As hinted at in our review of the issue, Teen Titans #26 reveals at last the New 52 origin of Kid Flash, a.k.a. Bart Allen.
Stop reading now if you don’t want to find out.
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SPOILERS!
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The New 52 Bart Allen has a dark secret, one that is finally coming to light as we prepare for the “Trial of Kid Flash” in Teen Titans #25. But, just what DID he do…and how did he end up in our present time? There’s a LOT more to this story, and that’s where we pick up with the latest issue of Teen Titans.
LIGHT SPOILERS ONLY
If you’ve been wondering how Danica Williams became the future Flash in Justice League Beyond, wonder no longer: today’s digital installment of the series features her origin spotlight, as told by Derek Fridolfs and Marcus To, with a cover by Khary Randolph. There’s even a nice splash page of all the speedsters and Flash villains of the DC Animated Universe. (This series takes place in the same world as Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond, so there’s no Barry Allen, but there are some characters that I don’t recall seeing in the DCAU before.)
DC’s Justice League Group solicitations are out for September and the Zero issues, including…
THE FLASH #0
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale SEPTEMBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Update: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format. (from Newsarama)
As noted last week, this is not the final cover, but a piece of promotional art.
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m disappointed that the tragic backstory Geoff Johns grafted onto the character is still in place. I know getting rid of it would mess up the theme of Flashpoint, but if you look at the New 52 as its own entity (which is what they’re doing everywhere else), it would have been the perfect time to clean up the “Can’t be a real hero unless he knows tragedy” cliche.
(I’ve become more and more certain over time that Hunter Zolomon was thematically an author stand-in in the same way that Superboy Prime is a stand-in for fans that Geoff Johns disagrees with.)
The webcomic Comic Critics presents its take on Grant Morrison-style minimalist origin retellings of various super-heroes, including the Flash.
Head over to Comic Critics to read the conclusion (and the rest of the origins).
As for the Flash one: Harsh, but so, so true.
Comics Alliance has posted a Periodic Table of Super-Powers, detailing not just powers but origins as well.
Click through to the original article, where they link to a full-sized table that you can actually read.
Let’s see if we can come up with the “chemical” formula for the Flashes:
Jay Garrick:
SpInTScCh
Speed, Intangibility, Time Travel; Scientist struck by Chemicals
Barry Allen:
SpInTDcScCh
Speed, Intangibility, Time Travel, Detective; Scientist struck by Chemicals
Wally West:
SpInTChSkLg
Speed, Intangibility (sometimes), Time Travel; Chemicals, former Sidekick, Legacy hero
Bart Allen:
SpInTXTlLg
Speed, Intangibility, Time Travel; Mutant (closest I could come up with to inherited powers), Time-lost, Legacy hero.
Arguably you could include H=healing (super-metabolism) & Is=invisibility (they can move too fast to be seen), or Sn=super-senses (seeing things more quickly, or moving so fast that radiation is red– or blue-shifted into the visible spectrum), etc.
Who wants to try the Rogues?