Line #51 ComicBook/TheButton


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/batman_vol_3_21_cover_b_variant_jason_fabok_non_lenticular_cover_the_button_part_1_1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:That night, a button was found in Gotham.]]
3
4	'''''The Button''''' is a 2017 crossover between ''[[ComicBook/BatmanTomKing Batman]]'' and ''ComicBook/TheFlash''. Serving as the first immediate follow-up on the ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' MythArc present throughout ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', it is written by Creator/TomKing and Creator/JoshuaWilliamson, the books' respective regular writers at the time, with art by Jason Fabok and Howard Porter, beginning in April and ending in May.
5
6	When Wally West returned in ''DC Universe: Rebirth'' #1 and informed Barry Allen of an outside force's CosmicRetcon that created the ComicBook/New52, he somehow also caused the Comedian's bloodstained button to get embedded in the wall of the Batcave, which Batman soon found. In the follow-up, ''The Flash: Rebirth'' #1, both Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen agree to keep the button's existence and their investigation a secret from the rest of the Justice League, while Wally heads off to look into things with the [[ComicBook/TitansRebirth Titans]]. ''The Button'' takes place some time later, and follows Bruce and Barry's investigation into the eponymous button.
7
8	The crossover runs through ''Batman'' #21, ''The Flash'' #21, ''Batman'' #22 and ''The Flash'' #22. Issue #19 of ''The Flash'' also contains some stuff leading into it, namely the return of the Pre-New 52 Eobard Thawne, the original Reverse-Flash.
9
10	The crossover also serves as a sequel to ''ComicBook/FlashpointDCComics''. The ''Watchmen'' myth arc was continued in the ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' event.
11	----
12	!!''The Button'' contains examples of:
13	* AintTooProudToBeg: [[spoiler: Eobard]] when [[spoiler: he]] runs into [[spoiler:Doctor Manhattan]] has this reaction, about a second after boasting about how awesome [[spoiler: he]] is.
14	* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Eobard]], a person who made it [[spoiler:his]] life's goal to [[spoiler:ruin Barry Allen's life]]. Barry, however, doesn't see it this way, since being a cop, he still wants to know who killed [[spoiler:him]]. That it ties into the stolen years and [[spoiler:Wally West's return]] probably helps. In fact, later on when Barry and Bruce run into [[spoiler:a past version of Thawne]], Barry ''still'' tries to [[spoiler:stop him from getting himself killed]].
15	* BackForTheDead:
16	** By the end of the first issue [[spoiler: Eobard died again]]; nothing's left but a skeleton.
17	** By the end of the third issue, [[spoiler: Flashpoint!Batman is dead again]], destroyed by an entropy wave that eradicates [[spoiler: the Flashpoint world]].
18	* BackFromTheDead:
19	** The Pre-New 52 Eobard Thawne (killed in ''Flashpoint'' by Thomas Wayne) returns, apparently possessing the New 52 Eobard's body and having overridden the latter's powers, memories, personality and costume with his own.
20	** Flashpoint!Batman is alive again, despite seemingly dying of his wounds at the end of ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''. He had previously been revived in ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''. By the end [[spoiler: he is dead once again, this time along with all the other ''Flashpoint'' characters.]]
21	* BackToBackBadasses: [[spoiler: Thomas and Bruce Wayne together as Batmen]] facing a gang of Themiscyrans and Atlanteans.
22	* BadassCreed:
23	-->[[spoiler:'''Thomas:''']] Sometimes we fall, son. But always remember, Waynes never stay down. '''We rise.'''
24	* BadassInDistress: Saturn Girl is still inside Arkham Asylum, and seems to have no access to her mental powers. If she ''did'', getting out would be incredibly simple for her.
25	* BaitAndSwitch: The covers featuring Jay Garrick have him obscured in shadow, with glowing red eyes. This led to a lot of people thinking he was actually the Rival. [[spoiler: Nope, it was just RuleOfCool -- that's Jay Garrick]].
26	* BigDamnHeroes: The cosmic treadmill is destroyed, Thawne is [[spoiler: dead]], and Bruce and Barry are about to [[spoiler: fall into the timestream]]. Who saves them? [[spoiler:Jay motherfucking Garrick]], that's who!
27	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Eobard]], when teleported away after contact with the Comedian's button, comes back... not in good shape. Half of [[spoiler: his]] body is little more than a skeleton, with the flesh ''progressively disappearing'' from the other half on-panel.
28	* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler: Jay Garrick]] makes [[spoiler: his]] first full appearance in the post-Flashpoint DCU... [[spoiler: for all of five pages before disappearing back into the Speed Force]].
29	* CallBack:
30	** The idea of Psycho-Pirate having ties to the multiverse is established in ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''.
31	** In ''Batman'' #21, Bruce calls Barry to the cave to discuss the Comedian's button. Barry says he'll be there in "one minute", and Bruce actually times him. He's late, as a callback to Geoff Johns' Barry Allen works where he makes being late a habit of Barry's, and where the ''Flashpoint''/''New 52''/''Rebirth'' saga truly began.
32	** Bruce stabs Eobard in the foot when he's standing still, as it's the only "solid" part of him when he's vibrating. The idea of Eobard being too stupid and arrogant to realise he shouldn't stand still is a call back to when Flashpoint!Batman (Thomas Wayne) killed Eobard when he stood still.
33	** In ''The Flash'' #21, when Barry inspects [[spoiler:Eobard's body]], he finds that it's giving off massive doses of radiation, further hinting that Doctor Manhattan is behind the New 52.
34	** When asked how he knew that Flashpoint!Batman was his father, Bruce mentions that his dad had a certain way of carrying himself. This is a character point established in ''ComicBook/BatmanTomKing'', which had Bruce describe Thomas as carrying himself with dignity and being difficult to approach.
35	** Barry mentions his brief vision of Mercury's helmet from his own ongoing series. Although that's what ''he'' thinks it is, out of universe, it's clearly supposed to be Jay Garrick's helmet.
36	** [[spoiler:Thomas]] telling Bruce to "let Batman die" plays on the narration in the "I am Gotham" arc of ''ComicBook/BatmanTomKing''. Some narration from Gotham Girl makes it clear that Batman ''does'' die in Tom King's run, just not how or whether he literally dies or if it's just a symbolic death. This idea was also played with in ''The Flash'' #21, with it hinting that Batman may have died from his fight with Reverse-Flash. Noticeably, in a case of averting TrailersAlwaysSpoil, the arc after ''The Button'' in ''Batman'' is a story taking place ''in the past''.
37	** [[spoiler:Thomas]] telling Bruce that he doesn't have to be Batman for his parents is interestingly timed, as Batman had ''just'' moved past seeking a "good death" as Batman to make his parents proud of him in his own series. However, in that series, he pictures himself talking to his mother, while here [[spoiler: it's his father]].
38	** The way [[spoiler: Jay Garrick]] comes back is the same as the way Wally did, even with similar poses. But since [[spoiler: his]] connection to Barry isn't as strong as Wally's, it doesn't pull [[spoiler: him]] out. Barry laments that he can't be [[spoiler: Jay's]] lightning rod like he was for Wally.
39	** The narration from the epilogue is [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan]] explaining [[spoiler: his view of time]] from [[spoiler:''Watchmen'']].
40	* TheCameo:
41	** Saturn Girl makes a brief appearance at the start of ''Batman'' #21 and actually name drops the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes this time.
42	** In the same issue, Flashpoint!Batman appears when the Comedian's button reacts to Psycho-Pirate's mask, but only for a second.
43	** ''The Flash'' #21 briefly features another escape attempt by Johnny Thunder, still trying to summon his Thunderbolt and bring back the Justice Society.
44	** At the very end of ''The Flash'' #22, [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan himself]] finally shows up, after a year of teasing, but only for a few panels.
45	* ComicBookFantasyCasting: For one panel, [[spoiler: Jay]] looks a lot like [[spoiler: John Wesley Shipp]].
46	* ComicBookTime: ''Batman'' #22 says it's been "months" since ''Flashpoint'', when it's been, at minimum, a year as established by ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily''. It may or may not just be awkward wording, but given the nature of this crossover and Rebirth as a whole playing with continuity, it's unclear.
47	* ContinuityNod:
48	** Eobard using a sonic boom clap against Bruce. It's a trick he learned from Hunter Zolomon, the second Reverse-Flash, and first used in ''The Flash: Rebirth'', the first Barry Allen work by Geoff Johns, who's overseeing the ''Rebirth'' line and began the ''Watchmen'' story. He later uses the the typical finger-snap that Hunter used to use.
49	** In ''Flash'' #21, we get to see inside the JLA Watchtower Vault, which holds various artifacts from the JLA's various adventures. Interestingly, some of those artifacts include Ted Kord's Bug hovercraft, Martian Manhunter's original costume, the Worlogog and one of the Dial "H" for Hero Dials, the former three never seen in the post-''Flashpoint'' universe. This is because, as an after-effect of ''ComicBook/SupermanReborn'', a lot of Pre-Flashpoint material was restored to canon.
50	** Before Bruce and Barry use the Cosmic Treadmill to travel through time, Barry gives Bruce a lecture about the perils of time travel. Bruce says he's been time travelling before. He's referencing the events of ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' (where Barry returned, in fact), and ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison The Return of Bruce Wayne]]''.
51	** While Bruce and Barry are travelling through the time stream, they see images of the Silver Age origin of the Justice League, Zatanna wiping Bruce's memory in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis2004'' and Barry's death from ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. While Bruce assumes these are alternate universes, Barry is pretty sure they're the history that was stolen from the DCU.
52	** Eobard laments how Barry snapped his neck and let Flashpoint!Thomas Wayne drive a sword through his chest. These are the ways he's died.
53	* CoversAlwaysLie: ''The Flash'' #22 is guilty of this for a few reasons:
54	** Both covers feature Jay Garrick covered in shadow with glowing red eyes, hinting that he may be the Rival. Nowhere in the issue does [[spoiler: he have red eyes]].
55	** Said cover also features Tim Drake as one of the "featured" characters, alongside Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne. Tim is nowhere in the issue, nor is he ever mentioned.
56	* CurbStompBattle:
57	** Eobard absolutely demolishes Bruce, who, as skilled as he is, just can't keep up with someone that fast. Professor Thorgi [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tysJAkNeEJU put it best]]:
58	--->He pummeled Batman, wrecked his cave, [[EvilIsPetty and destroyed the message his father left him]] while Bats could only look on helplessly. And after ''years'' and '''''years''''' of DC saying [[MartyStu "Batman is the greatest hero ever]] [[CrazyPrepared because he has a plan to stop everybody, and he is prepared for everything,]] [[InvincibleHero and he can take on any villain because of prep time]]", just watching a full issue of Thawne coming in and saying, [[HaHaHaNo "Ha ha ha, no you can't, you idiot!"]] and beating him senselessly, yeah, it was kind of chilling. [[invoked]]
59	** It seems Eobard was on the receiving end of one from [[spoiler:Doctor Manhattan]].
60	* DownerEnding: Barry and Bruce have returned with nothing in to show for everything as [[spoiler:the button is lost]] thanks to Thawne's actions, Bruce is shaken by his [[spoiler:father's request that he]] stops being Batman and the duo are unable to [[spoiler:rescue Jay Garrick, not even knowing who he is.]]
61	* DyingAsYourself: Instead of [[spoiler:blowing up the Batcave]] as the [[spoiler:entropy wave]] hits, [[spoiler:Thomas Wayne]] puts on the [[spoiler:cowl]] and charges headlong into it.
62	* EvilIsPetty:
63	** True to form, Eobard. He destroys the letter that Flashpoint!Thomas wrote to Bruce, the only true form of contact Bruce had from his father about his parents' deaths, as revenge for his murder. Eobard actually one-ups this, and mocks Barry that he'll travel back in time to become a social worker and take Barry in as ''his'' son, and to groom him to become [[TheDragon his acolyte]].
64	** Barry believes whoever led them to the Flashpoint Universe was mocking them.
65	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The ending is this to ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' as we see the button spin and the panels close up on it, then pull back revealing Franchise/{{Superman}}'s S-Shield.
66	* AGoodWayToDie: It's implied that [[spoiler: Thomas ''might'' have joined Bruce and Barry]] to their dimension, but upon hearing [[spoiler: he]] had a [[spoiler: grandson]], [[spoiler: he]] accomplished everything that [[spoiler: he'd]] wanted, and was happy to die knowing [[spoiler: he]] was dying [[spoiler: a granddad]].
67	* HeroicWillpower: Like Wally before him, [[spoiler: Jay]] is able to muster enough strength to [[spoiler: break out of the Speed Force]], if only temporarily.
68	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Jay]] is able to break free [[spoiler:of the Speed Force]], but because he doesn't have the right [[spoiler:"lightning rod", Manhattan pulls him back in]].
69	* IShallTauntYou: [[spoiler: Eobard]] is really trying hard to cement his AssholeVictim status by telling Barry [[spoiler: after he kills Barry's mom, he'll trick him into being his ParentalSubstitute and raise him as his own son.]] This after we've already seen him suffer a grisly (well-deserved) death.
70	* LastWords:
71	** From [[MadScientist Eobard Thawne]], making their implication all the more serious.
72	-->'''Eobard Thawne:''' God... I saw God...
73	** From [[spoiler:Thomas Wayne]]:
74	-->[[spoiler:'''Thomas Wayne''']]: ''We rise''.
75	* LeeroyJenkins: Despite Barry warning Thawne [[spoiler:not to face down the entity making the changes]], Thawne insists on doing so, thinking he can beat them.
76	* MythologyGag:
77	** ''Batman'' #21 makes use of Dave Gibbons' 9-panel layout, popularised in ''Watchmen''. Although Tom King already regularly makes heavy use of it in his works unrelated to ''Watchmen''; it just doubles as a mythology gag here.
78	** The cover of ''The Flash'' #22 features Jay Garrick drawn in a more modern style and with the main characters of the story (and Red Robin) replacing Hawkman, Johnny Thunder, the Whip and Cliff Cornwall, but is otherwise a recreation of ''Flash Comics'' #1, which was Jay's first appearance.
79	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: A fight breaks out during a hockey game Batman is watching, with one player beating his opponent to a bloody pulp. The beaten player ends up dying from his injuries. This almost parallels Bruce's fight with Eobard. In the case of Eobard's beatdown of Bruce, Barry notes that the evidence shows someone who isn't just trying to kill (which he could do incredibly easily before Batman could have ever reacted), but to ''torture''.
80	* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Thawne meeting Dr. Manhattan for the first time has him immediately regret it and beg for his life before he's promptly vaporized.]]
81	* OvershadowedByAwesome: As skilled as Bruce may be, it's made clear that no amount of prep time will make him a match for someone who can move faster than he can blink.
82	* RetGone: It's implied that [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan]] removed [[spoiler: Jay Garrick's relationship with his wife Joan Williams]], like what he'd done to Wally West and Linda Park.
83	* RevengeByProxy: Ignoring that Flashpoint!Thomas was right to kill Eobard, since he was planning on killing Barry and preventing him from restoring the timeline, you could at least understand Eobard wanting revenge on Thomas. Except he goes after ''Bruce'', since Thomas is dead, and he figures he may as well go after his ''son''. May also count as SinsOfTheFather.
84	* SayMyName: Subverted. [[spoiler: Jay]] needs Barry to say [[spoiler: his]] name to get out of [[spoiler: the Speed Force]], and Barry doesn't really ''say'' it normally. He hears some of it and just repeats it, and it's later made clear he didn't even fully acknowledge it. Still, it's enough to give [[spoiler: Jay]] enough footing to [[spoiler: get Bruce and Barry home]].
85	* SecretKeeper: Eobard somehow knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne. This may or may not be because he's from the future.
86	* SequelHook:
87	** At the end of the story, the Bat-signal is turned on. Bruce [[spoiler: questions answering it]] after [[spoiler: Thomas]] told him to [[spoiler: stop being Batman]].
88	** [[spoiler: Jay]] ends up back in the [[spoiler: Speed Force]], with Barry lamenting that he wasn't the [[spoiler: lightning rod Jay]] needed.
89	** In the epilogue, [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan]] picks up the button, and the panels zoom into the Comedian's blood. They then zoom out to [[spoiler: Superman's symbol, dented and scuffed]]. This sets up ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock''.
90	* SequelSeries: While the series follows up on the ''Watchmen'' myth arc, it's more directly a sequel to ''Flashpoint'', and characters refer to those events more actively than anything else that's happened since.
91	* SmallRoleBigImpact: [[spoiler: Jay]] appears for a total of five pages in ''The Flash'' #22, but singlehandedly saves Bruce and Barry and reveals to Barry that even ''more'' people were stolen from history.
92	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: Wally West doesn't appear in the story, which is strange as he's the one who notified Bruce and Barry of the changes to the timeline. Barry later explains that it's because he intentionally kept the Button's investigation a secret from Wally, in order to keep him safe.
93	* TimeyWimeyBall: Batman and the Flash discover Thawne as they're [[spoiler: escaping the Flashpoint world despite him being dead]]. Barry realizes that he's from earlier, [[spoiler: before his death.]]
94	* TragicKeepsake: Bruce kept the letter Flashpoint!Thomas Wayne wrote to him. Thomas used his last seconds asking Barry to give it to him... Eobard shreds it, because he's a dick.
95	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil:
96	** ''The Flash'' #21 cover showed the original Eobard Thawne months before his return in issue #19
97	** ''The Flash'' #22 didn't have its cover present in solicitations, but before its release, its cover was shown and depicts the original Jay Garrick! This version of Jay had disappeared following ''Flashpoint'', and was replaced by ''ComicBook/Earth2'''s version of Jay Garrick.
98	** The then-upcoming arc of ''The Flash'' specifically deals with Barry waging a war with Eobard Thawne, so we know he appears in future stories. Though given past usage of him often liberally applied TimeyWimeyBall, it's not a straight example.
99	** Because ''The Flash'' #22 was delayed by a week, this led to Geoff Johns spoiling the epilogue in his initial interview for ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock''.
100	* TykeBomb: Reverse-Flash considers going back in time to the night of Nora Allen's murder and posing as a family friend so he could adopt Barry and raise him into becoming his sucessor. Thankfully, this plan is cut short when [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan roasts him.]]
101	* VillainTeamUp: For whatever reason, it appears that by the time that Barry and Bruce get to the Flashpoint timeline, Wonder Woman and Aquaman of that world have both survived and allied with one another to bring down Thomas Wayne's Batman.
102	* VisualPun: The hockey stick is placed at the 10 minute mark in the first image of the story - which is where the blood splatter was located on the Comedian's smiley face button. The smiley face also appears as a poster in Arkham's TV rec room.
103	* WalkingSpoiler:
104	** The existence of [[spoiler: Thomas Wayne]] is one, especially since [[spoiler: he]] supposedly died in ''[[spoiler: ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}]]''. This may be because the [[spoiler: Flashpoint]] timeline was preserved by the events of ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''.
105	** [[spoiler: Jay]], although spoiled by the cover, still counts too, given [[spoiler: his]] large role and importance to the pre-Flashpoint DCU.
106	** [[spoiler: Doctor Manhattan]], as ''The Flash'' #22 seems to confirm that [[spoiler: he's]] ''not'' a RedHerring.
107	* WhamLine: Delivered by [[spoiler:Thomas to Bruce shortly before the latter is whisked away back into the timestream with Barry to escape the destruction of the Flashpoint universe.]]
108	-->[[spoiler: '''Don't be Batman'''.]]
109	* WhamShot:
110	** At the end of ''The Flash'' #21, [[spoiler: Barry and Batman travel to the Flashpoint Universe, and Bruce meets Thomas Wayne!Batman face-to-face]].
111	** At the end of ''The Flash'' #22, there's one: [[spoiler: one of Dr. Manhattan picking up the Comedian's bloodied button, quoting ''Watchmen'', specifically that everyone is a puppet but Manhattan can see the strings]].
112	----
113	--> [[spoiler: "Why does my perception of time distress you?]]
114	--> [[spoiler: '''Everything''' is preordained, even my responses]]
115	--> [[spoiler: We're all puppets, Laurie]]

Context ComicBook / TheButton