Joshua Li / Edge columnist
Barry Allen, also known as the hero Flash, gained his power of enhanced speed through being struck by lightning.
After the death of his mother, Flashpoint explores how Barry has been trying to make up for that loss. Both Geoff Johns’ writing and Andy Kubert’s illustrations demonstrate the grief that Barry felt and how he was affected throughout the story.
Barry used his powers to go back in time to prevent the death of his mother while unknowingly changing reality, exploring the concept of the butterfly effect (where one change in the past could affect the future.) Barry wakes up to a different reality, where his mother is alive, his loved ones become strangers, and the two most powerful sides of the earth are at war with the rest of the world being caught in the middle of it, marking the end of the world.
The message of the story is clear: in life, some things happen by chance and others happen because we make them happen. While changing the timeline to heal his emotional scars, Barry neglected the possible consequences of changing the timeline, putting the world at risk.
In terms of art, Kubert’s use of close-up scenes are used exceptionally well whether its tears, realization, or anger. The use of speed lines, impact craters, and lighting are well-used to display action scenes to keep readers engaged.
With Flashpoint, it is hard to find fault in the story itself, besides the effects on Flash’s character after the end of the story. The end of Flashpoint marks the beginning of the New 52 which is an entirely different story on its own. In terms of Barry’s character, it cements the idea that his whole life revolves around his mother, pushing everyone else in his life aside including his wife and his friends.
Flashpoint is one of the most straightforward stories produced by DC. It is clearly written so that readers with base-level knowledge of DC would be able to understand the story. The story emphasizes the responsibility of privilege, and that change does not always better things. The story also explores how much the loss of a parent can affect a child and how far they may go to fill that hole in their heart. Flashpoint emphasizes the value of everything in life, because some things just happen by chance.
Image credits:
https://www.dccomics.com/sites/default/files/field/image/FlashpointBlog_57ef19e6bb5142.53027809.jpg
https://www.previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STK446521
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