Warning: contains spoilers for Flashpoint Beyond #0!
In Flashpoint Beyond #0, DC Comics throws some serious shade at its failed continuity reboot. Referred to behind the scenes as "5G," the exact nature of this reboot was subject to speculation and hearsay, and it ultimately failed to materialize. Now, DC has subtly admitted this proposed reboot may not have been the best idea.
In 2011, the Flashpoint event erased the existing DC Universe and replaced it with the New 52 continuity. In early 2020, rumors began to circulate that another reboot was coming, on par with Flashpoint. While the reboot was never officially named, it was referred to internally as "5G," apparently standing for "Generation Five." The initiative was being spear-headed by then DC Publisher Dan DiDio, who was also one of the architects of the New 52 reboot. The rumors of another reboot received mixed reactions among fans, and when DiDio exited DC Comics in early 2021, any hopes of 5G ever coming to pass went with him. Now, DC Comics, in Flashpoint Beyond #0, throws shade at the failed reboot.
The issue opens with Batman at Rip Hunter the Time Master’s lab. The lab is deserted and there are signs of a struggle. Batman examines the room for clues, including Hunter’s infamous chalkboard. As has become a DC tradition, the chalkboard is full of cryptic phrases pointing to future events, including one that says "5G AVERTED." The issue is written by Geoff Johns, drawn by Eduardo Risso, colored by Trish Mulvihill and lettered by Rob Leigh.
Rip Hunter’s chalkboard has become infamous for its cryptic teases of events to come, or events that will never happen - such as 5G. While exactly what 5G would have entailed is still shrouded in mystery, signs pointed to it being a complete multiversal overhaul, such as the Crisis on Infinite Earths or Flashpoint, which would see major heroes replaced by new faces in a more extreme version of DC's eventual Future State event. Many fans viewed this move as superfluous, especially considering that, at the time, the Flashpoint reboot was less than a decade old. The idea that 5G was a problem to be "averted" certainly makes it seem like DC now agrees with this conclusion.
While reality has changed multiple times since the New 52 continuity (DC is currently in its Infinite Frontier era), these alterations were less extreme than the overhaul suggested by what little was known of 5G, bringing many characters back from the dead, adding a new generation who have so far worked alongside their iconic equivalents, and stressing the breadth and variety of DC's multiverse. Generally well-received, it's hard to see how 5G could have gone better.
Whatever 5G would have been, all signs indicate it will no longer happen. Flashpoint Beyond #0 certainly seems to indicate that DC Comics has no plans to move forward with 5G, and that even the publisher is now prepared to admit it would ultimately have been a mistake - one bad enough for a superhero like Rip Hunter to apparently take a hand in averting.
