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I don’t know if you had ever heard of the Flashpoint comic story arc, but let me say this much: you should have. It was a five-issue miniseries published by DC. Flashpoint kick-started what became to be known as the New 52. Historical significance aside, what made Flashpoint so awesome is the same thing that has made all great comic books awesome: the plot.
The plot of the Flashpoint comic is that the Flash decides to go back in time and save his mother from death. When he does this, he skews the timeline, drastically changing the universe. Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war with each other. Batman now uses guns and kills people. Superman crash-landed in a city as a baby, and is held by the government. The list of anomalies goes on. In fact, some of these characters went on to be iconic, such as Thomas Wayne becoming a darker Batman, and Martha Wayne being The Joker.
So why doesn’t Flash just go back in time and reverse his mistake? Because another character, Reverse-Flash, is occupying the same necessary space that Flash needs to go back in time. Or something like that. These things never make any sense to me. The point is that the story has an antagonist.
There is also a Flashpoint DC movie based on the Flashpoint comic called the Flashpoint Paradox. Personally, the way it is animated is a little too anime-ish for me, but the story is still the same. Some of the characters look very strange in the movie version of Flashpoint. The contrast between the movie and the comic are strong, considering Andy Kubert’s beautiful artwork throughout the Flashpoint comic series.
The story Flashpoint became the precursor to a DC Universe reboot called “The New 52”. (I guess because the initial launch had 52 new titles of comics.) Although The New 52 quickly became a fiasco due to continuity confusion, Flashpoint had become a well-deserved classic. You always know which stories have become classics after looking at the price tag off issue 1. It’s quite interesting that Andy Kubert, who never intended to be a comic artist, attended his father’s school and became well-known because of stories like this one.
If you have a few extra bucks lying around. You have to check out Flashpoint. As always, it’s always better to drink the milk directly from the cow’s udder; reading the Flashpoint comic (Affiliate Link) would be better than watching the DC movie equivalent. But then again, I am a pretty lazy person, and watching the movie is always a heck of a lot easier. So do what ya gotta do.