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A review by lanternatomika
Batman/The Flash: The Button Deluxe Edition by Joshua Williamson, Tom King
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Second on the road to Doomsday Clock is The Button, a four issue crossover that hopped between Batman and The Flash. Unlike DC Universe: Rebirth, The Button is actually more relevant to the actual story of Doomsday Clock, as it sheds some light on how Dr Manhattan factors into the story of Flashpoint and the subsequent post-N52 universe
If you're not the sort of reader who would get triggered by the image of Batman, Reverse Flash or other DC characters holding the Comedian's button in their hands (if you are, thanks for stopping by, Alan Moore!), The Button is actually a pretty neat story that mines the common ground that Batman and The Flash have. They both love forensic science, they both lost parents and they both got their parents back during Flashpoint before losing them again
Following up on Batman discovering the button in the Batcave, he notices that it reacts to Psycho Pirate's mask (a little detail that isn't even explained in DCU: Rebirth). Then Reverse Flash shows up, eats Batman's lunch, runs off into the Speed Force with the button and comes back with his flesh burning off. Following him into the time stream, Batman and Flash discover that the Flashpoint universe is still around somehow and that someone is keeping it around
Many readers are gonna be following the course of this road because they really liked Watchmen and wanted to see how its merger with the DCU went. They're going to miss out some of the emotional beats of this story because they may not have been around for Flashpoint. But then, I feel like those types of readers would be more likely to just jump into Doomsday Clock and not bother with all this
For those who have been following the DCU closely or at least know what Flashpoint was and what happened, The Button further drives home the point that we're about to uncover some deep mysteries about what really caused The New 52 (it wasn't just DC editorial after all!)
I'll also give credit to the artwork at the start. It captured the look and feel and attention to detail of Watchmen's art style quite well, and I would've been interested in seeing the artists of both books committing to them for the whole book
If you're not the sort of reader who would get triggered by the image of Batman, Reverse Flash or other DC characters holding the Comedian's button in their hands (if you are, thanks for stopping by, Alan Moore!), The Button is actually a pretty neat story that mines the common ground that Batman and The Flash have. They both love forensic science, they both lost parents and they both got their parents back during Flashpoint before losing them again
Following up on Batman discovering the button in the Batcave, he notices that it reacts to Psycho Pirate's mask (a little detail that isn't even explained in DCU: Rebirth). Then Reverse Flash shows up, eats Batman's lunch, runs off into the Speed Force with the button and comes back with his flesh burning off. Following him into the time stream, Batman and Flash discover that the Flashpoint universe is still around somehow and that someone is keeping it around
Many readers are gonna be following the course of this road because they really liked Watchmen and wanted to see how its merger with the DCU went. They're going to miss out some of the emotional beats of this story because they may not have been around for Flashpoint. But then, I feel like those types of readers would be more likely to just jump into Doomsday Clock and not bother with all this
For those who have been following the DCU closely or at least know what Flashpoint was and what happened, The Button further drives home the point that we're about to uncover some deep mysteries about what really caused The New 52 (it wasn't just DC editorial after all!)
I'll also give credit to the artwork at the start. It captured the look and feel and attention to detail of Watchmen's art style quite well, and I would've been interested in seeing the artists of both books committing to them for the whole book