Coming 2035

Previously Tekyu has addressed my disappointment with the reboot of the DC Universe. To answer your question, yes I was foaming at the mouth.

To be fair there were also other orifices involved…

But I just want to clear something up: I am not mad that the universe is being rebooted. They did it in the ’60s and then again the ‘80s and if that is the pattern we are looking at then so be it. My anger stems from that this reboot seems rushed and the changes they are making are completely unnecessary. I will expand on those particular changes and their various (and potentially terrifying) effects in future posts.

The ’60s reboot was a simple fix because the characters that were created previously were not around anymore so they remade them with a fresh take and ushered in the Silver Age of comics but it still never forgot the Golden Age. The ’80s did so out of necessity as there were so many universes it got too confusing. This reboot is simply a money grab, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is to inform you how the universe has transitioned from old to new.

Hit the break to see how this was done.

Also, if I have to mention that there are spoilers ahead; then I’m done with you!

Flashpoint 05

How Did it End?

Stupidly.

It turns out that it wasn’t the Reverse-Flash that fucked the timeline as we all assumed. Oh, no. See it turned out it was Barry Allen. See, one day he was at his mother’s grave; he was remembering that Professor Zoom killed his mother and framed his father, this being ret-conned at the Flash: Rebirth mini-series.

Well he was so upset about it that he went back in time to prevent it from happening. He succeeded, but in the process changed the world into the Flashpoint reality. This also made the Reverse-Flash a living paradox and now he can kill the Flash without erasing himself from history. Batman kills him but then dies and then Flash goes back to the stop himself from stopping his mother’s death.

This is done by running into himself in the time stream and the two merge. On his way back to the present, he hears a woman explain how reality was split into three a long time ago to weaken the world for the arrival of…someone. The three splits were DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm. But it’s OK now because they are finally “back together” to fight off the impending doom.

Now we have a new DC Universe.

*sigh*

I can only wonder how long Flashpoint was in the works before the reboot was decided. Was it years? Did they have a different ending in mind? Was it even the similar to what we finally got? Or was it thrown together at the last moment? That would explain a lot.

It definitely seemed rushed to me. The thing that I just cannot wrap my head around is that the death of Barry’s mother can change so much. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the Butterfly Effect and how one little change in the past can affect the future. However, Barry’s mother was never an issue for the Flash or otherwise such an important part of the character’s history; not until Professor Zoom changed it recently. If anything, saving his mother should just set things as they were before Barry returned from the dead.

Saving his mother should not have made it so that:

·   Abin Sur crashed on Earth but doesn’t die

·   Bruce Wayne dies and not his parents

·   Captain Marvel’s alter ego is six kid, not just one

·   Aquaman’s father was killed by Atlanteans and took him back to Atlantis

·   Wonder Woman left the island secretly and not as Wonder Woman

The “change” that gets me the most is Superman. I am just going to assume that Clark Kent and Barry Allen are roughly the same age. I will even give them a good five years between them with Barry being older. When Barry’s mother was killed he was around 8 or 9. In the Flashpoint world, Clark’s ship crashes in Metropolis instead of Smallville. This would mean that saving his mother not only changed the trajectory of the rocket bringing Superman to Earth but also did so before she was supposed to die. But whatever, what do I know. I’m just someone who pays attention to stuff.

Justice League 01

How Did it Begin?

This is the Flagship title for “The New 52.” It’s not great but it’s not bad either. It’s drawn by Jim Lee, so right there it looks great. It takes place five years ago and the first hero we come across is Batman, naturally. Why start with a lesser hero, right?

Batman meets up with Green Lantern and they are both chasing the same creature. That creature turns out to be a para-demon, who definitely looks more Jim Lee than Jack Kirby. The Para-Demon kills himself, but not before he yells “For Darkseid!” Hmm… FORSHADOWING!!

The Para-Demon also leaves behind a device, one that I am pretty sure was a Motherbox. Anyway, since the device looks alien they decide to go ask the resident alien in Metropolis about it. In case you haven’t figured it out, it’s Superman. They do and Superman punches Green Lantern, of course he does. Amidst all this, we encounter a young Victor Stone before he becomes Cyborg. It’s also important to mention that the book makes it clear that the public at large doesn’t trust these heroes.

This reminded me of the last book I read that Jim Lee drew, All-Star Batman and Robin. The pacing was so slow that it took 12 issues to tell nothing. That could have been Frank Miller’s fault but the pacing seemed roughly the same here. This time it’s written by Geoff Johns, who has — at this point — written more in one issue of Green Lantern than what was in the entirety of this one issue.

So here we are, one issue in and we only really met two heroes, and there was a cameo by two more. A typical story arc for the DC Universe is 6 issues; probably because it fits well in a trade. It is going to get very boring if it’s going to continue to be a repetitive “Nice to meet you, now join us to meet other heroes” type of series.

Spot her on the lower right-hand side? The Raven-ish looking woman? Get used to that vague face.

If this book is supposed to be so special then why wasn’t it a double sized issue or something like that? Here’s something else to linger on, remember that woman’s voice that the Flash heard as the timelines merged again? I have no idea who she was (and I read the book), but according to my expansive research it turns out she is new to the DCU altogether. Not only that but she will be “Easter Egg-ing” Where’s Waldo style in the 52 books this month. She may be a predecessor to some big summer event next year for this new universe.

So there we have it, “history” in the making. I will try to report back on the rest of the 51 books that come out as long as my ability to process this stuff remains intact, but keep in mind that I may jump on it like a grenade in trying to save my childhood. There are way too many opportunities for it to get raped these days.

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