CA Convo: What Will Happen to the DC Universe in September? [Poll]

Long-time readers may remember, of course that all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again; in 1994, the final issue of DC's Zero Hour event shipped alone as well, the conclusion of a mega-crossover that altered or rewrote significant parts of DC Universe history. As we previously noted, this single issue shipment in late August also coincides with the end of nearly every significant storyline in the DC Universe. So what happens in Flashpoint #5? And even more importantly, what happens afterwards?

Secrecy surrounding the post-Flashpoint DC Universe is tight, even for a publisher already known for being tight-lipped about spoilers. As Vaneta Rogers explained at Newsarama, the first rule of Flashpoint for comics creators is that you DO NOT TALK ABOUT FLASHPOINT:

    It's not just a fun saying, but a policy DC has enacted with its "people in the know." A few creators have even admitted to Newsarama that they've signed a legally binding "non-disclosure agreement" that prevents them from even hinting about their work after August.

Noted grumpy old fan Tom Bondurant floated a few different possibilities at Robot 6, from relaunching titles with new #1 issues to a line-wide reboot to going right back to where the DCU was before Flashpoint. In the end, though, he leans towards the idea that like most crossovers that declare they will change everything forever, the changes Flashpoint makes will be more like a controlled burn than a slate-cleaner:

    Ultimately, if Flashpoint does leave a lasting mark on the superhero books, I suspect it will be more of an expansion of storytelling possibilities - again, like the infinite Earths returning, or (more likely) a troop of new-to-new-ish characters - than an array (no matter how sweeping) of detail-oriented changes. I've mentioned a couple of blow-it-up-and-start-over possibilities, but that's all they are. While Flashpoint has the potential to shake up the regular DC timeline in radically new ways, especially with a few of its key characters, the practicalities of a shared superhero universe don't leave it much room to operate.
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