It seems like just last week that Kid Flash and Superboy raced against each other…oh, wait — it was! Now Superman and the Flash get in on the action.
Superman #709
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI & CHRIS ROBERSON; Art by EDDY BARROWS & J.P. MAYER; Cover by JOHN CASSADAY; 1:10 Variant cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
Superman visits Boulder, Colorado, as “Grounded” races forward! And speaking of racing, here comes The Flash! The Scarlet Speedster has made a strange discovery that relates to Superman, so he tracks The Man of Steel down in the Centennial State to get some answers! What did Flash discover? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason Superman isn’t very happy to see him…
DC has a one-page preview at The Source. And speaking of Kenneth Rocafort, the concluding issue of Velocity is currently on Top Cow’s calendar for March 30.
Is this some sort of joke?
1. Flash: Rebirth where Barry leaves Superman in the dust. Nuff said.
2. If he does catch Flash it would only be because that stylish head jewelry on Barry is forcing him to go a lot slower.
3. Why doesn’t Supes just FLY up and then land on flash likek an eagle on a mouse? He CAN still fly, can’t he? (Maybe he’s out of practice…)
Anyone have a link to what the variant cover looks like?
Follow the link to the preview. It has both covers, but only one interior page.
Yeah, what ever happened to Superman getting thrashed in Rebirth?
Expecting any kind of continuity among DC titles seems to be asking alot these days….especially when it involves sucking up to prima donnas like Straczynski (and his lingering plot lines). As is often the case, continuity is a fluid thing (at best) to guys like JMS (ala the wildly off-the-rails “Sins Past” Spider-Man story), so I take any of his stories with a big grain of salt.
Ah, so you’d agree that Mopee is the real cause of Barry’s origin, then?
Of course continuity is a fluid thing. It’s a 75-year-old shared universe with characters who don’t age. The JSAers still fought in World War II, but Superman didn’t grow up in the 1920s, Ronald Reagan wasn’t President during Millennium, and the original Teen Titans didn’t fight the Mad Mod in the Swingin’ Sixties (unless they were time-travelling).
Not to mention the fact that hundreds (thousands?) of writers have worked on DC comics — or comics for companies that were bought by DC — over several generations and under different editorial regimes that all want to place their own stamp on the books while taking into account changing cultural sensibilities and audience tastes.
Hold on, Kelson. I realize that. I should have been more precise in saying that even CURRENT continuity is a fluid thing with DC. What happens in one relatively recent story (such as Flash creaming Superman) may not even be acknowledged (or will sometimes be flatly contradicted) in another story a few months later (or sometimes that same week).
Come on….I’m not saying bring Mopee back. Give me a little credit, pal.
You know, Barry did say that he was trying to slow himself down so Clark could help him. Besides, while “Those were for charity, Clark” was a highlight of Flash: Rebirth, I sometimes think it’s better if DC leaves it open as to whether Superman or Flash is faster, just so there’s an element of rivalry to it. The traditional solution is to find some way for the race to come out a tie. Pre-Crisis there was never a clear winner.
I still think it best to keep Barry THE Fastest Man Alive, period. The attempt to keep it so close during the Silver/Bronze Age always seemed a little trumped-up to me. Really, and I say this as a lifelong Superman fan, does he have to be the best at EVERYTHING? I’m totally fine with Flash not only being faster than Superman, but FAR faster than Superman.
When you think about it another way, it’s actually quite an achievement of Superman to even be CLOSE, since he (as far as I know) has absolutely no connection to the Speed Force and achieves his speed by sheer physical power alone. Nothing to sneeze at there.
I just read the issue. The penciller mixed up Wally’s and Barry’s uniforms.
Instead of the classic Flash symbol, he draws the JLU symbol that Wally is wearing now.
Other than that the issue is ok, there’s still a long way to go to fix this story arc, but Roberson is making a much more entertaining comic than what JMS did.
I finally read it too, and he does mix the symbol up in some panels but not others. There’s actually a great panel of all the Flashes where Wally’s costume is drawn very well.
I was more concerned with mixing up their personalities – this Flash seems more laid back and fun than any Barry I’ve seen. More like a JLU Wally. Plus he seems to be harking back to Wally’s eat-a-lot phase. Barry is much much more dour than this.
And, Barry makes an off-handed comment about he can’t believe he’s a grandfather – or a father! Is it just me, or is Barry the worst deadbeat dad ever? He seems to have not a care in the world that he has two kids. Iris is even worse, since she raised them, and now seems indifferent.
Well… Barry didn’t meet his children. He died while Iris was pregnant (and didn’t know it). And Iris raised them and saw them die.
I understand the need to make Iris young again, but to me she can’t devolve from being a 60 year old woman. She shouldn´t. Even if her body is 25 years old again, she should have the personality of a more mature person, IMHO.