July 17, 2011
Newsarama has the cover to Teen Titans #99, revealing that Bart Allen’s “dark twin” Inertia returns as a member of Superboy-Prime’s new Legion of Doom.
Inertia was created as a clone of Bart Allen and sent back in time to replace him (several issues of Impulse, then the “Mercury Falling” storyline). He later tricked the Rogues into killing Bart shortly after he became The Flash (“Full Throttle”), putting them through hell, and they got back at Inertia by killing him in Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge.
No word on whether Inertia is resurrected, brought in from an alternate reality, or a younger version brought “back” through time travel.
(via The Rogues Kick Ass)
June 7, 2011
Two Flash-related books are out this week: The first issue of Flashpoint tie-in Citizen Cold, featuring a heroic (or is he?) version of Captain Cold as Central City’s resident hero, and a collection of the Impulse comics that introduced Inertia, Bart Allen’s dark twin.
Flashpoint: Citizen Cold
Covers: Scott Kolins
Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Scott Kolins
FLASH FACT! He loves someone he should not!
1 of 3, 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US – RATED T
UPDATE: Newsarama has a 5-page preview of the issue.
DC Comics Presents Impulse #1
Written by TODD DEZAGO
Art by ETHAN VAN SCIVER, WALTER SIMONSON, ANGEL UNZUETA and others
Cover by ETHAN VAN SCIVER and WAYNE FAUCHER
It’s Batman vs. The Joker — with Impulse caught in the middle! Plus, Impulse battles Kalibak, son of Darkseid — and meets Inertia, the Reverse-Impulse! Featuring art by Ethan Van Sciver, from IMPULSE #50-53!
96 pg, FC, $7.99 US
February 5, 2010
Wow, this is just the week for DC speedsters over at WizKids, isn’t it? Today they unveiled two new figures from the Brave and the Bold expansion set: Kid Zoom and Inertia.
Yes, two different identities of Bart Allen’s dark twin, Thaddeus Thawne. And because Thad took on the Kid Zoom identity after training under Hunter Zolomon, the two figures actually have different powers. Head over to the article for more photos, plus the cards and dials.
(Thanks to Devin “The Flash” Johnson for the link!)
December 16, 2008
The newsletter DC Comics Direct Channel #914 identifies the contents of the upcoming Flash Presents: Mercury Falling and Flash: The Human Race trade paperbacks.
May 2009: Flash Presents: Mercury Falling (Todd Dezago, Ethan Van Sciver) will collect Impulse #62-67. That covers the 5-issue story arc itself as well as the one-issue epilogue guest-starring the Justice League, Justice Society and Young Justice.
June 2009: Flash: The Human Race (Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Paul Ryan, Pop Mhan) will collect Flash v.2 #136-141 and a story from Secret Origins #50. The Flash issues cover both “The Human Race” and “The Black Flash.”
The Secret Origins story is undoubtedly the retelling of the classic “Flash of Two Worlds,” (Flash v.1 #123) in which Grant Morrison figured out how to incorporate the parallel-world story into a single-world setting. Unless I’ve forgotten something, this volume and Flash: Emergency Stop will cover all of Grant Morrison’s Flash solo work.
It also lists the Final Crisis hardcover coming out in June, along with the Final Crisis Companion trade paperback, which includes all the FC one-shots (including Superman: Beyond, which started as a one-shot that just got too long.) No word yet on when Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge will be collected, but there are supposed to be more summer 2009 announcements later this week.
October 21, 2008
Collected Editions has obtained DC’s advance TPB solicitations for Fall 2009, including a big surprise in speedster collections:
The Flash (featuring Impulse): Mercury Falling
It’s been years since any of Impulse was collected (Impulse: Reckless Youth
), and that was only the first few issues. Mercury Falling, which ran from Impulse #62-66, was the major epic from the Todd Dezago/Ethan Van Sciver run on the book, and featured Inertia’s master plan, Max Mercury facing almost certain death, and Bart being forced to confront the fact that his mentor and guardian might not be around much longer, while desperately trying to find a way to save him.
It actually ties in quite well thematically with the recent stories in Flash and Rogues’ Revenge.
The title is a bit odd, considering that the Flash doesn’t appear in the story at all (that I remember), but it follows the same pattern as other recent collections of lesser-known characters, like JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Get the main franchise with the recognized name out there first, then add the original title of the book.
Update: Amazon now lists this as being released on May 12, 2009.
October 15, 2008
The conclusion of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins’ villain-centric mini-series was everything it could have been, with all the threads set up over the last two issues coming together in one explosive confrontation. Unlike “Rogue War,” which took a 90-degree turn half-way through and turned into a very different story, this delivers exactly what it promised, following through on elements that seemed to be given little attention during the previous two issues.
After the mess that was Countdown, Johns and Kolins have successfully rehabilitated the Flash’s Rogues as effective villains. They’ve also established the current status of the supporting cast from their run on The Flash and reconciled the characterization of Pied Piper across Flash, “Full Throttle,” and Countdown. (Speaking of Countdown, it’s hard not to read the line, “This is for one &@#^%# year!” as a bit of meta-commentary about that year-long series and the way it mischaracterized the Rogues.) In a sense, you could look at Rogues Revenge as Rogues: Rebirth, and in fact there is a teaser for the upcoming Flash: Rebirth built into this issue.
Clearly, DC — or, specifically, Geoff Johns — has set out on a three-step plan to get the Flash Franchise back on track:
- Reestablish the villains in Rogues’ Revenge.
- Revitalize the Flash mythos in Flash: Rebirth.
- Relaunch the ongoing Flash series.
Step one is complete. Any writer who wishes to use these characters in the next few years would do well to read this story and really understand what makes them tick.
Spoilers after the cut: Read the rest of this entry »
