Warning! Spoilers for Flashpoint Beyond #3 by DC Comics
DC Comics is taking a deeper dive into the tragic life of Superman in the Flashpoint timeline, showcasing the deadly incident from his origin that left thousands of people dead in Metropolis. In a new preview of Flashpoint Beyond #3, a young Kal-El is rocketed away from Krypton as his home planet explodes. However, he didn't arrive in a small town in Kansas but instead made a deadly crash-landing that killed many innocent lives.
Superman never became Earth's greatest hero in the Flashpoint timeline, a reality created by Barry Allen after attempting to save his mom by traveling back in time. Instead, Kal-El, known as Subject One, was captured by the U.S. government and used as a supersoldier. But, the alternate version of Superman was more Homelander than the Man of Steel, as he was raised in a lab as a deadly weapon. While Subject One has the same powers as Superman, he has a much smaller frame and doesn't have the social skills his main counterpart does. Nevertheless, the hero is a fascinating take on the evil Superman trope, as DC Comics will explore his origin further.
In a new preview of Flashpoint Beyond #3 by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, Tim Sheridan, Xermanico, Mikel Janin, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Jordie Bellaire, Flashpoint Superman's deadly origin is given a new, closer look. Subject One's origin is similar to the original hero's, as he was sent away from Krypton as the planet was dying in a rocketship bound for Earth.
Unfortunately for Earth, Superman never ended up in Smallville, as Jonathan and Martha Kent can be seen watching the "shooting star" emerge from the night sky. In Metropolis, the people look up to the sky and see what appears to be a missile heading their way directly. Superman's kryptonian rocket crashes through the Daily Planet, causing massive explosions in Metropolis. A news report confirms that the destruction from Flashpoint Superman's rocket caused more than 35,000 people to die in the incident.
The comic retells Subject One's origin to show how much darker of a timeline the Flashpoint reality is. Instead of crash-landing in Smallville, being raised on a small farm, and later becoming a beacon of hope, Flashpoint Superman accidentally killed thousands of people while being raised inside a facility as a glorified lab rat. With the character returning in the DC Comics miniseries, it will be fascinating to see whether Flashpoint Superman has embraced his dark origin and gone full villain or if, now that he has his own agency, he will become the hero he was meant to be in other timelines.
