Flashpoint Facts is the feature that gets you caught up on DC’s Event Flashpoint – in a flash! And sadly, this is the last ever Flashpoint Facts, as next week it all ends. Everything. The Earth, probably. But mostly Flashpoint, so let’s get to it:

KID FLASH LOST #3

You know you’re near the end of an event when the title characters in three out of your four books die at the end. Massive spoilers, by the way, in case that wasn’t clear from the headline. But Kid Flash Lost #3 pays off on the promise of the first two issues, and moreso, providing what is probably the ONLY essential companion mini-series to Flashpoint. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: writer Sterling Gates nailed this one, and if DC decides to add a second flash title post relaunch (I’m totally happy with Francis Manapul on the main title), please give it to Gates. Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Flashpoint

Welcome to Flashpoint Facts, the feature that gets you caught up on DC’s Event Flashpoint… In a flash! And naturally, there be spoilers here:

ABIN SUR: THE GREEN LANTERN #3

So we’re still wrapping up the Flashpoint minis – an event in and of itself that started two weeks ago. However, this is the first of a trend: the dreaded “To Be Continued!” I mean, honestly, not so dreaded, really, but like most of the titles this week, Abin Sur relies heavily on the continuity established by the main Flashpoint mini, including its dangling ending. Read more...

Tags DC Comics, flash point facts, Flashpoint

Writer Peter Milligan has a past with the DC/Vertigo character Shade, the Changing Man--and in this month's Flashpoint tie-in Secret Seven, he's decided to change that past dramatically. In Flashpoint: Secret Seven, Milligan makes revelations about the character that may have ramifications about his post-Flashpoint counterpart, while assembling a team in the midst of the Atlantean/Amazonian conflict in an eclectic mix that nods to both Secret Six and Seven Soldiers of Victory.

MTV Geek: So, I’m asking this of all the creators about their particular project, but for you, why Shade The Changing Man?

Peter Milligan: One good reason is that Shade is the probably the DC character I’m most associated with. So if I were to do a story about the changes wrought by Flashpoint on anyone, it should probably be the Changing Man. But beyond that the story gave me the opportunity to explore a different kind of Shade.

Geek: How was it diving back into the character again?

PM: It’s always a pleasure. After all this time I still feel I’m finding out more about Shade.

Geek: So much of this issue is about how much of his past was real and how much of it was just a product of Rac’s psychosis. Why led you to approach the character in this way?

PM: It just struck me as a defining issue of this man, who seems to damaged and changeable.

Geek: For readers unfamiliar with the character, what are some of the main impacts that Flashpoint have had on Rac and his supporting cast? Read more...

Tags Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts, Flashpoint: Secret, Peter Milligan, shade the changing man

This week, longtime Teen Titans and JLA villain Slade Wilson--known more commonly by his nom de guerre, Deathstroke--gets the Flashpoint treatment courtesy of writer Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Joe Bennet and John Dell in Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager. The one-eyed super assassin, who once single-handedly took down the Justice League in Identity Crisis is now taking down ships on the high seas as a pirate in Curse. Why's he a pirate? Who does he hate with no Titans around? Where are the deadly Wilson offspring?

Find out answers to at least a couple of these questions in this interview with Jimmy Palmiotti and feast your eyes on this exclusive preview.

MTV Geek: So, I’m asking this of all the creators about their particular project, but for you, why Deathstroke? What made the character interesting for you?

Jimmy Palmiotti: Two factors play into this one: first, Geoff Johns and Eddie Berganza thought I might be a good fit for this character and project. So they approached me with the idea, had me read the Flashpoint books and asked for my take on the character and the world around him. The character of Deathstroke has always been my kind of character, a dark, driven killer—and when they said it would be a pirate book, my imagination went wild. What you see in these three issues is unlike anything that has been done with the character before and at the same time, it’s very loyal to him as well. It was a real blast to be included in this.

Geek: Along the same lines, why was he chosen as a viewpoint character for this event? Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Deathstroke, Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts, FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE & THE CURSE OF THE RAVAGER, Jimmy Palmiotti

We're pleased to show you a teaser image for the DC Comics event of the year, Flashpoint. What's turned the DCU seemingly upside-down?

• Batman's gone all crazy with glowing red eyes (that's a never good sign)!
• What's up with Paris going underwater?
• Wonder Woman as some sort of armored "Xena Warrior" type chick?
• Who majorly kicked the Flash's butt?
• It looks like a new Green Lantern...
• And finally, who is that creepy baby and what does it have to do with all this?!

Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts, green lantern, Wonder Woman

Okay gang, it’s time again for Flashpoint Facts, the fast feature that gets you up to speed with everything going on with DC’s Event Flashpoint… Really quickly! Note: I’m working on cutting down on speed puns in these, okay? Okay.

Before we get into people yapping their heads off (and some art, I GUESS), let’s talk comics. Or specifically, Flash #11, which is part two of three on the "Road to Flashpoint":

There’s a bunch of teases in this issue, though at this point it’s unclear exactly what will – and won’t – play into Flashpoint. However, for those of you who haven’t been picking it up, the idea is that Barry Allen, The Flash, is investigating the mysterious deaths of people who have been rapidly aged. It looks like it might be the work of an alternate universe version of Allen who rides a motorcycle, who himself is investigating time anomalies from our dimension. Well, The Flash’s dimension. I don’t live in the DC Universe, you guys, I mean come on, that would be RIDICULOUS. Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Emperor Aquaman, Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts, The Flash

Hey gang, and welcome back to Flashpoint Facts, where we get you caught up on everything you need to know about DC’s upcoming Event… In a Flash! Last time we use that joke, I promise*.

It’s been a while since I’ve done this, since I’ve been lost in the timestream, battling the evil Reverse MTV Geek (who, it turns out, is super into pottery and collecting stock quotes), so let’s jump right into it, with a healthy bit of info, and a little bit of speculation:

Kicking things off, the image to the right is the teaser for Flashpoint #3. And I know, you’re all like, “But I haven’t read Flashpoint #1 yet!” And I’m like, “Neither have I, but solicitations work three months in advance, it’s one of the tougher things about the comic book industry in terms of putting the lid on spoilers, OKAY???” Hence the blacked out Superman head, which suggests a few things:

1) In this alternate universe, Superman has no head.

2) Superman has the Nike swoosh shaved into the back of his hair.

Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts

The Recap: Flashpoint is DC’s big Summer event comic, where the Universe changes so that heroes and villains are as topsy turvy as an upside down thing. The only person who can save the world? Barry Allen, also known as The Flash! That’s all you need to know! On to new things, because this is Flashpoint Facts, your weekly recap of all things Flashpoint, with a healthy dose of speculation.

As promised last week, there’s going to be a little bit of a lull in Flashpoint news between the release of DC’s May solicitations, and, well… The release of DC’s June solicitations. That doesn’t mean there’s no info out there though, and as always, Flashpoint Facts will catch you up to speed.

The biggest news is that Mr. Geoffrey Johns himself – as well as Editor Eddie Berganza, and artist Andy Kubert will be answering questions from fans weekly on DC’s The Source Blog. That’s good news if you want someone to answer, “Will Flashpoint be awesome, or REALLY awesome?” Bad news if you want spoilers or Dan Didio’s phone number, but then, why would you want either of those things? One will ruin the experience of reading comic books, and the other is spoilers OHHHHH MAXIMUM ZING!!!

Anywho, Johns has kicked off the question answer period of our lecture with three general queries from DC press guy extraordinaire David Hyde. There’s nothing insanely revelatory there, but there are these pertinent points:

- You don’t need to read any comic books to get right into Flashpoint, but if you do want to, there’s a significant chunk of DC history you might want to review, including: Batman: Year One; Shade the Changing Man; and Booster Gold.

- Element Woman, Blackout, Outsider, and The Resistance are all new characters; we’re guessing the most popular or coolest one will find him or herself left in the changed back DCU after Flashpoint, unsure of his/her place in the world. Because, you know, that always happens. Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Flashpoint, Geoff Johns, Spider-Man

Flashpoint Facts is a regular feature where we get you caught up everything you need to know in the world of Flashpoint. Heck, you don’t even need to read any of the previous articles, we’ll get you up to speed right now! This is all the Flashpoint news you need – with a healthy dose of speculation, too.

We’ve known for a while that Flashpoint will have a main five issue series scripted by Geoff Johns, with pencils by Andy Kubert. We’ve also known that something has caused major changes to the DC Universe, with only Barry Allen (probably) remaining the same, or at least remembering how the world used to be. Big, groundbreaking stuff, right? Never been done before?

Kidding of course, it’s been done to death – but as always, it’s the execution, not the idea necessarily that matters. And we’re a sucker for alternate universes, so you know, whatever. We’re there.

Anyway, good news is, we now know what the first issue of Flashpoint is going to be about, as reported on DC’s The Source Blog:

FLASHPOINT #1

Written by GEOFF JOHNS

Art and cover by ANDY KUBERT

1:25 Variant cover A by ANDY KUBERT

Variant cover B by IVAN REIS and GEORGE PEREZ

Everything You Know Will Change in a Flash!

Not a dream, not an imaginary story, not an elseworld. This is a Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it? It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of the Outsider, the Secret 7, S!H!A!Z!A!M!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces.

It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the time line!

Welcome to FLASHPOINT!

On sale MAY 11 = 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US = Rated T

Read more...

Tags DC Comics, Flashpoint, Flashpoint Facts, Geoff Johns