Review: Flashpoint

By Matthew Kresal.

Mention the title Flashpoint to a fan of DC Comics and you’ll get a flicker of recognition. It was the title, after all, of a 2011 crossover event that reshaped the DC universe prior to the launch of the New 52 with alternate versions of various characters. An arc that not only inspired an animated adaptation released two years later but also influenced story elements that appeared in both TV and films adaptations of the Flash (with decidedly mixed results in the case of the latter film).

This is not about that.

Instead, a dozen years earlier, the title had been used for a very different Flash story for DC’s Elseworlds line. A tale that saw very different versions of Barry Allen, Wally West, and other characters occupying a very different version of the then present-day. One that would be among the Elseworlds line’s first efforts at expanding beyond one-shots (and the odd sequel) with a three issue limited series published at the turn of the millennium.

Written by Pat McGreal with artwork by Norm Breyfogle, the 1999 Flashpoint not only creates an alternate DC universe but an alternate history stretching back to at least the late 1950s. One in which the Barry Allen incarnation of the Flash was the first and only superhero to show up on the scene, becoming involved with the United States government in the midst of the Cold War. Something which also saw him becoming something of a pal of President John F. Kennedy and lead to the Flash racing to Dallas to save JFK’s life. Something which comes at a price as a seemingly magic bullet appears from nowhere to cripple Allen, changing the course of not only his life but that of the world at large.

Beyond the first issue flashbacks, much of this Flashpoint takes place in alternate 1999. One where Allen has spent 35 years confined to a wheelchair but his mind, still retaining its genius, has spearheaded a far-reaching advanced space program under ten terms of JFK’s administration. The result is a 1960s retro-futuristic future combining elements of the Silver Age with our modern world, with Barry’s technology and the immortal Vandal Savage’s advances in health care serving as its foundation. That is until an artifact found among the Face on Mars and the Martian pyramids at Cydonia by Barry’s nephew Wally West threatens this future.

The first two issues of McGreal’s Flashpoint offer a wonderful example of the Elseworlds comics’ potential. There’s familiar Flash characters present and correct, even as alternate versions decades removed from what might otherwise be considered close to their normal selves, yet remaining logical extrapolations of who they might have become. The tie-in to JFK opens the door to a wider alternate history, one set-up in the opening issue during a visit by Ralph Dibny (here a PI who never became Elongated Man) to the Flash Museum where exhibits and a film explore how the Flash changed the course of the Cold War at the dawn of the 1960s. The depiction of the attempted JFK assassination (aided in no small part by Breyfogle’s artwork depicting Dealy Plaza and the motorcade) is also a joy to read for someone familiar with the subject, though despite McGreal picking up on a couple of pieces of assassination lore that clearly hint at a conspiracy, the implications are left entirely unexplored. Instead, but just as tantalizing, Flashpoint becomes rooted in the alternate then-present and the unfolding plot involving the Martian artifact, Wally West’s reaction to it, the mysterious stranger seeking to learn more about the artifact, and Barry’s seeking answers of his own.

Which makes it a shame that the concluding issue doesn’t quite stick the landing.

In part this is because McGreal, having introduced Wally West into the narrative, can’t quite resist finding a way to have two Flash’s in one story, a temptation that he gives way to late in the narrative by contriving a way to put Wally in costume. It’s one element of the plot that doesn’t pay off in a satisfying way, something that could also be said for the Martian artifact and those after it (though, given what it is said to be capable of, McGreal might well have foreshadowed the latter story with his title) which ends up being little more than a McGuffin. In perhaps the ultimate case of “having your cake and eating it too,” McGreal offers a rather confusing fate for Barry himself that tries to fulfil all expectations but satisfies very few of them. The climactic moment has tension, yes, but not enough to deliver on everything that’s come before it.

One thing that certainly delivers is the artwork from Norm Breyfogle. Building on the script’s retro-futuristic elements, Breyfogle’s artwork builds a world that combines aspects of the 1960s with the late 1990s. It’s a blend that satisfies as an aesthetic, particularly where architecture and vehicles are concerned and at times give off the vibe of a Gerry Anderson series. The characters are nicely realized, with Barry as the aging man of science and Vandal Savage giving off Rasputin vibes (something which feels appropriate given that an older JFK remains in the White House in no small part through Savage’s anti-aging efforts), not to mention appearances and cameos from others along the way. As detailed as some of the artwork can, it’s interesting to note the moments that Breyfogle decides to let things play out in shadows or less detail such as scenes in the Oval Office. Combined with colors by Noelle Giddings and letters by Rick Parker, Breyfogle brings the world of this Flashpoint to life rather nicely.

The 1999 Flashpoint remained a curiosity for years, even as a new arc took its name. It was never collected into a trade paperback edition on its own, having to wait twenty years before being collected with other limited series and one-offs in Elseworlds: Justice League Volume Three. Reading it in that collection, it isn’t difficult to understand why given there was 2/3 of a good story followed by a third act that didn’t quite deliver. For fans of the Flash or 1960s retro-futurism, it makes a fun read, but it’s far from a classic Elseworlds tale.

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Matthew Kresal is, among other things, the author of the SLP book Our Man on the Hill and short stories in the anthologies AlloAmericana, The Emerald Isles, and The Scottish Anthology.