Flashpoint Beyond #3 has shocking revelations that help justify the Flashpoint world, but will it be enough to get Thomas Wayne to join the cause? Thomas believes none of the Flashpoint world matters, and he has been privy to some interesting, multiversal insights, but this creative team puts Thomas in a position where he has to face these people as they make their case. It was easier to believe none of it matters, but now that Thomas has to meet these people, he is testing that theory. Plus, there is a killer out there, and their latest victim is quite a doozy.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Flashpoint Beyond #3!
As I read this newest installment in Flashpoint Beyond, it hit me there are multiple writers, but it reads so seamlessly that you wouldn’t know. Jeremy Adams, Geoff Johns, and Tim Sheridan are the three musketeers in crafting this tale. I felt no irregularities in the character voice or the tone of the story; the creators are very in sync, and this issue showcases how much they all love the DCU.
The opening of the issue, which you can see in the preview, reminded me of the New 52 origin of Superman, and they twist it just like Flashpoint did. Yet they turn it even more with the multiple rockets, which will be fleshed out further in the story. What I like about these other versions of characters is how innovative the creative team has been with power use. Seeing the Flashpoint Beyond version of the Fortress of Solitude, now called the Oasis, is a great peanut-butter-and-chocolate moment. I hope this finds its way into the main DCU somehow.
Once the characters are inside the Oasis, this is where the bombshells hit. Kal-El’s crystal interacts with the Green to deliver Jor-El’s message. Jor-El’s new motivations take the Day of the Krypton Man story a step further with the potential for invasion. After the big revelation, the dialogue between Thomas and Kal-El was great. Thomas reminds him that Earth hasn’t been very kind to him, but Kal-El believes they matter. Then Poison Ivy goes on to deliver news of other heroes that we can recognize, see similarities, or even combinations. I can’t wait to see them on the page!
The other comic parts had great moments checking in on its supporting characters. We get a page with Oswald and Dexter as he is learning the art of lock picking, which we can potentially see where that will take Dexter later in life. Their scene is interrupted by the Reverse-Flash, and he isn’t looking good, but there is a mention of Hypertime. Next, we visit Gilda, and someone is talking to her; now I know it seems like it could be her “Bad Harvey,” but maybe it is something more?
We check in on the GCPD and their latest crime scene, the dead body of Reverse-Flash in the home of Iris West. The crime is quite the bombshell as we know the Clockwork Killer has been targeting time travelers – most haven’t realized their potential in the world of Flashpoint, and Reverse-Flash is an outlier as he isn’t even part of that world. The mystery deepens, and with the last issue’s revelations of the Childminder, there will be a tidal wave of revelations.
Checking in on the Time Masters is quite the treat! We get two of the team members as they are taking a time bubble through Hypertime. Make sure to read the dialogue carefully, as I think there are some clues to who the Clockwork Killer is. I loved that the Great Darkness gets a name drop, and we can see Pariah on the broken time page. So many great panels in that collage of DC Comics; my favorite is Justice Society of America #1, with some missing characters we might just be seeing soon.
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