The Four Color Media Monitor

It turns out the Flash Forward miniseries really is otherwise a ripoff, and just another excuse to milk more money from all the gullible buyers over the next event it leads into. From Screen Rant:

Wally West is racing towards a new, unexpected future, now that DC Comics has revealed the former Flash hero will be getting a new set of powers following his Flash Forward arc. And not just any upgrade, either: Wally is becoming DC's next Dr. Manhattan.

Doomsday Clock ended with a shocking twist, as Dr. Manhattan transferred his powers to the child of Marionette and Mime, naming him Clark in tribute to Superman. Where Manhattan's place in the universe was unclear, but it appears his powers will tie-in to the current Flash Forward series. In that series, Wally has been recruited by the cosmic being Tempus Fuginaut to stop the spread of DC's Dark Multiverse. It's on that mission he discovers his children are alive (in some form). In the series, Wally touches the Mobius Chair which unlocks his memories as he discovers his greatest fears created the dark world. Previews showed Wally was faced with the choice of saving his family or saving the world.

So no real payoff, no serious reunion with Wally's wife Linda and 2 children, or resurrection of the heroes slaughtered in Heroes in Crisis? Even if there is, this remains pretty farcical, and wastes yet more money for the sake of yet another event:

DC revealed their upcoming plans for Wally West and the Flash Forward, and they are shocking. In a tease for the end of the miniseries and an upcoming epilogue from DC's Free Comic Book Day tie-in Generation Zero, Wally's new role was unveiled. It turns out Wally will take the Mobius Chair, but it's packed with even more power than anyone can imagine. The Mobius Chair is imbued with the godlike powers of Dr. Manhattan. Yes, you read that right.

Maybe not so shocking at this point. DC spent years wasting resources on tons of crossovers every way possible, and now they want us to buy that Wally's becoming an entity with god-like powers, rather than resuming a role among the mortal heroes. It merely suggests they plan on keeping their race-swapped Kid Flash with the same name in place, and have nothing inspiring to offer for Wally. In fact, as far as the children are concerned, just a few weeks ago, CBR revealed the following about the 5th issue:

...At the end of Flash Forward #4, Wally was again reunited with his children after teaming up with a speedster version of Linda from a different universe. However, a major threat loomed over Wally, Iris and Jai. The latest issue of the series shows Wally once again losing Iris and Jai, despite working so hard to get them back.

This certainly isn't shocking, but what really angers me is if there's no reunion with Linda as we knew her before the whole mess that began post-2000. On this "Generation Zero", Newsarama says:

And what's more, DC official description of Generation Zero implies that it could ripple out in major continuity ways, saying "Wally West can see the past, present and future of the DC Universe all at once…Including what needs to be changed."

"The march towards DC’s future begins with Generation Zero! This 32-page issue features a stunning cover by Francis Manapul and features key stories involving Wally West, The Fastest Man Alive, and Wonder Woman, warrior princess from the island of Themyscira," reads DC's description of the story. "New and longtime fans can’t afford to miss Generation Zero; this book lays the foundation for even more seismic-level changes in the DC Universe.

Fans of any segment can afford to miss this, because so long as Dan DiDio's overseeing it, nothing genuine is going to be changed, not even Geoff Johns' atrocities when he took over creative directions. What they really intend to change, and they've already made it clear, is Wonder Woman's status, making her the very first superpowered crimefighter in the DCU, as some kind of virtue-signal. But none of it amounts to good storytelling, and acting as though crossover events are the only way you can legitimately retcon anything in the DCU is laughably nonsensical. It's all just dangling carrots, milking money from tons of readers whom they're counting on to buy in hopes the next event will finally ensure a happy ending. But all those who do buy this are doing is encouraging DiDio's staff to continue laughing behind their backs at how gullible they are, giving them tons of money for nothing. This is exactly why the serial format in its current form has to end, because it's only become a source for corruption.

Labels: crossoverloading, dc comics, dreadful writers, Flash, msm propaganda