In this clip from Comic Book Club, Kevin Conroy says he’s working on an animated version of Flashpoint.
Oh I just, just last night, I recording a new animated movie…that features The Flash, it’s more about The Flash, but Batman is in it as well. It’s a Flash…Flashpoint! Flashpoint? I think it’s Flashpoint.
As ComicsAlliance points out, there’s been no official announcement past Superman vs. the Elite (which, though it won’t be released until summer, is finished — I saw it at WonderCon last month).
It’s an odd choice for a Flash film until one remembers that Warner Bros. is utterly focused on Superman and Batman, and Flashpoint is a Flash/Batman team-up story. Chances of getting a truly solo Flash animated film are slim for now.
And while it might seem strange to do a stand-alone movie based on a crisis reboot, I think the timeline of when things happened (JMS states that the reboot was given the green light after Superman: Earth One sales figures hit) shows that Flashpoint wasn’t originally intended as a universe-wide reboot so much as it was a story about fixing a broken timeline. Take out that splash page in #5 and change the costumes in the last three or so pages, and it works just fine as a stand-alone story.
So, what do you think: Is this the Flash story you want to see?
I’m glad to hear the Flash is getting some time in the spotlight. But seriously, Flashpoint?
There have been some great Flash stories over the years and they go for Flashpoint? I mean I understand that it had a huge impact on the DCU and it happened recently but come on.
Anyway, complaints aside, I’m quite curious and if all goes to plan I’ll check it out.
There will no doubt be a lot of ire over this because Flashpoint didn’t itself live up to expectations. But as Kelson said, if you do take out the DC New 52 aspects of this, it functions as a relatively straightforward Flash-in-an-alternate universe story, and one that uses most of DC’s Big Seven characters (I wonder if they might truncate or cut out Hal’s role, and maybe add a little nuance to those of Wonder Woman and Aquaman).
And it serves DC’s dual purposes, much as it may pain some to hear this, of having an animated movie that stars Barry Allen legitimately tied to a comic that also stars Barry Allen. So I do see some upside for DC in this.
I actually think Kevin Conroy in the role of the grief-stricken Thomas Wayne could be quite interesting, really.
I think Conroy will be GREAT and he has played Thomas before, too!
I’d much rather see a movie of Return of Barry Allen, or especially Chain Lightning (which is woefully overlooked, in my opinion). Those stories were of great import to Flash history. Plus, they were actually good. Whereas Flashpoint had a good issue and a half, and then three and a half issues of thumb-twiddling and hasty resolution. Then again, maybe it’d be worth seeing them adapt Flashpoint because they could actually make it good. The story had potential, even if Johns dropped the ball.
Not to overstate the issue (and this by no means suggests my approval of such), but DC wouldn’t make a movie of Return of Barry Allen or Chain Lightning because they’re both “dead Barry” stories. I think Flash: Rebirth is unlikely for the same reason. To make a go of Barry as the Flash, DC needs more notable “live Barry” stories, and that’s Flashpoint and, well, Flashpoint.
[Did I coin a phrase there? “‘Dead Barry’ stories.” 🙂 ]
Not to be confused with “Dead and Barry’d” stories.
*snickers* Yeah.
Also, I’m afraid that Barry was also ‘alive’ in Flash: Rebirth. We realize it was hard to tell because that Barry was not sweet so much as sour, but I have it on good authority that he was.
Alive.
Sure, alive in Rebirth (re-birthed, as it were), but Rebirth is still a story largely connected to Barry having been dead; Flashpoint has no connection to that at all, hence DC can run it as “just a Flash story.”
… Y’know, an interesting fan project would be a re-do of Flashpoint starring Wally, where Hunter “Zoom” Zolomon had erased Linda from existence and Wally caused Flashpoint trying to get her back. A Flashpoint-without-Barry kind of thing.
Kelson Vibber with the zinger! Well played, sir.
I’m going to hold onto ‘stupid hope’ simply because I don’t know what else to do at this point other than to groan, wring my hands, and wish I’d been born decades earlier….or later because this sure turned out to be a..*coughs* time to have become a comic book fan.
Any chance that Flashpoint refers to the Elseworld tale by the same title? *gives puppy dog eyes because…yeah, not crazy about that one either but I have all sorts of enmity for Flashpoint the universe crasher and wouldn’t pay to see that if it was the last dvd on Earth.*
Aside from being a convoluted story…it’s just a bad way to introduce Barry Allen as a character in a starring role. It’s not like Wally, sho’s had starring roles in JL and JLU stories…most viewers don’t know who Barry is now, so why will they care that his status quo has changed? They should have started with Barry’s origin and then just mish-mashed the best parts of his classic stories together.
Could be interesting and I’ll probably watch it. Still hoping for a Flash-centric story that isn’t tied to a grim alternate universe, though.
Wonder what story elements will make it in, because obviously they can’t cover all the side stories/tie-ins in a single movie.
Of all the “events” DC has released over the past few years, “Flashpoint” would be the easiest to adapt to a 75 minute animated feature. I am not surprised at all by its selection.
Since I liked “Flashpoint”, I look forward to seeing it’s movie version!
This feature is not likely to see release for a long time, likely late 2013 at the earliest. The next two DC animated features after Superman Vs. The Elite will be Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, broken up into two separate movies.
Who knows…it could be about that ol’ Elseworld Flashpoint perhaps?…naah, not really.
Okay, so what’s next? Crisis? Final Crisis?
I think my biggest problem with this is that the series was pretty much 5 straight issues of “Barry Allen fails spectacularly to solve the problem.” From trying to find Bruce and almost getting killed in the batcave, to trying to get his powers back and almost getting killed in the process, to trying to find Superman, who promptly bolts and leaves them to possibly be killed by soldiers, to utterly failing to prevent the murder of a child.
And then, to top it all off, because of the decision to turn it into a the universe reboot (something that would have made more sense with Final Crisis, and WAY more sense with Infinite Crisis, and was a really bad idea…) he even fails to actually put the universe back together correctly. Oy Vey.
Failed promises while the harbinger of hope and change.
(Oh my. I just got a revelation on what GJ’s Barry was based on. damn. can’t unsee it now!)
Some of the best Flash stories had Wally as the Flash.
I don’t think I have to expand on my comment.
Hey, hey! Barry got to fight evil cumulus clouds. Wally never got to stomp/dance on evil water vapor or other cool stuff like that.
(tongue in cheek.)
I’d like to see Return of Barry Allen or Terminal Velocity, but if it’s got to be Barry, they should do some version of the death of Iris or the death of Zoom. I think Flashpoint is kind of a bad idea as the story is faulty to begin with. Hero’s mom dies, changing reality. She is then brought back, making reality far worse, and then having to go back to the first tampered reality? Makes my brain itch.
What if it was based on the Blitz storyline?
Noooooo!
(Please don’t. They have already revamped one famous story that had Wally and shoe-horned in Barry instead. Seeing as all future stories are likely to be only Barry as the Flash, don’t give them any more treasured material to mutilate, please?)
AMEN! I still don’t think this would have blown up in their faces as much if they would have just been a little forthcoming and more polite about the whole abandoning Wally for Barry. There are right ways to do these things and wrong ways to do these things.
Nice pictures of Kid Flash. I also have the DC Direct one. I also bought the stealth KF on deep clearance because I figured that was as close as we were going to get for a Black Lantern Bart’s KF.
Rotten that old pictures and toys are all we have now.
This should be cool. I’m excited! Wonder what the art style will look like, like will it be based off Kubert’s artwork or will Flash have the white eyes as usuaal? Will they draw him with the REAL Flash sign for once, lol? And who will voice Barry Allen and Thawne….and if they animate the new 52 suit, how will that look in cartoon format? Should be pretty wild. 🙂 I’m just happy they’re finally doing a Flash project, and I can see how they’d get Flashpoint to work as a DTV.
Also I love Barry Allen so I am looking forward to more of him and seeing his personal life aspects explored a bit. The scene where he tries to recreate the accident the first time should be funny. I LOL’d when I saw that in the book. I also kinda hope they show how he got his powers in a flashback or something at least. Anyway, very excited for this, it’s a shame we’ll have to wait till like next year at least. But it’s bout time, WB! 😀
I’m going to ask this with no disrespect intended:
Is your favorite character Heatwave perchance?
(Because not many people I know would find third-degree burns on another hilarious.)
No, I just thought it was kinda funny because that’s probably what would realistically happen – you don’t expect to see that in a comic book.
I’d rather see the Return of Barry Allen.
After what, 4 seasons, on Justice League and JLU, Wally gets shoved over for Barry again. With Return though, you can at least show new fans the connection between the two.
It’s a better story by far than Flashpoint too. 😉
Return of Barry Allen didn’t have Batman in it.
Three Flashes trumps one Batman. 🙂
Given DC, they’d add in Batman as a starring character. Replace Jay with the Dark Knight, Max with Robin the Boy Wonder.
Oy.
I really hope they change a few things. At this point in time I’d be happy for wally to get a cameo (cause that’s sure as hell more than what we’re expected to get).
Btw where da other speedsters at?