Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1

  World of Flashpoint is an interesting addition to the Flashpoint tie-ins. While the other miniseries focus on a very small aspect of the Flashpoint universe, particularly a character or a city, World of Flashpoint gives a more global perspective to the numerous crises the leaders of the free world face in the midst of the Atlantis- Themyscira war. And it's all seen through the eyes of one young girl

    Eight months ago (prior to Flashpoint #1), life seemed very good for young Traci Thirteen and he family. She lived in Paris with her siblings and parents. Her mother has mystical powers and has been teaching Traci to use the powers she's inherited and Traci's getting quite good at it.

  Things seem perfect until one day, Traci and her father are teleported away to safety. As a result, Traci's mother, exhausted from her protective use of magic, cause her and Traci's siblings to become victims of Emperor Aquaman's tsunami which floods eastern Europe.

      Now living in Switzerland, Mr. Thirteen is a high-ranking world government official tasked with finding a way to end the combined Atlantean and Amazon threats to the planet. The only answer the governments of the world can decide on is the use of a massive laser that will destroy Aquaman and Wonder Woman's forces. But it will also mean the death of millions of innocent lives. With her father poised to push the laser's firing button, can Traci Thirteen prevent another massacre of innocents in time?

      This first issue was quite different from the other tie-ins. There's a ton of cameos from DC's B and C list of characters. Instead of being a dull issue, the insertion of minor DC characters only made the Flashpoint storyline seem all that more widespread and encompassing. I know everyone wants the comics they are reading to star Batman or Superman but it's the minor (but oh so familiar) characters that make a story like this stand out that much more. It's probably why Crisis on Infinite Earths is my favorite comic of all-time.

     Ben 10 Classics' Rex Ogle really did his homework including characters like Clarion the Witch Boy and China's Iron General in August in creative ways in this story. I can't wait to see who he recruits in issue #2. Featuring some pretty good (but a little too-much Rob Liefeld for my tastes) art by Eduardo Francisco (Assassins School) and Paulo Siqueira (Batman Eternal) this was a very good opening segment to a vital part of the Flashpoint storyline you must not miss!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.