#flashpoint spoilers

[xxlonelybones]

any paragon mass effect fans watch the new flash think, "oh shit, it's me" when the major conflict came down to saving everyone no matter the cost or was that just me?

like... when baby barry was like, "we can save everyone!" i was like, "oh babe, i did a perfect run of mass effect like two weeks ago where my shepard lived with the secret ending and everything and it fixed nothing. in that universe or my own."

[distort-opia]

Folks we got another one!!

Flashpoint Beyond (2022) #6

Bonus:

Canon Batman-keeps-Joker-imprisoned-in-the-Cave trope. Again.

[hamborgerqueen]

In the midst of a wip where Amity Park goes kablooey because the GIW once again tried to blow up the Ghost Zone, but that backfired (literally) so very badly that the explosion took out half of Illinois.

Danny survives but was stuck in his core for a fat minute, and when he gets out he immediately goes on the hunt for Dani in the hopes that at least she survived too. Without any gear, he just follows his gut (core) instinct and winds up in Gotham, only to find out that Dani was caught by Ghost Hunters and destabilized entirely.

Danny, who was avoiding going ghost just knowing how dangerous he is, does not react well to this.

Enter Batman, who's trying to find out why over half of Gotham suddenly experienced a mass blackout.

But this isn't your Bruce Wayne Batman,

It's Thomas Wayne.

[indigosabyss]

There was a bullet, heading right for Spoiler's head.

She didn't have time to dodge, even as she saw it hurtling towards her head. Just staring at her death before-

A blur of pink and white knocked her to the side. But that didn't make sense. Gwenpool was across the room, still fighting her own bad guys.

The bullet hit the wall beside them, and this girl, who was also undeniably Gwenpool, grinned at her, "I went back in time to save you."

"You shouldn't have done that." Artemis looked at her sternly, "What about the time stream? The stability of the universe? Ripple effects? People die for a reason, Poole."

"And that reason is sometimes just shock value." Gwen replied with a shrug, "Who cares? Canon's whatever I say it is. We can save everyone if we select the right time!"

Here she spun around to point at the Flash, "Except your mother, because if I have to live through another goddamn iteration of the Flashpoint Paradox, I will do something drastic."

"Okay, wow, that was just unnecessary." Barry scoffed.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

(SPOILERS FOR THE FLASH)

So, uh…is it just me or was “The Flash”’ movie lowkey a Cliffnotes remake of season 3 of CW Flash?

You got the Flashpoint Paradox source material, the hidden villain being an evil Barry, the evil Barry ALSO being a time remnant created by the original Barry, the movie being about Barry having to learn that he can’t just use time travel to fix the past, etc.

[gender-luster]

atsv (specifically the lego earth scene) reminded me of this dream i had months ago where basically dc decided to do its own sort of spiderverse thing, but with batman. and so every batman, comics, movies, cartoons, etc. were dragged into this one universe, including lego batman (from the lego batman movie) but lego batman was, well, lego sized. so all the other batmans just had to carry him around so that he could get to places. but they all fuckin hated him. and whenever he got too annoying, they would just shove him in their utility belts

[tiredassmage]

wait... hold on a second... rass buddy. when did you??? get a new paint splotch on your helmet????

[threewaysdivided]

Some random stuff I’m looking forward to in future Deathly Weapons chapters:

Artemis casually roasting the entire squad while having a bad time

Zatanna’s increasing mini-thread about ghost magic

“Zee, I know you miss him but you don’t have to be him.”

“flat-earth demon-book”

The Sam scene

Wally talking to Conner about how mentors are all just people in the end

Conner surprising Superman and Superman praising him for it

The little explanation M’gann gives for why she still likes to present as Green despite the Team knowing her secret

“He’s a good helper.  It only came alive once.”

Dani’s case for why she should come with them out of the Ghost Zone mirroring the Team’s founding argument to Batman

Valerie getting woken up by the weirdest phone call of her life

Literally everything to do with Equilibrium, oh my god you have no idea

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #800!

These are the official lettered preview pages for the issue, which you can also see at Adventures In Poor Taste. Previous unlettered pages can be seen here and here.

The story is clearly set in current continuity, as the villains are talking about Jai and Irey using their recent codenames, so it seems that Goldface really is a criminal again. Maybe his union history was erased in Flashpoint.

You've got to feel bad for poor Count Vertigo and Condiment King...

[ultrahpfan5blog]

The Flash - a fun but very messy movie...

This film has had a comically long path to release. I remember that The Flash movie was announced shortly after the The Flash tv show had launched in 2014. Its pretty hilarious that The Flash show run ended a month ago after 9 seasons and 180+ episodes, and the movie has only just released. Gives an idea to the amount of issues in the DCEU and for this movie. With all the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, as well as the extraordinary reactions by the film, calling it one of the greatest superhero films of all time, I was curious to see this. Having seen it, the film's reactions were clearly spin on behalf of DC and WB to mitigate the damage from the Ezra Miller debacle. Judging by the BO reports, it didn't work. And frankly, the film isn't anywhere in the vicinity of the top superhero films. Its not even in my top 5 DCEU movies, let alone DC movies and superhero movies in general. What it is, is a pretty funny movie, with some good performances, but a very messy execution.

The film feels very frantic, a bit like the main character. There is a lot crammed into this movie. It can get a little confusing, the way they talk about time travel and multiverse at rapid pace. As a big comic book fan, I was able to keep up, but I have to believe that a layman might just get lost in the process. I do like the concept of the chronobowl and I like that the film has a new way of explaining the multiverse. The movie's biggest plus is that the humor genuinely works. This is a generally pretty funny movie. There are a lot of laughs spread out throughout the movie. And credit to where its due, Ezra Miller is actually quite good in this film. Its a very Ezra Miller performance. All of his nervous ticks are there, but he is playing opposite himself for a vast majority of the film and he's actually quite good in both roles. The older version is actually a more toned down version of Barry that we saw in JL/ZSJL. The younger version is initially very annoying but that is sort of the point, but Miller does a good job of bringing out the innate goodness of the character. There are definitely some cool moments of action, a lot of them coming from Keaton's Batman. It is fun to watch that version of Batman kick some serious ass. Supergirl is also quite badass, if a bit underdeveloped. The visuals of Flash running, with the lightning, is pretty neat. The movie also manages to deliver a Flash origin story without needing to do an origin story. There are also a few emotional moments towards the end of the movie that really click. There is one scene in particular between Barry and his mother, which is quite emotional.

However, like I mentioned, the film is very messy. The VFX work on a lot of the movie is very substandard. I don't really care for the explanation that Muschietti gave. It sounds like a lame excuse, but if it was a choice, it was a bad choice, because it took me out of the scene quite a bit. The film also isn't focused. The emotional core of the film is Barry and him dealing with the tragedy of his past, but the film doesn't focus on it enough. As a result, the film never has the emotional punch that it should. As someone who watched 9 seasons of The Flash tv show, that was one aspect that they actually nailed. There are moments like that, such as when older Barry vents his frustration on younger Barry about how he takes things for granted, or the above mentioned scene with Barry and his mother. There just isn't enough of it though. The film does feel more interested in handing out nostalgia. While it is great to see Keaton's Batman, he doesn't really serve a purpose outside of being an element of nostalgia. They kind of do a surface level bonding of Bruce bonding with Barry over the loss of his parents, but they never dig into it. Keaton's appearance is just there to delight fans, so we get to see the Batmobile, the OG style suit, the Batwing etc... without adding up to anything specific. They also made him fairly pointless in the final fight because he isn't really able to do anything. Additionally, despite being 70+, his Batman is treated as if he is still at his prime, which felt like a missed opportunity. Supergirl also is an underdeveloped character. It feels like an interest arc is basically snipped into a few scenes for her. It is also difficult to buy her adjusting to her powers so fast, when we saw how difficult it was for Zod. Also, the film kind of brushes over the explanation as to why Zod wants Kara. When it comes to Barry, it does have that very emotional climax with the two Barry's and the old Barry, and then Barry changing the past to let his mother die, but then it also undoes the lesson a bit by changing the history enough to his father goes free, despite the explanation of every change leading to a different timeline.

The film does feel like its coming apart in the climax. The film throws a bunch of cameos at the screen, none of it really works. It got me wondering about who this film is targeted at. The core audience group for CBM movies is under 30, but the cameos in this movie, like Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater, Nic Cage as Superman, George Clooney as Batman, and even Keaton as Batman, are things that only people well over 30 would really recognize and have nostalgia for. Keaton Batman movies are over 30 years old, and even Clooney's Batman movie is 26 years old. I felt that lack of recognition and a general WTF feeling in my audience. I am one of those who is a true CBM follower, so I recognized the call backs but I can't say that most did. I did grin at the Clooney cameo but that one felt like it was almost a joke from the makers, that they know there won't be another movie in this continuity.

The performances are solid. Whatever you may think of Ezra Miller or his version of the character, he delivers a good performance of his version of Barry Allen. Keaton is clearly having a blast on his return and he does go above and beyond what the role would have required. Despite a shortchanged role, Sasha Calle makes an impression. Ben Affleck has one excellent scene which again brings up regrets as to how he was never properly used. It was nice to see Jeremy Irons briefly back again as Alfred, again a case of great casting that got wasted. It may be our last looks at Affleck, Gadot, Miller, and Irons in these roles. Not sure whether Affleck and Gadot have guest appearances in Aquaman 2. Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdu are appealing as Barry's parents. Shannon pops up in the climax as Zod. Doesn't really have enough of a role to make an impression. I think Andy Muschietti does a decent job directing the film. I do film the film needed to either prune some subplots, like the Zod and Kara angle, or it needed to be longer so it could deepen the Barry storyline and give Keaton's Batman more purpose apart from just being there for nostalgia bait. All in all, enjoyable, but overhyped and definitely quite flawed. A 6.5/10.

[distort-opia]

DISTORTOPIA LOOK

IS IN THE COMIC ONESHOT THE NEW GOLDEN AGE

WHY HE HAS MARTHA JOKER CARD EVEN THE SNOWBALL

WHAT DOES MEAN????

...Well. It means lots of things but none of them are remotely in the realm of sanity.

New Golden Age apparently takes place in the future of the current DC Universe. So this is our Bruce in the future, one who got married to Selina and had Helena (much like Batman/Catwoman or Batman of Earth-2). It's a Bruce who went through the events of Flashpoint Beyond, since he has the snow globe and... for some reason he got informed that his mother is Joker in the Flashpoint Universe, and he decided to get a Joker card with his mother-as-Joker's face on it.

Not only that. The implication is that at some point in the future:

It is revealed Joker has a son (perhaps the way Lonnie Machin was introduced as a potential son Joker had? perhaps it's a child he had with Harley who she hid like in Injustice? perhaps it's like the daughter he had as a result of a one-night stand but didn't know about like in The Dark Prince Charming?). And then Bruce for some reason takes in Joker's son and makes him a Robin -- as implied by the unknown Robin suit shown when Selina says that, which is placed after Damian's thus implying this Robin existed after his era;

It is revealed that Joker's son with Jeannie is alive (since Flashpoint Beyond canonized Joker's The Killing Joke origin, and also gave us Joker's name and the fact Jack Oswald White had a family) -- and then Bruce for some reason takes in Joker's son and makes him a Robin. (This would make the timeline very weird though. If alive, Joker's son should be around twenty-years old right now, nevermind how much older he should be in a nebulous future. How did he become Robin after Damian while stil being a child or teenager?)

Thought that maybe Selina is talking about Dexter Dent who Flashpoint Batman and Joker adopted, and who also likely became Robin. But it doesn't make sense for Bruce or Selina to know about him, or for her to refer to a bad event happening to him. Because...

3. No matter how exactly Joker's son came to exist, the implication is that Bruce took him in at some point, he became a Robin, and then something bad happened to him. Since Tim, Stephanie and Damian have all kinda died at some point, it's implied Joker's son might've shared a similar fate?

The second option of the son being Jeannie's has more support despite the chronology shenanigans, since the reveal of Joker's name and family had zero bearing on the plot of Flashpoint Beyond; it always felt like they were setting something up with it. I thought that maybe they would tie it to Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing, and maybe they still will somehow, but it's looking more likely that they're bringing in Joker's family in one form or another. It's not just the Flashpoint Beyond reveal of Joker's past, but also... Geoff Johns is the author, aka the guy who also wrote Batman: Three Jokers. A comic in which Joker's family is revealed to be alive, and Bruce apparently knew about it all along.

This feels like an attempt to canonize all of it. Timeline got rewritten and something happened to Joker way back in the day (maybe he found out about Jeannie and the kid, a confrontation took place, who knows) -- but his son got revealed and Bruce ended up taking him in, all before Death in the Family ever had the chance to happen (Joker's son would be around twelve during this time, and that would fit better.) Because Selina mentions Tim, Stephanie and Damian but not Jason, who should've been the first example if his death at Joker's hands still happened.

Not even going to get into how much I will hate it if they dump a family in Joker's lap and then kill him off. Because... let me get this straight, DC. Bruce Wayne is Batman in our Universe, and Jack Oswald White is his Joker. But in Flashpoint, because Bruce is the one who died, Thomas Wayne is Batman and the Joker is his wife, Martha Wayne. Our Bruce finds out about all of this and then proceeds to hang up a card of his-mother-as-Joker next to his own Joker card. And whenever the reveal happens about his Joker having a son, he freaking takes him in and turns him into a Robin... only for Joker's son to potentially die.

Alright. Okay.

[timpaxew]

The true Carter legacy is Superman’s general dislike for them

[mangoisms]

yayyyy finished batgirl vol 3… that really was super good. really enlightening for steph’s character and makes me wonder whether she’s better off as batgirl rather than spoiler. because there is something to be said about the history of spoiler. how she did it because of arthur. then how she was treated by tim and bruce, which is not to say she didn’t make her share of mistakes but like… idk. like the torture she underwent… how she literally died… batgirl vol 3 really felt like her growing past all of that. persisting despite others disapproving (cough tim’s insane condescension towards her cough) and then really making something of herself and learning from her mistakes. and then her bond with babs… wendy… and her mom finally approving too….

[mellaithwen]

⚡️THE FLASH TRAILER !!!!!! ⚡️

[fifiophobia]

Jokers Real Name Explained

(Spoilers for Flashpoint Beyond)

I know I’m a little bit late to this, but in Flashpoint Beyond #5 it was reveled that The Jokers (possible) real name was Jack Oswald White

From what I’ve seen, a lot of fans had mixed to negative reactions to this reveal, with a common complaint being that the name “Jack Oswald White” was a dumb name, or that this reveal takes a major aspect of Jokers character away

This post isn’t going to focus on my opinions of the reveal. Rather I’m going to try and explain the significance and symbolism in his name

———

Jokers first name being Jack makes a lot of sense considering a jack is a type of playing card

Another detail to point out is that a jack card is considered the lowest out of all the face cards (not the lowest in the card deck). Something that makes sense with Joker because he used to be a low class citizen

According to Wikipedia, the name Jack-

“was originally a diminutive of John. Since the late 20th century, Jack has become one of the most common names for boys in many English-speaking countries. Jack is also used to a lesser extent as a female given name, often as a shortened version of Jacqueline”

Being a diminutive of John makes sense because of the name, “John Doe”. John Doe is a name used to refer to people whose true identity is unknown. This makes sense considering how many possible names the Joker could have, and his “multiple choice past”

Also, with Jack being a possible nickname (though usually spelt Jackie) for girls as as well makes sense for Joker too considering he occasionally presents himself in a traditionally feminine manner

Now, I’m still trying to figure out why Jokers potential middle name is Oswald, but I think I have an idea.

The name Oswald usually translates to God, to rule/ruler, or divine power.

This makes sense because the Joker is seen as this chaotic, godlike entity despite being human in the DC universe

Also, he’s been referred as “the clown prince of crime”

(Just a side note: every time I think about Jokers middle name being Oswald, I’m always reminded of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character -who used to be an entertainer- that was pushed to the sideline and forgotten by people until he showed up as a villain in Epic Mickey. Kind of like how the Killing Joke version of Joker used to be a poor “nobody” until he became a villain. The main difference is that Oswald is no longer a villain, and the Joker is still a villain)

Finally, I think the reason his (possible) last name is White is because of two reasons

The color white is usually associated with purity and innocence. Which ironically fits in with his possible origin story of being a failed comedian because he started off as someone with pure intentions of helping his family, but becomes tainted after having a terrible day that ended with him falling into chemicals. (Also, it’s kind of funny that the guy with pure white skin has white as his last name)

White is a lot like the last name Wayne. Both being five lettered last names that start with W and end in E. Thus adding another connection between Joker and Batman

Again, this is just a theory for why the writers picked Jack Oswald White to be Jokers possible name. So if you have any other theories, feel free to add on.

[autisticcassandracain]

Reading Blue Beetle: Graduation Day and I have to ask. Since when does Jaime listen to the Justice League.