The Flashpoint Paradox Is Still THAT Awesome

“Accept the things you cannot change. Have the courage to change the things you can. And have the wisdow to know the difference.” - Nora Allen

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox started off the DC Animated Movie Universe we know today. The one that will soon be coming to an end. So the question today is, “Was Flashpoint Paradox really that good?”

Yes. Yes it was.

Flashpoint is a story about change. A story about hope. A story of what it means to be a hero.

Nora Allen’s opening advice to Barry (stated above) rings true throughout the film. It also is a description of Barry’s character growth through the movie.

Barry kickstarts the entire Flashpoint universe through the single action of saving his mother. This selfish act, that he sees as heroic. Which is something Eobard Thawne (Professor Zoom) would point out later in the movie to Barry himself. This act changes everything for the worse.

The Amazonians and The Atlanteans are at war. Superman crashlanded in Metropolis and became government property. Hal Jordan never became Green Lantern. Bruce Wayne was murdered, while Thomas Wayne became Batman and Martha Wayne became The Joker. Captain Marvel must now be formed by the whole Marvel family. Grifter is one of the world’s only heroes left. All around, Barry’s singular action took the timeline and tore it to shreds. What was pieced back together was a nightmare.

And the movie lets you know it’s a nightmare. It shows you how messed up everything has become. Batman using guns. Wonder Woman murdering people. Constant discussion of war and death.

But the way the movie lets you know the differences in universes is done in a very smart way. As a viewer, you never really feel like you’re being taught something. Barry is the audience surrogate for a major part of the movie. He’s finding out information, therefore so are we. It’s also done through throwaway lines or visual cues. Deathstroke’s ship is named Ravager, which is the supervillain name of his daughter. Elongated Man is now Elongated Kid and was murdered as stated in a conversation that lasts all of 10 seconds. Captain Cold is now the hero Citizen Cold, and he has a museum much like The Flash. Which allows one to infer that he took Flash’s place as the hero of Central City. It’s the little things in this movie that really make the world feel lived in and like it’s been around forever.

As the movie goes on, you start to see Barry live out the saying his mother told him. He begins to have the courage to change the things he can. Which eventually, he gets Batman to do the same. Barry wants so desperately to get back home, that it gives him the courage to fight and to spread hope to others. He gives Batman hope. Hope that his son may live.

It isn’t until the final moments of the movie that Barry realises that he can’t just change anything he wants. It wasn’t Thawne’s speech, though it helped. It’s his final moments with Batman. It’s Thomas looking him in the eyes and telling him, “You need to stop what was changed. Let the world die to save the world.” This cements the message. There are even moments during the finale where Barry almost gets side-tracked saving others, but Thomas has to stop him.

Not until the very end of the world does Barry finally have the wisdom to realise that you can’t always change everything. Somethings aren’t solved just by changing them. Sometimes, what’s been done can’t be changed. And forcing that change can be the worst decision you’ve made.

Flashpoint Paradox is easily one of my favorite DC Animated movies in general, not just of the DCAMU. I think it stands very well on its own as a singular story that doesn’t need other movies to prop it up. It’s very open and close. An easily digestible film if you can stomach the brutal way every character you know gets slaughtered tearing each other apart.

The tension never leaves the film either. This is probably my fifth time watching it, and I still have moments catch me off guard. Check out Flashpoint Paradox if you haven’t already.

But, to finish this up, I just want to say that Flashpoint Paradox has a few important lessons throughout it. But the one I think that’s most important is that sometimes, you just need to let some things be. Sometimes, you just need to let people go. That sometimes, the time we share is the gift life gives us.