History YMMV / Flashpoint

!!YMMV tropes for the TV series ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'':

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!!YMMV tropes for the Film ''Film/FlashPoint'':

* BrokenBase: Is this film overall better or worse than ''Film/ShaPoLang''?
* ClicheStorm: The plot of the film is the kind of plot you have seen in ten thousands films. The choreography, on the other hand...
* {{Narm}}: Ma sweeping the blood on his nose while grimacing, spreading it even more across his mouth. The moment is a bit comical given the intensity of the scene.
* SignatureScene: Donnie Yen's fantastic charging suplex is probably better known in the west than the movie itself.

!!YMMV tropes for the comic book ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}''

* BrokenBase: The general plot point of [[spoiler:Barry saving his mother from Thawne]] is contentious. Supporters on this say that [[spoiler:Barry's actions were selfish and thus had to be punished]]. Detractors, however, point out that [[spoiler:Thawne killing Nora Allen and framing Henry for it was itself [[CosmicRetcon a change to the timeline]] as they were originally alive and able to enjoy their son's success as the Flash until Barry's return in ''Flash: Rebirth'' and thus ''Flashpoint'' shouldn't have even happened at all because Barry was only undoing the damage Thawne did.]] [[spoiler: Another faction point out that, as understandable as Barry trying to save his mom was, the way he went about it was incredibly stupid. He knows Thawne is dangerous and that previous attempts to alter the past have ended badly, so the smart thing for Barry to do would've been to reach out to his friends and allies who ''do'' have experience with time travel in order to undo Thawne's sadistic alterations. In this sense, Barry's decision to save his mother was an incredibly stupid and selfish one because he thought he could fix it by himself when history tells him he should know better. Especially grating because Barry ''just recently'' needed to take Thawne down with help from the rest of the Flash Family, and they'd been trying to reach out to him and remind him he's not alone in the issues leading up to ''Flashpoint''.]]
* CryForTheDevil: This universe's Joker seems to be even crueler than the normal universe's Joker, reaching ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' levels of ColdBloodedTorture, including turning Selina Kyle into a quadriplegic and tricking Jim Gordon into murdering Harvey Dent's daughter. And then you find out the Joker's identity: [[spoiler:Martha Wayne!]] As well as the reasons '''why''' they came to be.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: ''Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown'' received a lot of praise as well.
* ItWasHisSled: The Batman of the Flashpoint universe is ''Thomas'' Wayne, not Bruce, [[OutlivingOnesOffspring who was killed by Joe Chill instead of his parents.]] Originally a twist at the end of the first issue, this has gone on to become one of the most well-known parts of the story.
* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler: Martha "The Joker" Wayne. Maybe one of the most brutal incarnations of Joker. And all after her young son died in her arms and she completely lost it as a result.]]
* MemeticMutation: Almost as soon as promotional material (saying things like "[[http://blog.newsarama.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/flashpoint11.jpg The spaceship never crashed]]") popped up fans started doing [[http://georgethecat.tumblr.com/post/2745925315/flashpoint-crossover-event-invites-parody their own versions]].
* MisBlamed:
** With the sudden cancellation of the ongoing ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA All-Stars]]'', ''Comicbook/{{Freedom Fighters|DC}}'', ''R.E.B.E.L.S.'', ''The Outsiders'', ''Batman Confidential'', & ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'' monthlies, a number of disillusioned fans blamed Flashpoint and its '''MANY''' miniseries as being responsible. (That or that Dan Didio cancelled them for no reason). The real answer was that while they got good buzz, the numbers for each book weren't enough to keep them in production. It was sort of like the ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'' all over again.
** The ending to ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'' can't have helped: ComicBook/AmbushBug convinced the villain to end his scheme by [[BreakingTheFourthWall telling him the book was getting canceled]] and that he wouldn't have time to see it through. We don't know ''exactly'' what he said, but "Flashpoint" and "Didio" came up.
* {{Narm}}: The ending of Batman Knight of Vengeance #2 [[spoiler: "MARTHA!"]] It comes across in almost "Goddammit [[spoiler: Martha]], not this shit again.'' sort of way.
* {{Padding}}: You can literally drop out all of ''Flashpoint'' #2 and not miss a damned thing.
* TheScrappy: ''Flashpoint'' Wonder Woman and Aquaman for taking AdaptationalVillainy to unbelievable levels.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The redesign of Sandman and new character Blackout were hit hard by this.
** Other than Sandman's appearance in the first issue, he pretty much disappears from the rest of the series and his only appearance holds absolutely no importance or significance on the rest of the series. It makes you wonder why he was included at all.
** Blackout was on the run from the Outsider, whom he claims "ruined his life" because his corporation's been trying to hunt him down and use him as an endless supply of clean electricity to power India. But during the Outsider's tie-in miniseries, Blackout doesn't get any real focus beyond rehashing his dialog in ''Flashpoint'' #1, and instead the bulk of the conflict is between the Outsider and Martian Manhunter. What's especially grating is how new character Canterbury Cricket managed to get an entire one-shot dedicated to him when he didn't even appear in the main series until it was halfway over. And finally, when Blackout, the Cricket, and the rest of the Resistance appear in the last issue [[spoiler: they're immediately killed by Enchantress just so Subject-One can stop her.]]
** Not to mention the Outsider himself, a super powered and stylish MagnificentBastard who would make for an equality interesting protagonist or antagonist in the post-Flashpoint DCU, but it seems we've seen the last of him.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Between the massive bodycount, the relentlessly CrapsackWorld, and the whole thing taking place in an alternate universe [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse so it doesn't matter anyway]], most readers find ''Flashpoint'' very hard to sit through.[[spoiler: And that of course not taking into account the massive anguish of Flash through the story due to what he accidentally did.]] Even in the backstory, it's abundantly clear that the [[IdiotPlot plot]] only works if the vast majority of characters are extremly OOC or [[ConflictBall needlessly aggressive.]] Which really just makes the event feel ingenuine in addition to depressing.
* UnfortunateImplications: Several things related to the series have caused controversy.
** [[http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/05/flashpoint-world-map-sparks-controversy/ Much]] [[http://geeksofdoom.com/2011/05/20/dcs-flashpoint-world-map-sparks-controversy/ head-slapping]] [[http://www.comicvine.com/forums/flashpoint/4735/flashpoint-map-ape-controled-africa-castrating-amazons/613792/ ensued]] when the [[http://comicsalliance.com/flashpoint-map/ Flashpoint world map]] was released and people saw that most of Africa is listed simply as "Ape-controlled." Apparently no one at DC thought this might be taken badly when applied to a continent overwhelmingly populated by black people, given the historical tendency for black people to be likened to monkeys and apes in racist propaganda. For the record, "ape" in context refers to Gorilla Grodd, a previously established Flash villain who is ''literally'' a gorilla, but the fact that this is the ''only'' information we had on the ''entire continent'' (besides the fact that a large part of Northern Africa is missing due to the same war that destroyed most of Europe) was the real unfortunate part, and the fact that ''Batman: Incorporated'' had done something similar with the "Batman of Africa" (falling into an unfortunate tendency to treat the entire continent like it's one country) a few weeks earlier did nothing to help.
** Additionally, a variant cover that was released that showed Wonder Woman [[http://thanley.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/flashpoint-2-variant-cover-is-pretty-messed-up/ holding Mera's decapitated head]] drew controversy due to its blunt visual (ironically said cover is speculated to be a homage to a similar cover of ''Crime Suspenstories'' that was used as an example of bad taste that eventually lead to the creation of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode).
** There was also an accidental RaceLift in a promotional comic released on Free Comic Book Day where [[https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/11111/111111568/4268536-8933435242-11094.jpg Jenni Ognats]], aka XS, the biracial granddaughter of Barry Allen, was colored [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkxlb7FsEH1qbujox.jpg as Caucasian with blond hair]]. This was clearly a coloring error or a case of mistaken identity (for one thing, the incorrect version colored what should be skin on her legs the same as the fabric of her costume) and was corrected for later version, but it left a bad taste in some fans' mouths and [[https://www.newsarama.com/7597-fcbd-flashpoint-coloring-error-sparks-diversity-debate.html caused some controversy regarding diversity in the industry]].
* TheWoobie:
** [[spoiler: Superman. He crash-landed in Metropolis as a baby, accidentally killing thousands. Then he spent his entire life locked in a lab where he was no doubt experimented on for decades. Rockets for Krypto & Kara eventually arrived, but from the looks of it, they've fared worse than Kal-El (KRYPTO IS DEAD & A FREAKING SKELETON WHEN BARRY FINDS HIM!!). He hasn't known any human kindness nor contact for decades. The only person to threat him like a person was General Lane who treated him as a son and more than an experiment, but he got pulled into the Phantom Zone when Clark was a child, while Krypto was put down for mauling a young Lex Luthor.]]
** [[spoiler: Selina Kyle, Oracle. Almost totally paralyzed from a vicious attack by the Joker, she's unable to even wipe the tears from her eyes as she relives it.]]
** Harvey Dent's son, who gets kidnapped by the Joker along with his sister, then has to watch [[spoiler: his sister get killed by Jim Gordon because she was dressed by the Joker. And later, he has to watch the Joker kill Jim right in front of him.]]
** Barry Allen also falls into this territory. All he wanted to do was save his mother from Thawne, but he unintentionally creates a CrapsackWorld. His options aren't so great as it either consists of letting his mom live but everyone else dies, or return reality back to its intended state but his mom dies. Not an easy decision there.
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* HarsherInHindsight:
** [[spoiler:In the miniseries ''Batman: Death and the Maidens'' of the original universe, Bruce once hallucinated meeting his parents after drinking an elixir. They both disapprove their son's costumed crusade. However, Thomas was more understanding, and was mostly unhappy that Bruce has to give up many things to become Batman. And yet here, ''Thomas'' is the one who is Batman...]]
** The Amazons turning into AxCrazy murderers of normal humans was mocked back in ''ComicBook/AmazonsAttack'', but here, you can't even snark about it.
** The "One Bad Day" speech in ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' is already pretty damn harsh, but it hits even harder when we see [[spoiler:Martha Wayne becoming the Joker almost immediately after Bruce dies]].

* EightDeadlyWords: [[http://mightygodking.com/2011/08/31/so-flashpoint/ One reviewer about the event.]] It's hard to care about the events of an alternate universe that wouldn't exist or matter anyway after a few months. It's harder still when the overwhelming majority of the characters are so hideously unlikeable that you get the impression the world would be better off destroyed. Add in the fact that the only character from "our" DCU is Barry Allen, widely regarded as a CreatorsPet, and you have a comic that winds up mostly being a lot of empty, unpleasant noise.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs that play over the last few minutes of each episode tend to be pretty fitting/awesome. A list can be found [[http://shows.ctv.ca/FlashPoint/Music.aspx here]]. Sadly, the link the now broken.

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: Subverted. People think they wouldn't make huge changes to the universe going forward, but then [[ComicBook/{{New 52}} they did]].

* WhatAnIdiot: All reality has changed, somehow. Now he does not have powers, nobody remembers him being the Flash, and Superman and the JLA do not seem to ever have existed (among other things). At least there is still Batman.\\
'''You'd expect:''' That, understanding that Batman would likely ignore about Flash like everybody else, Barry would try to reach Batman in a tactful way to explain things. Intercept him somewhere, seize a Bat-signal, seek him while in his civilian identity (and find out [[spoiler:that Bruce is dead but Thomas isn't]] in the process), even knocking the door of the Wayne mansion in the open and public side and wait there...\\
'''Instead:''' Barry simply walks into the Batcave, expecting Batman to recognize him. Predictably, he does not: Barry is for him a complete stranger inside the Batcave. He takes him down, hard.
** Barry Allen decides to recreate his superhero origin story, which involved being hit by lightning and bathed in a bunch of chemicals. Instead of granting him SuperSpeed, he's horribly burned and nearly killed. You'd expect him to look for another way to get his powers back, but he then tries to do the same thing ''again'', which works this time. A ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMultiverse'' issue building off from that moment adhered to reality even more, with the first try just killing him.
%%* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: ''Secret Seven''.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[spoiler:In the miniseries ''Batman: Death and the Maidens'' of the original universe, Bruce once hallucinated meeting his parents after drinking an elixir. They both disapprove their son's costumed crusade. However, Thomas was more understanding, and was mostly unhappy that Bruce has to give up many things to become Batman. And yet here, ''Thomas'' is the one who is Batman...]]

** Barry Allen decides to recreate his superhero origin story, which involved being hit by lightning and bathed in a bunch of chemicals. Instead of granting him SuperSpeed, he's horribly burned and nearly killed. You'd expect him to look for another way to get his powers back, but he then tries to do the same thing ''again'', which works this time. A ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMultiverse'' issue building off from that moment adhered to reality even more, with the second try just killing him.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Between the massive bodycount, the relentlessly CrapsackWorld, and the whole thing taking place in an alternate universe [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse so it doesn't matter anyway]], most readers find ''Flashpoint'' very hard to sit through.[[spoiler: And that of course not taking into account the massive anguish of Flash through the story due to what he accidentally did.]] Even in the backstory, it's abundantly clear that the [[IdiotPlot plot]] only works if the vast majority of characters are extremly OOC or [[ConflictBall needlessly aggressive.]] Which really just makes the event feel ingenuine in addition to depressing.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs that play over the last few minutes of each episode tend to be pretty fitting/awesome. A list can be found [[http://shows.ctv.ca/FlashPoint/Music.aspx here]]. Sadlly, the link the now broken.
** The show's own, unreleased music is also pretty good, but sometimes it transcends to superb. During the fourth episode, ''Asking For Flowers'', a woman has taken the abusive husband of her sister hostage; we get three variations on the same theme. First a sharp, harsh take as the husband manages to get the gun and starts choking out the woman while the team listens in. Then a longer, slower version while Parker distracts the husband with a phonecall and tries to convince him to deescalate, without admitting they know what's going on, building into optimistic as the tactical part of the team sets up their entry. Finally a drums version as he hangs up on Parker and makes as if he's going to shoot the woman, and then turning into relaxed horns to go with Ed Lane's "Put the gun down!" and the husband being cuffed and brought out.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The songs that play over the last few minutes of each episode tend to be pretty fitting/awesome. A list can be found [[http://shows.ctv.ca/FlashPoint/Music.aspx here]]

** With the sudden cancellation of the ongoing ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA All-Stars]]'', ''Comicbook/FreedomFighters'', ''R.E.B.E.L.S.'', ''The Outsiders'', ''Batman Confidential'', & ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'' monthlies, a number of disillusioned fans blamed Flashpoint and its '''MANY''' miniseries as being responsible. (That or that Dan Didio cancelled them for no reason). The real answer was that while they got good buzz, the numbers for each book weren't enough to keep them in production. It was sort of like the ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'' all over again.

* MisBlamed: With the sudden cancellation of the ongoing ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA All-Stars]]'', ''Comicbook/FreedomFighters'', ''R.E.B.E.L.S.'', ''The Outsiders'', ''Batman Confidential'', & ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'' monthlies, a number of disillusioned fans blamed Flashpoint and its '''MANY''' miniseries as being responsible. ([[ScapegoatCreator That or that Dan Didio cancelled them for no reason]]). The real answer was that while they got good buzz, the numbers for each book weren't enough to keep them in production. It was sort of like the ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'' all over again.

* BrokenBase: The general plot point of [[spoiler:Barry saving his mother from Thawne]] is continuous. Supporters on this say that [[spoiler:Barry's actions were selfish and thus had to be punished]]. Detractors, however, point out that [[spoiler:Thawne killing Nora Allen and framing Henry for it was itself [[CosmicRetcon a change to the timeline]] as they were originally alive and able to enjoy their son's success as the Flash until Barry's return in ''Flash: Rebirth'' and thus ''Flashpoint'' shouldn't have even happened at all because Barry was only undoing the damage Thawne did.]] [[spoiler: Another faction point out that, as understandable as Barry trying to save his mom was, the way he went about it was incredibly stupid. He knows Thawne is dangerous and that previous attempts to alter the past have ended badly, so the smart thing for Barry to do would've been to reach out to his friends and allies who ''do'' have experience with time travel in order to undo Thawne's sadistic alterations. In this sense, Barry's decision to save his mother was an incredibly stupid and selfish one because he thought he could fix it by himself when history tells him he should know better. Especially grating because Barry ''just recently'' needed to take Thawne down with help from the rest of the Flash Family, and they'd been trying to reach out to him and remind him he's not alone in the issues leading up to ''Flashpoint''.]]

** There was also an accidental RaceLift in a promotional comic released on Free Comic Book Day where Jenni Ognats, aka XS, the biracial granddaughter of Barry Allen, was colored [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkxlb7FsEH1qbujox.jpg as Caucasian with blond hair]]. This was clearly a coloring error or a case of mistaken identity (for one thing, the incorrect version colored what should be skin on her legs the same as the fabric of her costume) and was corrected for later version, but it left a bad taste in some fans' mouths and [[https://www.newsarama.com/7597-fcbd-flashpoint-coloring-error-sparks-diversity-debate.html caused some controversy regarding diversity in the industry]].

** There was also an accidental RaceLift in a promotional comic released on Free Comic Book Day where [[http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/jenni.html Jenni Ognats, aka XS]], the biracial granddaughter of Barry Allen, was colored [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkxlb7FsEH1qbujox.jpg as Caucasian with blond hair]]. This was clearly a coloring error or a case of mistaken identity (for one thing, the incorrect version colored what should be skin on her legs the same as the fabric of her costume) and was corrected for later version, but it left a bad taste in some fans' mouths and [[https://www.newsarama.com/7597-fcbd-flashpoint-coloring-error-sparks-diversity-debate.html caused some controversy regarding diversity in the industry]].

* VoodooShark: The explanation for how the Flashpoint Universe came to be. (See BrokenBase for more information.)

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Between the massive bodycount, the relentlessly CrapsackWorld, and the whole thing taking place in an alternate universe [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse so it doesn't matter anyway]], most readers find ''Flashpoint'' very hard to sit through.[[spoiler: And that of course not taking into account the massive anguish of Flash through the story due to what he accidentally did.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Michael Desai, the Outsider. He's perpetually two steps ahead of the most powerful heroes and villains in the Flashpoint verse [[FromNobodyToNightmare despite never appearing before his tie-in mini]].

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The songs that play over the last few minutes of each episode tend to be pretty fitting/awesome. A list can be found [[http://shows.ctv.ca/FlashPoint/Music.aspx here]]
** The show's own, unreleased music is also pretty good, but sometimes it transcends to superb. During the fourth episode, ''Asking For Flowers'', a woman has taken the abusive husband of her sister hostage; we get three variations on the same theme. First a sharp, harsh take as the husband manages to get the gun and starts choking out the woman while the team listens in. Then a longer, slower version while Parker distracts the husband with a phonecall and tries to convince him to deescalate, without admitting they know what's going on, building into optimistic as the tactical part of the team sets up their entry. Finally a drums version as he hangs up on Parker and makes as if he's going to shoot the woman, and then turning into relaxed horns to go with Ed Lane's "Put the gun down!" and the husband being cuffed and brought out.

** Not to mention the Outsider himself, a super powered and stylish MagnificentBastard who makes for an equality interesting protagonist or antagonist.