Flashpoint figures - The Future of the Past

This year, DC Comics launched one of the biggest events in comic history. In turn, every one of their releases began at #1. The success of this event was overwhelming, pushing every one of their 52 new titles into (at least) a second pressing. All of this was due to a storyline named "Flashpoint". With more than a dozen titles running monthly, it explained the drastic change to the DC Universe over the course of a month.

Getting to the point, a small run of Flashpoint-based merchandise was released to coincide with the releases of the comics through the mini-series. There were 5 t-shirt designs, and a series of action figures. Although I did not buy all of these figures, judging by their photos, and seeing them all first-hand in comic stores throughout the city, these are some of the best DC Direct figures to date. The attention to small details and unique character traits is incredible. My favorite of the series is Reverse Flash. This isn't the first Zoom figure to be released, but it is one of the first to truly capture his evil nature with his smirk and presence.

That being said, why stop there? The Flashpoint universe had so many unique, distinctive characters to deal with that the possibilities for several more series of action figures seems like the perfect thing to do. I have read on several different sites that they are finished making figures based on the Flashpoint storyline. Why? I would easily spring for several different figures if they released them. With nearly endless options, it wouldn't make sense to leave Flashpoint in the past. Let's take a look.

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Project Superman - Subject 1:

The Man of Steel had taken on quite a different facade for Flashpoint. He was deprived of sunlight nearly his entire life and had various tests and experiments inflicted upon him daily. His skin was pale and white, and his head was shaved on the sides. He didn't do much talking, but when it came to action he kicked some serious ass regardless of his awkward, lanky physique. The changes alone made to Superman should be enough to make a one-time run of figures based on this unique design.

I personally would prefer his original Subject One logo as opposed to the one he sported in the last two issues. Here is a design by Andy Kubert of the first "S" Kal-El is seen wearing in Flashpoint.

 

Legion of Doom - Plastic Man:

 Another surprise in the Flashpoint universe was the presence of Plastic Man. As any reader of my blog knows, I am a huge Plastic Man fan (who is extremely disappointed by his much too brief appearance in Justice League International). One thing about Plastic man merchandise... there isn't enough of it. The best Plas action figure that has ever been released was designed by Alex Ross and came out in the Justice series. A few others came out in the past, but none held a candle to this one.

You know, I could never get his arm to bend like that.

DC Direct needs to take another stab at Plastic Man. His design in the Flashpoint universe was only slightly changed from the original, but made a lasting impression. An updated version of Plas in figure-form would make my entire year, and DCD are the ones capable of bringing his intensity straight from the comic to another dimension.

Not yet Eel, I've still got a few things to say.

Being the virtually endless character that he is, the possibilities are astronomical as to what DCD could do given the freedom to explore the anomaly that is Plastic Man. If I had a choice, I'd do a simple, anatomically correct Plas in the pose above, with a few replaceable parts to alter his appearance, whether it's a new head like the one below, or an arm or two covered in blood. 

Plastic Man has received the blunt of everything for years, since most writers do nothing more than turn him into a comedic relief at best. Not only does Plastic Man deserve more than one good action figure, he also needs his own title. Don't make him a goofball. Don't make him a joke. Make him everything he was created to be. The most flexible, fun and potentially dangerous superhero that the DC Universe has ever seen.

Emperor Aquaman - Ocean Master:

Here's another great opportunity for a figure. He has had his own before, but this design, although extremely similar, is arguably much better. It suits the griminess of Flashpoint and really captures his character perfectly. It's the best Orm design to date, in my opinion. Because of the amount of skill and detail that goes into all DCD figures, I would expect this to be one of the best figures of the entire series. His character design is complex but that is one of the better things about him. He wears a flashy costume and still manages to kick so much ass. And besides (spoilers), he had a LOT to do with the disaster that became of the wedding between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. 

A rubbery return

 Just to warn readers, if you are worried about reading spoilers on the newest issues of Flashpoint - do not read any further if you want to be surprised on your own, without my help.

Here we go. In case you haven't been following/have no interest in reading the newest Flashpoint series, Plastic Man is back in all his rubbery glory. I thought this needed to be posted since I was hoping he wouldn't be cut out during the revamp and reissuing of the 52 titles in September. His return made me confident that his character is here to stay, and more importantly, to play a bigger role than I ever could have expected.

Back in the days when Plas was nothing more than a criminal, Patrick "Eel" O'Brian lived his life as a safe cracker in a gang, but when a heist went wrong, he was accidentally exposed an unknown chemical, which changed his body drastically, giving him the ability to stretch, bend, expand, shrink and twist every single inch of his body. He then devoted his life thereafter to fighting crime. In the Flashpoint universe, Plastic Man is a superpowered bad guy. Not much has been said about him yet, since technically the only thing he's done so far was grotesquely force himself out of another person's body through their mouth.

Plas in all his glory in the first issue of Flashpoint: Legion of Doom

Dont' get me wrong, this definitely wasn't a bad thing. It was actually one of the more amusing, intense moves I've read in a comic in a long time, it was only a tiny bit out of character - which I enjoy for this series. I just don't want him to stay this way forever, although a bit more of a violent, out of control Plastic Man ala TDKSB* post-Flashpoint would be refreshing.



To me, Plastic Man has always been one of the greatest, most original heroes. His origin story is an amazing tale of redemption, changing his criminal ways to protect the innocent - so why change it after 70 years?

What will happen to the new Detective Comics #27?

Legendary.

As of this week, all 52 issues coming this September have been unveiled. At first, this news upset me. I have been collecting the complete run of Detective Comics on and off since I was just a child. In fact, my very first comic dates back to 1995, when I was only 4 years old. Today, I have over 500 issues of Detective Comics, showing no signs of slowing. Since the news of the renumbering, I have been skeptical. It has been a few weeks since the announcement, so I have had some time to think about the future of Batman, but more importantly (to me): the new Detective Comics #27. What will happen with this issue?

The original issue is sought after by tons of fans worldwide, including myself. Only those with enough money are lucky enough to get themselves an original copy. Now, Detective Comics #27 will come again. But what will it look like? What kind of story will be told? As of right now, there is no news as to what will happen with the renewed issue of the one that started it all. I know exactly what I want to see happen. I want to see is the a similar story like that of #27 from 1939, but redrawn in a modern style, the way they did it here (see below). Although the story was not necessarily important or crucial, it would be amazing to see more depth within the story, to have it adapt into something much bigger. This would be the ultimate homage to me. Keep the ears, the belt and the retro bat-logo. As for the cover art, pay respects to the legendary cover by recreating it color for color. Such an iconic cover deserves proper treatment when it comes to a redesign, and there would be no better way than to use the great, vivid colors used on the original.

The idea of redrawing and re-paneling the pages of Detective Comics #27 is not a new one. It has been done on a few different occasions. Here are a few that have been made over the years.

Detective Comics #853 by Andy Kubert

Kingdom Come Tribute Card by Alex Ross

Detective Comics #627

The original.

An amazing modernized version of the Golden Age Batman by Michael Walsh.

On top of that, I know Grant Morrison gets a lot of negative feedback, but he is one of my favorite writers. Although I'm not a huge Inc. fan, it is enjoyable. Besides, who references the Golden and Silver Ages of Batman more than Morrison? They should get him back on Batman issues, and this one especially.

Oh, and bring back Plastic Man. That is all. (for now)

Adam