First Look: Flashpoint…Without the Flash?

In 2011’s Flashpoint, Barry Allen almost destroyed the world when he changed the timeline and created a much darker and more destructive reality.

It was bad, but the keyword here is “almost.” He almost destroyed the world, but with the help of that new reality’s Batman—Thomas Wayne—the Flash was able to fix his mistake and bring things much closer to how they were before.

So why is the Flashpoint world back? That’s the question that’s puzzling Barry’s onetime ally, Thomas Wayne. He thought he had helped the Flash bring back the world in which his son survived that night in crime alley and operated as a much more hopeful and inspiring Dark Knight than Thomas could ever be. But now, his old world is back. Atlantis has won their war against the Amazons and now that they’ve tasted blood they’re not about to stop. Judge Harvey Dent has a vendetta against Thomas after his wife—who’s the Joker in the Flashpoint realm—killed his wife and daughter. There’s a brutal serial killer on the loose. And in a shocking twist in last month’s Flashpoint Beyond #0, the one person who might be able to fix things, his world’s Barry Allen, was killed by an assassin working for Atlantis.

It’s hard to see how things could be much worse for Thomas Wayne and the people forced to live this bleak reality, and that’s where we pick things up with next week’s Flashpoint Beyond #1, which unites the blockbuster writing team of Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams and Tim Sheridan with artist Xermánico for a six-issue sequel to Johns’ game-changing miniseries. With no obvious way forward, the elder Wayne must figure out a plan, both for restoring the world he and Barry fought so hard for and deciding what he’s going to do with Harvey Dent’s now homeless son, Dexter, whom he took in after Harvey was killed by the same assassin who killed Barry. What will he do? Where will he even start? Dive into our exclusive first look at this can’t-miss new comic and decide for yourself. Will Thomas Wayne once again be able to put things right…or is the better world he fought for truly gone for good?

Flashpoint Beyond #1 by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, Tim Sheridan, Xermánico and Romulo Fajardo Jr. is available Tuesday, May 3 in print and as a digital comic book.