Why is ‘Flashpoint’ so important? The comic you should read before watching ‘Flash’

It is a well-known fact to comic book fans that DC loves reboots. Since Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) was one of the biggest phenomena in the history of the publisher, it has acquired the habit of bringing together its heroes from time to time for major events that purge plot lines, simplify their continuity and, incidentally, help increase sales. .

Some of these events have been memorable (particularly when Grant Morrison was in the way), while others (does anyone remember today Invasion?) left readers cold. But one of them acquires special importance today: it is about Flashpoint, the limited series written by Geoff Johns in 2011 on whose premise is supported Flash, the movie starring Ezra Miller.

what did it mean flash point at the time? What changes did this collection bring to DC? Why should you take a look at the comic before the movie? Those are questions whose answers we will provide below. And lightning fast, as befits.

How did ‘Flashpoint’ come about?

For fans of DC in movies, the name Geoff Johns is familiar, as the writer served as DC’s chief creative officer from 2010 to 2018. In 2011, however, Johns was a comic book writer with some film experience who had attracted attention for his groundbreaking work in the collections of Superman and above all, Green Lantern.

Johns had his first contact with the scarlet speedster in 2009 through Flash: Rebirth, miniseries that marked the return of Barry Allen, Flash’s second alter ego, following his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 2011, his intention was to sign another saga of the character without excessive repercussions in the DC Universe as a whole, but the editor-in-chief dan didius I had other plans…

What was ‘Flashpoint’ about?

Although it has never been part of the Deceite ‘trinity’ (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman), Flash has always been one of the most beloved characters by fans of the publisher. flash point took advantage of that popularity to make him the axis of a saga that would be the most radical reconstruction of his universe to date.

The main tool of Johns and the cartoonist andy kubert for this work of sapping was another of the characteristics of the speedy hero: his powers make him an ideal protagonist for stories of time travel and alternate universes. Something that, in addition, would allow repeating a play similar to the one carried out by Marvel in the age of apocalypse, a crossover focused on the X Men that plunged most of its characters into a dystopian reality.

as it happens in Flash, The story begins with Barry Allen traveling back in time to prevent the death of his mother at the hands of Reverse Flash. Something that has dire consequences for the DC Universe, creating a new reality in which Barry has no superpowers, his lifelong enemies are hero protectors of Central City and Gotham is under the control of an even more violent Batman, who is also not bruce wayne (who died as a child shot by a robber), but his father Thomas.

As to Aquaman and Wonder Woman, are busy leading Atlantis and the Amazons, respectively, in a war that pits both cultures against each other and threatens to crush humanity. And if you’re looking for Superman, you won’t find him in the skies of metropolis, but in an underground laboratory where he is the victim of military experiments.

Add to this the appearance of Reverse Flash, always ready to make our hero’s life miserable, and we have a mess on our hands that only admits of one solution: Barry Allen must restore the timestream and return the DC Universe to its primitive state. And if he succeeds, what price will he have to pay?

What were the consequences of ‘Flashpoint’?

On paper, the consequences of flash point were, to begin with, a crossover of father and my very gentleman. Although the collection, as such, only lasted five issues, the event spawned a large number of miniseries and one shot featuring heroes and villains like Aquaman, Deadman, Lois Lane, Booster Gold, Wonder Woman, Batman and himself Gorilla Grodd.

This was not all, however: as we have already said, DC loves reboots, and flash point was the pretext for the publisher to reset its continuity in the initiative called ‘New 52’. In September 2011, the publisher’s most popular collections (including very veteran ones such as Action Comics and Detective Comics) They arrived at the newsstands wearing a brand new number 1 on their sleeves, and with their protagonists (with some exceptions, such as Batman and Green Lantern) starting from scratch.

Although the new 52 They only lasted on newsstands until 2016 (when it was the turn of a new reset, called ‘Rebirth’), some of its elements have been seen in the DC Cinematic Universe. One of the most important, for example, is the prominence given to Cyborg, a character very dear to Geoff Johns who had a great importance in the plot of flash point before being seen League of Justice with the face of Ray Fisher.

Have we seen ‘Flashpoint’ on the screen?

Until now, flash point Yes, it has had a more or less official adaptation… but Not in movies, but on TV. We talk about Flash, the series of The C.W. starring Grant Gustin, who drank from crossover in several of its seasons (from the second to the eighth and penultimate), adapting it to the parameters of the ‘Arrowverse’. The consequences of these temporary alterations and the villainies of Eobard Thawne They were also seen in the second stage of Legends of Tomorrow.

In addition, flash point also had an animated adaptation: the 2014 film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox adapted the series and its ramifications more closely to the original than the comic, also serving as an introduction to the DC Animated Universe.

So a movie like Flash It is not only the sprinter’s solo film debut, but also an ideal excuse to reorganize the house’s products for a fresh start. Something that has already been rumored a lot, and that now coincides (suspiciously?) with the arrival of that stage in which James Gunn will be crowned as supreme deceita. Let’s be aware of the changes, and remember that you don’t play with temporal paradoxes.

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