit it.

Flashpoint Beyond looks to find new compelling stories in a world that was essentially over the moment Flashpoint ended.

Writers Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams and Tim Sheridan collaborate on this story with Thomas Wayne trying to find out who restored the Flashpoint world. He thought it was over after Barry Allen left and started the New 52 reality. Now, Thomas is back and more pissed off than ever.

His search takes him to Britain where Aquaman and his Atlanteans have conquered Wonder Woman and her Amazon army. Aquaman plans to sink Britain and major countries if the surface world doesn’t send him their nuclear weapons. It’s a big threat. Thomas doesn’t care about the fate of his world so much as he wants to ensure the one where his son is alive is properly restored.

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But Thomas doesn’t know that Bruce Wayne is also plotting on his Earth something that might hold the key to everything. It’s intriguing and the writers craft an engaging hook. Why is Bruce lying to his allies about his plan and what is it doing on the Flashpoint world?

One disappointing aspect of the issue and last month’s #0 issue is the weird need to kill off major characters. At this point it’s hard to imagine someone at DC down the road not wanting to try their hand at Flashpoint but there’s not going to be anyone left in the sandbox at this rate.

Xermánico handles the majority of the art this issue, which is just fine. He’s got a smooth classic style that makes for a clean and easy to follow layout. Xermánico also has a strong dramatic flair to his panels providing a cinematic look to his pages. Mikel Janín draws the final two pages featuring Batman and The Flash, which was a treat and a good reminder of Janín’s talent.

While there was no overwhelming need to revisit Flashpoint yet again, this series seems promising with some strong hooks to keep readers invested.

Rating: 9 out of 10