Posted September 1, 2011 by Earl Maghirang in Comics

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Flashpoint # 5

Reviewing Flashpoint # 5 by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert from DC Comics.

The final issue for Flashpoint has been substantial and at the same time confusing. For something as short as Flashpoint there are certainly a lot of ups and downs.

Let’s talk about the downs first before proceeding for the uppers.

Negatives:

I didn’t like the way they executed the story. Reading the fifth issue, it felt like Johns, Kubert and the rest of DC Comics was trying to do a hard sell on the book and at the same time trying to tie up all the loose ends and trying to earn a bit more for publishing the book and telling how we got the massive DC Universe reboot.

I still have a hard time figuring out the motives behind the Enchantress going berserk. Maybe its because I didn’t read the “Secret Seven” tie-in which made it hard to grasp why the Enchantress was bitching in the first place. Either way it felt like this villain was tailor made to actually be a flimsy threat to the gathered heroes in the book.

The “three-timelines” thing that was written in accordance to actually make the transition between the old DCU and the DCnU had me scratching my head. This would have been good but the real problem here is that, it might not be touched by Francis Manapul and the rest of his crew when the new “Flash” book comes out which would really be sad. Parang eto na yung mangyayari, tapos they all forget that this actually happened down the line.

Positives:

Gripping drama was what made the book really enjoyable for me. Barry’s little heart to heart with his mother seemed organic and well thought of. Norma Allen was actually quite heroic when she stated that she’d rather be dead than seeing billions die just for her sake; at least we know that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Gripping drama number two was a book end of sorts for the opening act of Flashpoint seeing that Bruce Wayne gets to read a letter from his father who died in the same issue. Brilliant props for writing that in.

Andy Kubert’s work is definitely a good thing here. It seemed like the whole thing was great thanks to the art of Andy Kubert. The movements and facial reactions were very good and even the deaths of characters like Grifter and Enchantress (at the hands of Superman) was done in good taste thanks to Andy Kubert’s pencils.

Someone finally killed that raving lunatic Professor Zoom which for me is a big thing because he was starting to become really annoying.

Overall I’d give Flashpoint # 5 a good 4 out of 5 because of the simplicity. It missed the perfect mark all thanks to the confusion it left me but I guess I just need to read the book all over again just to enjoy it once more.

For spoilers for Flashpoint # 5 you might want to check HERE