This post contains a preview for Flashpoint Beyond #5
Surprisingly, a new preview for DC's Ra's al Ghul back from the dead, the previous Shadow War crossover saw the Demon's Head being murdered and blown up before he could be taken to one of his traditional Lazarus Pits (having no physical body to resurrect). Furthermore, this new preview is apparently looking to make a strong point about the state of everything in the DC Universe by revealing how Dark Crisis will end.
Coming from Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermánico, and Mikel Janín, Flashpoint Beyond features Thomas Wayne's Batman having been placed back in his original timeline where his son Bruce died instead of himself and his wife Martha (who went insane in her grief and became the Flashpoint reality's Joker). Ignoring everything that's happening in this reality (like a Kryptonian invasion) in favor of finding a means to restore his son's universe, Thomas has no idea that Bruce and his own timeline are still intact.
Now, the new preview for Flashpoint Beyond #5 features one of the Time Masters Bonnie Baxter educating Mr. Terrific about the true nature and makeup of everything, revealing how the Omniverse correlates to Hypertime, the elevated concepts of space and time in DC Comics. However, the preview confirms they're talking amid reports of the Justice League's return and their defeat of Pariah and the Great Darkness, 2 things that have yet to occur in DC's still ongoing Dark Crisis crossover. While both reveals were inarguably the most likely outcomes of the event, the fact that DC Comics was still willing to spoil their own crisis implies there's something bigger on the horizon that poses more of a threat. However, what's more surprising is the mysterious return of Ra's al Ghul who's seen meeting with Bruce Wayne's Batman (who's been investigating the affairs of the Time Masters themselves). Here are the preview pages and synopsis for the issue:
- THE CLOCKWORK KILLER, CHAPTER FIVE: THE JOKE'S ON ME
- The Clockwork Killer's identity is finally revealed as the dust settles after the showdown at Arkham Asylum. But as we learn the truth behind how the Clockwork Killer came to be, Thomas is faced with a reality-altering choice!
While the synopsis is focused on Flashpoint Batman's arc and the reveal from the last issue that the Clockwork Killer is none other than Martha's Joker, it's confusing to see Ra's al Ghul alive and well in this preview. While the classic Batman villain does note that his return was inevitable, one has to wonder how he's come back after his body was literally blown to pieces. Furthermore, it seems as though revealing the Justice League's return and victory over Pariah is meant to prove that the various crises of the Omniverse are nothing compared to the unseen battles over time itself within Hypertime. Reality and history itself can get rebooted with new continuities through Hypertime with battles and events that are only ed by constant time travelers such as Rip Hunter and his team of Time Masters. Anyone else simply knows what's been rewritten (rather than what was).
While Thomas Wayne and his son have already been identified as major threats to Hypertime, it seems likely that their continued efforts will result in something truly devastating to the proper flow of time and its many divergent branch realities. At any rate, it will be interesting to learn exactly how Ra's al Ghul returned to the land of the living as well (and if Dark Crisis has anything to do with it). Flashpoint Beyond #5 releases on September 6th.
