Barry Allen, Not The Quickest Guy
It's finally here. Like Age of X, Flashpoint starts off by throwing us into the deep end of a reality unlike the one we know, where familiar faces aren't so familiar and with it unclear why this world is the way it is.
I should say now that I'm a sucker for alternate reality stories, even sometimes when they are not done so well. Flashpoint is done fairly well, though. It is made clear in this issue that Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert have put in the effort to make the Flashpoint world a deep and rich environment all on its own.
Like most first issues, there is a lot of set up to be done and the narrative is organized in an obvious way to give characters reasons to explain what is going on in this new world. It's a forgivable sin when it comes to first issues, especially of events like this. The groundwork has to be laid, and this issue gets the job done well enough.
It is not surprising that Batman ends up to be the character who steals the show in this issue. We are introduced to many Flashpoint characters, but he is the one who gets the most spotlight. To be honest, I find his costume design to be one of the lazier ones of Flashpoint with it mostly just being the color red added to the usual Batman costume, but the rest of the character is pretty compelling. Gotham City is a very different looking place, but seeing the underwhelming Batcave was my favorite thing.
Cyborg gets a fair share of spotlight too, but it's only enough to establish that he is the man in the Flashpoint world. He's the one people listen to and respect. It is cool to see a character like Cyborg treated this way, and Flashpoint is hopefully the start of Cyborg getting better treatment in general. Johns has shown before in Teen Titans that he respects the character, and it looks like he is going to show it again here.
We get a gathering of other heroes, or what pass for heroes in Flashpoint, too. Honestly, it is a little underwhelming. Maybe that is the point, to show how little Flashpoint has to offer in the way of heroes. But I am left feeling generally apathetic to these characters. I really can't say I have been left with much interest in checking out the Secret Seven's or Outsider's tie-ins from this. There are a lot of unfamiliar or obscure faces here. The only one(s) to really grab my interest are S!H!A!Z!A!M!, which is immediately one of the most interesting takes on the Marvel Family I have ever seen. There is also some obvious potential in Citizen Cold.
The only part of this issue that is not particularly enjoyable involves Barry Allen bumbling around until it finally sinks in that the world is not as he knows it. There is more to this than there really needs to be, since we get the point right away and do not need to see quite so much of it. My empathy for Barry's confusion quickly turns to annoyance as I find myself wishing the forensic scientist would get a clue already and start handling the situation more intelligently.
All in all, Flashpoint is off to a good start. Johns and Kubert succeed in making this alternate world tangible and compelling right away. While some of the characters are hit or miss at first, there is plenty of reason to believe Flashpoint will only get better from here.
