Flash Point #5 (DC)
Ok, as far as big reveals this was kind of sad. I mean, the only thing I really enjoyed about this was that Batman got a letter from his Dad which was kind of sweet. Also that Batman told Barry he would have tried to do the same thing if he had the power to change the past - mostly because we all know that's exactly what Batman would do. But I've read Flash for a long time and Barry's mother's death was never something that seemed central to the character. I mean sure, for Batman it's the whole reason for the man he is today - his parents death being so catastrophic that it shaped the whole course of his life. But I never got that from Barry so I guess we're supposed to buy the whole "I found out the Reverse Flash killed my mom" being traumatizing enough that Flash is willing to alter the whole timeline to got back and save her. Thomas Wayne Batman killing Reverse Flash was the highpoint of this book.
Ok, as far as big reveals this was kind of sad. I mean, the only thing I really enjoyed about this was that Batman got a letter from his Dad which was kind of sweet. Also that Batman told Barry he would have tried to do the same thing if he had the power to change the past - mostly because we all know that's exactly what Batman would do. But I've read Flash for a long time and Barry's mother's death was never something that seemed central to the character. I mean sure, for Batman it's the whole reason for the man he is today - his parents death being so catastrophic that it shaped the whole course of his life. But I never got that from Barry so I guess we're supposed to buy the whole "I found out the Reverse Flash killed my mom" being traumatizing enough that Flash is willing to alter the whole timeline to got back and save her. Thomas Wayne Batman killing Reverse Flash was the highpoint of this book.
Locke and Key Clockworks #2 (IDW)
I love this book - consistently. This was a good break in Tyler's character as he got temporarily foisted with his sisters tears and fears since they escaped from the bottle she had locked them away in. At least she has them back in her head now because I felt the time had come where her being fearless and without despair had hit it's end point. I'm curious to see what happens to Boyd now as obviously the Omega key is no longer safely hidden away. This story always keeps me interested.
I love this book - consistently. This was a good break in Tyler's character as he got temporarily foisted with his sisters tears and fears since they escaped from the bottle she had locked them away in. At least she has them back in her head now because I felt the time had come where her being fearless and without despair had hit it's end point. I'm curious to see what happens to Boyd now as obviously the Omega key is no longer safely hidden away. This story always keeps me interested.
Invincible #82 (Image)
It's interesting to see Mark approaching the whole hero business from a different direction but I continue to be annoyed with what Kirkman has done to Atom-Eve. I just feel like she is a much stronger character than she is now portrayed as. The idea of her being overcome by depression and apathy and not having any will to fight back until her boyfriend returns is ridiculous. I keep hoping this book will get better again.
It's interesting to see Mark approaching the whole hero business from a different direction but I continue to be annoyed with what Kirkman has done to Atom-Eve. I just feel like she is a much stronger character than she is now portrayed as. The idea of her being overcome by depression and apathy and not having any will to fight back until her boyfriend returns is ridiculous. I keep hoping this book will get better again.
Green Lantern Retroactive #1 (DC)
I guess these retroactive books are kind of fun - but I just miss Kyle being the main Green Lantern. I mean, he was so much easier to relate too as a character and now he's out in space and doesn't seem to have much of a character outside the mask. This book reminded me of just how much I'm missing. I mean, Kyle is never out of the uniform any more and it's like he's left his whole life behind him to be nothing except a space cop.
I guess these retroactive books are kind of fun - but I just miss Kyle being the main Green Lantern. I mean, he was so much easier to relate too as a character and now he's out in space and doesn't seem to have much of a character outside the mask. This book reminded me of just how much I'm missing. I mean, Kyle is never out of the uniform any more and it's like he's left his whole life behind him to be nothing except a space cop.
Justice League (DCNu) #1
Not impressed at all. The dialog was awful. I mean not that Hal hasn't been portrayed as a total jek in the past but if this is our main GL now I may not care to follow GL at all. Batman is, well, Batman. But he talks a lot more that I've ever remembered Bruce talking. I mean just try to read the dialog out loud - it doesn't work. Reminds me of the terrible teenage dialog in some of the Ultimate Spiderman books - but it was more believable for teenagers to talk like that. Ugh. The only interesting parts of this book were about Vic.
Flashpoint #5 was supposed to basically be the last issue of about 80 years of DC books. So what do they do with it? They give Batman closure. The Detective Comics (DC) lead finally got what he always wanted: an "I love you" note from his alternate timeline father delivered by a guy who caught up to himself on a treadmill, punched himself, and remembered to check his super pockets for messages that should have faded like the McFlys during Earth Angel. Yeah...it was sweet.
ReplyDeleteGwen,
ReplyDeleteI'd say any death of a parent totally alters a person's life. The problem with Barry is that his mother never died in the real/original timeline, it was just an artificial story gimmick, which is why it didn't resonate well. Reverse Flash was always one of my favorite Flash bad-guys, but I never liked the way Johns wrote him. Waid and Bates did well on the character.
I hate to ask this question, but, Have you lost a Mother? I have and I guess that is why I see this different.
ReplyDeleteI read none of the other Flashpoint books. Just picked up two of the one shots. I came into this and saw the effect of a man's choice. It didn't need to be connected to 80 years of DC history. It was at its core the story of a man realizing that his want to have his Mom live and be with him doomed the entire world to chaos and death.
As a short story this is a good and heart wrenching tale. I would give anything to have my Mom here to talk with and support me. Barry's Mom hits the hero in the heart by reminding him that her son would not be selfish and let others die to keep her around.
So this is a good story when seen through different eyes.
Barry
Look, I love my parents. But lets face it - plenty of people lose a parent (or even both, and sometimes to awful things rather than old age) but I seriously doubt that, it my parents had been shot in front of me as a child, that I would have grown up to be Batman. It would have been more likely for me to become a cop, or a civil servant. Or even to adopt children of my own since I would know what it was like to lose family and want to help other kids to cope with such losses. Death and loss is part of life and you either grow up and learn to cope with loss or you become a basket case (to one degree or another). So, no, I haven't lost a parent although at 7 years old I did lose a family member who had helped raise me. It was devastating and even now, at 29, I miss her deeply. At such a young age I didn't know how to deal with death. I used to still imagine she was there with me to talk to when I was alone. But eventually I learned to accept her absence and as much as I missed her I also learned to just remember the good things about her - not how much it hurt to have her gone. Just because you lose someone you love doesn't mean that you can't cope with it in a reasonable fashion - and Barry has always been a reasonable man. Honestly, a lot of people want justice or revenge if something bad happens to them or a loved one. But this story would have us believe that rather than try and bring Zoom to justice he'd rather alter the entire time line. Barry sacrificed his life (previously) to save the entire universe - so you'll have to excuse me if I don't think of Barry as selfish enough to go back in time, without any regard to the consequences, to save his mother. Barry is well aware of what altering the time line could do. So I don't buy it. Yeah, Barry makes the right choice in the end. But the Barry Allen I grew up with would have coped with learning about Reverse Flash killing his mom differently - like a hero, not a child who has little regard for the consequences of his actions. I'm just saying that when an entire character is defined by the loss of his parents - to the point where his entire existence has been shaped by it - then sure, I can see a damn the consequences kind of attitude. Batman has always been written like that. But Barry has never defined his whole life by the death of his mother. It's part of him but it's not all of who he is so I just think that the Barry Allen I've always known - the one who I cried for when he died back in Infinite Crisis - would have handled things differently.
ReplyDeleteBarry never defined his life by his mother's death, because SHE WAS NEVER DEAD BEFORE and certainly wasn't murdered. Sad to say, but that Barry never came back. He saved A universe, but not "The" Earth One universe. It may all look the same, but most of it is totally different now. That means you can alter a character's motivations due to a new plot device. Barry should have stayed dead and his mother's life should have never been affected. If it worked on an emotional level for some, great -- but the whole idea was flawed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Gwen.