This post contains a preview for Flashpoint Beyond #5

A new preview for DC Comics' Flashpoint Beyond confirms that Barry Allen's Flash is just as dangerous as Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan when it comes to their ability to affect time. While the bulk of this new series has seen Thomas Wayne's Batman thrust back into the original timeline Barry Allen inadvertently created when he tried to save his mother, it's also seen the return of Rip Hunter and his Time Masters who're growing increasingly concerned over the stability of Hypertime, the interconnected flow of realities that constantly expands whenever time deviates from the main universe.

Coming from Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermánico, and Mikel Janín, Flashpoint Beyond has seen Thomas Wayne's Batman being put back in his original timeline where his son Bruce died instead of himself and his wife Martha (whose grief caused her to go insane and become the Flashpoint reality's Joker). Ignoring everything that's happening in this reality in favor of finding a means to restore his son's universe which he believes is lost once more, Thomas has no idea that Bruce is still alive (and seemingly trying to bring back Thomas himself).

Related: One Green Lantern Was More Powerful Than Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan

As a result, the actions of the Waynes from across timelines have drawn concern from the newly returned Time Masters. Case in point, Doctor Bonnie Baxter is featured in the new preview for Flashpoint Beyond #5 covering the existence of DC's Omniverse in space and its relation to Hypertime, the two halves that make up what they call the "Divine Continuum". However, she also confirms that while time is often tampered with to small degrees, some can bring about crisis-level amounts with devastating changes to the timestream such as Extant, Gog, and Deimos. However, both the Flash and Doctor Manhattan are among this number as well due to their roles in the original Flashpoint, New 52, and Rebirth eras. Here are the preview pages and synopsis for the upcoming issue:

• THE CLOCKWORK KILLER, CHAPTER FIVE: THE JOKE'S ON ME
• The Clockwork Killer's identity is finally revealed as the dust settles after the showdown at Arkham Asylum. But as we learn the truth behind how the Clockwork Killer came to be, Thomas is faced with a reality-altering choice!

According to the Time Masters, the crisis-level events involving Hypertime are far more devastating than those that occur in the Omniverse. While the skies may turn red during an event that could destroy an entire universe, hardly anyone knows about the battles being fought over time due to the fact that time is always being rewritten, "paving over" characters, and rewriting their lives and events due to the shifting of entire timelines in response to one being's actions. In fact, the only ones who do remember all the continuity changes and reboots are those who can constantly travel the time stream like Rip's team.

At any rate, the fact that Barry Allen's Flash has been categorized in the same threat-level group as Doctor Manhattan is quite the testament, even if it is due to their devastating potential to rewrite entire timelines at will. However, it's good that the Fastest Man Alive isn't nearly as ambivalent as Watchmen's Jon Osterman and his near-godlike abilities.

Flashpoint Beyond #5 will release from DC Comics on September 6.