Crazy Train returns to talk Flashpoint, the 2011 DC Comics storyline that is the source material for this year’s controversial blockbuster movie The Flash. Please note that since the movie adapts much of the comic’s storyline, some of the information could be considered spoilers.
DC’s Flashpoint Comic Event
Marvel and DC are well known for having storylines that affect their entire universe. These are often referred to as major events or crossovers. Perhaps the best-known crossover for DC was 1985’s Crisis On Infinite Earths which rebooted DC’s continuity.
Flashpoint #1 by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert
DC published a similar crossover called Flashpoint in 2011. In that story, Barry Allen, aka The Flash, traveled back in time to prevent his mother’s murder. However, when he returned to the present, it was nothing like the one he’d left. Radically different versions of Batman and Superman played major parts in helping Barry undue the damage he caused.
Ultimately, as Crazy Train explains, Flashpoint may be the best comic book depiction of Chaos Theory. Sure, the idea of going back in time to prevent tragedies like The Day The Music Died seems great. But nobody knows what other ripples of change could happen as a result.
Flashpoint, like Crisis On Infinite Earths, led to a reboot of the DC Comics Universe called The New 52. It was later adapted into the animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. CW also used elements of it for the third season of The Flash TV series.
Both adaptations made various changes to the story. The animated version was very close to the comics. However, CW’s version omitted Batman and Superman entirely and had the regular characters dealing with correcting the timeline.
This feature film adaptation is ushering in a reboot of the DC movies and TV series, much like the original did to the comics. However, it will likely change or eliminate other characters and story arcs. For instance, the comic version depicted a war between Atlantis and Themoscyra, with Aquaman and Wonder Woman leading their respective nations. Also, Batman was NOT Bruce Wayne. Instead, Bruce’s father Thomas Wayne became Batman because, in this reality, Bruce was the one gunned down instead of his parents.
The Batman in Flashpoint openly carried guns, making him markedly different than the original
This movie uses Michael Keaton’s version of Batman that fans remember from 30 years ago instead of adapting the Thomas Wayne incarnation. This may partially be because Keaton’s Batman, much like the Flashpoint Batman, doesn’t have a problem with killing people.
Kal-El, pictured here from The Flashpoint Paradox animated movie, was kept in solitary confinement for much of his life so he did not have the classic powers of Superman
It also looks like Supergirl in The Flash will simply be substituted for Superman. Whether this was just for variety’s sake, or whether we see Kara again in James Gunn’s rebooted DCU remains to be seen.
As for the aforementioned Atlantis/Themoscyra w...
