Writer: Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, and Tim Sheridan
Art: Xermánico, Mikel Janín, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Jordie Bellaire, Brad Anderson, Mitch Gerads, Gary Frank, and Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
The fate of the Flashpoint Earth hangs in the balance as Thomas must make the ultimate choice! What will happen to this fractured reality and what does it mean for the DC Universe at large? Let’s dive into the final installment of Flashpoint Beyond #6 by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, and Tim Sheridan.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Flashpoint Beyond #6 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Flashpoint Beyond #6 wraps up this event, reasonably answers most of the questions presented, and ushers in some outstanding questions for the future at DC Comics. And the best part of all, it appears as though the Flashpoint Universe is here to stay… for the time being anyway. Nevertheless, Johns and his crew don’t end this story as you’d expect. It’s quite a wrinkle, to say the least, and I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I’m ok with it.
Readers will not see Thomas and Martha trying to save young Bruce. Actually, they won’t see any time travel mumbo-jumbo at all. However, Johns does find a way to save the timeline, build it into the fabric of the DC Universe, and does so gracefully and unexpectedly. I wish readers learned more about the snow globe used to save the timeline and why it was so important to this story. I feel like that aspect of the narrative gets overlooked. It’s almost as if we are supposed to forget how this timeline came into existence. And being a logical person, I like to know that stuff.
Additionally, I wanted to learn more about Rip Hunter and his crew. The writers seem to overlook that aspect of the story as well. Nevertheless, the cliffhangers as Flashpoint Beyond #6 ends involving the Time Masters line up quite the future for DC Comics. Plus, the ending locks in the very same feeling I had with DC Rebirth and Doomsday Clock. Flashpoint Beyond just felt important, carried weight, didn’t feel slapped together, and read with true suspense and cliffhangers that had meaning and purpose. Events nowadays don’t do this anymore. And as much as people reading this will say “Flashpoint Beyond wasn’t an event.” I’d argue the opposite entirely. The repercussions of this series will be felt throughout the entire DC Universe for the next couple of years which just screams event. Let’s just hope Johns is leading the charge.
Speaking of Johns leading the charge, I hope that the Flashpoint Universe continues. With the sly throwaway lines from vibrating dead men, the Martha-Thomas connection, and Kryptonians coming to Earth, I want to see where all this is going to go. However, I want to see it with Johns at the helm like Hickman was for the X-Men series. Let him oversee the entire ship with other writers having the freedom to write their tales but under his umbrella of storytelling. This is what DC Comics needs and I think it will work perfectly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Flashpoint Beyond #6 ends this narrative completely different than what you’d expect, which is ultimately why I’m having a difficult time scoring this specific issue. Overall, the entire Flashpoint Beyond series felt important, even more, important than Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths. And as I stated earlier, it carried the same gravitas as DC Rebirth and Doomsday Clock. Is that because of Geoff Johns? Sure… but unlike many writers nowadays, he also knows how to minimize a story down to the most fundamental concept or emotion and rebuild the very essence of that character or world from the ground up. In this case, Thomas Wayne explains that core value at the very end of Flashpoint Beyond #6: “Living life not for those we’ve lost but for those we still have”. And it was that foundation that Johns uses to reconstitute… everything… and possibly the entire DC Universe.
However, for a writer that’s usually so predictable, Flashpoint Beyond #6 just doesn’t end how you’d think it would, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except it doesn’t make a ton of sense and takes a really big zig when we were supposed to zag. Plus, readers end by knowing who is behind everything and why. Yet, the “how” is still brushed over along with the snow globe. We understand the connection they have to Dr. Manhattan but that’s about it. I needed more to help logically understand the “how”. All that I can figure out is that way back in The Watchmen, Laurie references a snow globe to Dr. Manhattan as a memory associated with her parents having an affair. Now why that would have tachyons from Manhattan or how it would help save the Flashpoint Beyond timeline is still a mystery. However, I do believe something is related to that scene in The Watchmen because we are also to reference the number 13 which was also another memory Laurie has with Manhattan on Mars at that age. So, is Laurie somehow connected to the Time Masters? Is Clark, the manifestation of Dr. Manhattan, back along with Laurie? Gosh, there is something their people! I just don’t know what exactly.
My point is, I have tons of great questions and could discuss the impact of this story and the future possible stories to come for hours, which is ultimately why Flashpoint Beyond #6 (even though it didn’t end how I may have wanted) still demands the attention and respect as an outstanding issue and foundational series moving forward. I don’t think readers truly understood how important Flashpoint Beyond was going to be nor did they grasp its importance to the DC Universe moving forward when it first began. Actually, it’s what I love the most about the series. It was a sneaky event book. It was almost like DC Comics secretly created an event before our eyes and didn’t tell anyone it was going to be an event, which is quite hilarious. And for that reason, everyone needs to buy this trade. People will look back five to ten years from now and say how Flashpoint Beyond was the story that launched the new DC Universe. I’m calling it right now. So, why not trust me and grab those back issues and trades while you still can? And if I’m wrong, you at least get an amazing story in the process. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!