Flashpoint, or Why Should I Care

This is the latest teaser from DC’s next event, Flashpoint. Marvel has one called “Fear Itself”, but I think I long stopped caring. But I’ve mentioned that DC used to be my favorite comic universe until Eventitis and “grim and gritty” ruined the DC Universe. So what is Flashpoint supposed to be?

How about another timeline reboot?

That’s the rumor from Bleeding Cool, anyway.

I understand from one British source that Flashpoint, the Geoff Johns-showrun Flash crossover event is going to be like the X-Men’s Age Of Apocalypse, currently being revisited as Age Of X, in more ways than just creating an alternate universe.

Just as happened with the Xbooks back then, so a number of DC books are going to be cancelled and replaced with renamed mini-series that reflect the new reality.

Of course, Age Of Apocalypse only retitled and renumbered eight titles – so Excalibur became X-Calbre, that sort of thing. A DC source implied that Flashpoint will do this but on a grander, cross-company scale. That is may affect more titles than their usual crossover might, including Blackest Night.

Now this IS a rumor, but at least part of this seems likely, that they’re going the same route as Marvel’s “Age of Apocalypse” event, an event that begins with Professor Xavier being retroactively killed off via time travel (insert Spider-Marriage joke here), an event that only affected the X-titles as we see how the world is changed. This, however, will affect all of the DC titles, not just one group.

I’m going to comment on two responses, one to this specifically and one to events as a whole. The Bleeding Cool forums responded to the original teasers that was just text and the “Flashpoint” logo. Some were already coming against it and others were saying ‘why don’t you wait and see instead of condemning what isn’t out yet?”. To them I say that we have seen this, again and again and again. There’s no “new, exciting twist”. This is “Age of Apocalypse” mixed with “Zero Hour“, in which time will be reset except some things will be different when it’s reset back. Titles will be shanghaied because of this event and any narrative flow, or plans of the not-Geoff Johns writers will be affected. There are no annuals to keep this to, and this what has happened every time Eventitis flares up.

Part of me is actually ready to agree with the broader comment where people say to just drop the periodical format and just do graphic novels. It’s obviously what the people in charge want to do anyway, but the argument is that the serialized style doesn’t work. To that I say bull$#!&, because the serialized style isn’t being implemented! They’re writing to the graphic novel, which is why you have these huge story arcs even within the titles themselves (when Eventitis doesn’t draw them out of it). There are still serialized stories, or done-in-one stories with a running subplot, but they’re hard to find. And when they are found, they’re as good as the writer. It’s called webcomics! Offline writers used to be able to do this.

Stop throwing your hands up and saying “just give up”. That’s why our political system is a mess, our neighborhoods have in many cases seen better days and our entertainment isn’t entertaining. Start demanding better treatment of characters and the comic format. Or just give up and ruin a great storytelling style that survived decades until this bunch of hack writers calling themselves “editors” came along.