Thomas Wayne has been on quite a journey across the DC Comics Multiverse. We have seen the birth of his rage from the loss of his son back in Flashpoint. In Tom King’s Batman run, we watched as Thomas tried to stop his son from continuing his life as Batman. There was a shot at redemption when Thomas joined the Justice League Incarnate, but that also led to him returning to the world of Flashpoint. There have been so many twists and turns, but now we find ourselves at the last issue.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Flashpoint Beyond #6!
This series has had some fantastic variant covers, and this issue is no exception. I have been enjoying the History of the DC Timeline variants, and this one looks to focus on the DCU Rebirth. The main cover by Mitch Gerads does a great job of playing with Thomas and Martha’s relationship remixed as Batman and the Joker. Taking that remix a step further is Xermanico’s variant showing us a new “Bat Family,” which is chilling when you know how all the characters are connected. To round out the collection, we get a variant by Dan Mora, and it makes me wish he was on a Flash book.
This issue is full of creative talent; we have Jeremy Adams, Geoff Johns, and Tim Sheridan as writers, with Gary Frank, Mikel Janin, and Xermanico bringing the pencils. Brad Anderson, Jordie Bellaire, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. are the colorists backing up the art and Rob Leigh provides the letters, taking us to at least ten people working on this issue. Not only did they bring us this issue, they could also field a softball team.
I appreciate that all those creators could come together and give us a special issue that felt consistent with the characters and the overall series. I remember when Avengers vs. X-Men was the big event and experiment with multiple writers and artists, but it did not work out. There were too many inconsistencies with the characters’ voices. You could bring up the fact that the stories of Bruce and Thomas are separate, which is probably why this reads better. I do hope that in some future collected edition, the writers share what their contributions and story beats were.
The art department is stellar, and this issue gives Mikel Janin more room to play with Bruce’s adventure. It was something to see with Bruce facing Rip Hunter; plus, the stakes were massively influential. I like that the situation puts Bruce in Barry’s position from the Flashpoint series, but it also makes him very selfish to gamble reality for his wants. Jordie Bellaire does such a spectacular job with the colors here; the use of the blue energy lights up the pages and illuminates what is at stake.
Thomas’ adventure comes around beautifully, and I like the character growth shown. Xermanico played the drama nicely here and did an excellent job showing what a pressure cooker Thomas was in with Flashpoint’s Joker and Two-Face. There is a moment where a character dies, and the onomatopoeia is perfectly placed, so major kudos to whoever called that one. The Gary Frank and Brad Anderson pages were a nice addition, and I cannot wait to read and hear people’s reactions to what they bring.
I have to say that overall I am satisfied with this story. The Thomas Wayne hook had me, and I was delighted to see the growth he and Martha gained from this adventure and learned to heal together; I know I look forward to more experiences with the Flashpoint world. It was a bummer that we didn’t see more of the Kryptonian invasion, but this issue feels like a freeway to other stories. Speaking of those other stories, this will lead you to the upcoming New Golden Age and the Thirteen, so make sure to let your LCS know to sign you up. I didn’t see the connection between Watchmen and Doomsday Clock coming into play, so after you read this, revisit Doomsday Clock issues #11 and #12 as they’ll read better with this tease of what is to come.
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