THE SOURCE: In issue one of the WORLD OF FLASHPOINT, we see the impact of the war on real world locations including Paris and New York. Why focus on those cities?
REX OGLE: I came up with three visuals that I thought nailed the social climate of a world on the edge of a terrible war. I picked Paris, because I wanted to show some mass destruction on the frontlines, and it’s a place people are familiar with (from movies and TV, if not first hand). Same with NYC—it’s iconic.
Also, I thought if the world were ending, how would people act on these streets I call home?
Will the series also explore DC Universe cities like Gotham and Metropolis?
REX: Metropolis and Gotham both get a lot of love in PROJECT: SUPERMAN and BATMAN: KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE (respectively), so I aimed for a more global tour of the world. After all, it is called WORLD OF FLASHPOINT. But Traci 13 does touch down in Gotham and finds a very unexpected ally.
Issue 2 expands the scope of the series even further, as Traci 13 travels around the world to Africa, Asia, and North America and South America.
REX: Don’t forget Australia, Antartica, and Europe! Traci 13 travels to every continent. But it’s not about the locations so much as the people she meets along the way. Expect plenty of cameos.
What area of the world has been the most impacted by the war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman?
REX: The entire planet has been affected by the Amazon-Atlantean feud, though none quite as deeply as Europe.
What, if anything, can you tell us about the global council that makes up H.I.V.E.?
REX: Hmmm, there’s a scientist, a dictator, a madman, and of course a very scary kid. Who doesn’t love a creepy kid?
I really scored some rad cameos, drawing deep from the massive well of DCU characters and put together people I thought might be brought together under these kinds of dire circumstances.
What made Traci 13 the right protagonist for this series?
REX: Here’s this young girl with an immense amount of power at her fingertips, but she doesn’t quite know how to use it in the beginning and it causes her to lose her family. I think anyone can relate to not being smart enough as a kid and making mistakes.
Also, her last name is “13”. I still think that’s cool.
Are any of the characters in THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT actually better off than the versions we have known in the DC Universe?
REX: Wow. Great question. (No comment.)
The action in THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT may well bring dire consequences to the world’s population. Just how big of a threat is set in motion in the first issue?
REX: Hmmm. The stakes involved? About 118 million lives, including pretty much all of our fave heroes and villains. And to think, Traci is only 15 years old. NO pressure.
