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The world of DC's Flashpoint is back in full swing, despite the best efforts of Thomas Wayne. The alternate-universe Batman stars in Flashpoint Beyond, which sees the more violent, no-holds-barred Batman investigating the sudden resurrection of his home reality after its destruction in the Batman/Flash crossover, The Button. The series' second issue goes on sale June 7 but could the answer to its central mystery have already been revealed in this summer's company-wide event, Dark Crisis?
Yes, we've got a theory and even though it's based on something DC itself put out in a preview, we're going to roll this out anyway.
Spoilers ahead for June 7's Flashpoint Beyond #2
The second issue of Flashpoint Beyond is written by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, and Jeremy Adams, drawn by Xermanico and Mikel Janin, colored by Romulo Farjado, Jr. and Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Rob Leigh. In the early pages of the issue, Thomas gets his first lead in the mystery of his reappearing reality in the form of one Roger Hayden, AKA Psycho Pirate. The character, who goes from DC Crisis to Crisis with his memories intact, somehow winds up in the Flashpoint Arkham Asylum, where he's believed to be a madman. Thomas Wayne knows better, however, and begins to ask questions about the inmate.
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Thomas learns that Psycho-Pirate claims to be escaping the "Dark Crisis," which DC fans know to have kicked off in March with the 'Death of the Justice League.' Now, Newsarama readers know that Newsarama believes the Justice Leaguers may not be dead at all but trapped on worlds/realities created by the Big Bad of Dark Crisis, Pariah. And if this turns out to be the case, it might be the key to unlocking the mystery of Flashpoint. To understand why we're going to have to go back to February when Thomas Wayne himself seemingly died prior to the Justice League's death.
That was in the pages of February's Justice League Incarnate #4, which was written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver, drawn by Chris Burnham, Mike Norton, and Andrei Bressan, colored by Hi-Fi, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. During that story, Batman's 'death' comes at the hands of Darkseid, but not before the Knight of Vengeance is possessed by the Great Darkness. Seeking to control the mysterious entity in control of Thomas Wayne, Darkseid launches his Omega Beams at the alternate Batman, reducing him to a pile of ashes… or so it appears.
Fast forward to Justice League #75, when Pariah pulls a very similar stunt to destroy the Justice League, turning them to dust with a surge of energy. This comes on the heels of a battle in a dead multiverse, where Pariah seeks to build a reality-smashing machine on the orders of, you guessed it, the Great Darkness. In other words, though their deaths are slightly different, both the Justice League and Thomas Wayne died battling the Great Darkness, leading us to wonder…
Is the resurrected Flashpoint world actually a world similar to the one The Flash is trapped on and we suspect all the dead Justice Leaguers are trapped on?
Not only would this explain the mysterious reappearance of Flashpoint, but it would neatly parallel the "death" of Bruce Wayne's Batman in Final Crisis #6 by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones. In that series, Darkseid's Omega Beams strike Bruce and appear to kill him, but actually merely transport him to the far past. We know from multiple interviews that writer Joshua Williamson loves to parallel comic books events that come before (like the Justice League dying in issue #75, paralleling Superman's death in 1992's Superman #75), and we even see Bruce's death recounted in the opening pages of Justice League Incarnate #4. Could the similarities between the two Batmans' faux deaths have been hiding the answer to Flashpoint all along?
Of course, this is all speculation. For the true answers to the Flashpoint mystery, as well as the reality behind Dark Crisis and the return of the "lost" Justice League, DC fans will have to keep an eye out for the rest of the Dark Crisis saga, which will be continuing through the summer of 2022.
In case you haven't noticed, Dark Crisis is shaping up to be an absolutely massive event. To help you understand everything that's going on, here's Newsarama's attempt at understanding everything that led up to it, and what will happen next.
