After a fantastic build-up, we finally get the big reveal…the identity of Josh Williamson’s new villain, Godspeed! Just who is the bad guy who has been stealing the speed from…and killing…so many of the new speedsters in the Gem Cities? What is his agenda? You’ll learn a LOT in this issue, so you’ll have to follow us after the jump to learn more!
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This issue starts with a murder…but this time Godspeed isn’t killing a speedster. He’s out for revenge, though we don’t know the name of this victim or what the vengeance is about…at least not yet. Barry is losing a LOT of sleep, trying to figure out what’s happening. He still holds out hope that Meena somehow is lost in the Speed Force rather than actually dead. (NOTE: This is important as it re-establishes Barry’s role in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths…just check out the scene and you’ll see what we mean). August doesn’t share that hope, for reasons we will soon learn.
Barry meets with Iris to find out what she has learned. Wally arrives and mistakes Iris’ attempts to comfort Barry in his loss for Barry “hitting on my Aunt”. Wally is distraught at the loss of his mentor
Meena and runs away. Barry realizes that he now knows TWO Wallys who are connected to the Speed Force…but he learns something more. Barry learns the name of the latest victim of Godspeed and realizes just who Godspeed actually is…
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It’s August Heart! The latest victim was the man who “escaped justice” for the death of August’s brother, and that was the clue Barry needed. He confronts August, who confesses everything. He killed Billy Parks in the belief that Parks killed August’s brother. He killed the other speedsters because they were “wasting their powers” instead of becoming heroes. And, he’s now ready to take Barry down in order to keep operating. The thing is, Godspeed has now learned something that even Barry hasn’t been able to do…Godspeed can literally be in TWO places at once! The battle is on…but we’ll have to wait for next issue to see what happens next!
NOTES: You can tell me that you guessed this one a long time ago…but whether you knew it or not, this was a high point for the series so far. This reveal was developed exceptionally well over the first issues of this volume of THE FLASH, and the way Barry came to realize the identity of the big bad was handled perfectly. Credit Josh Williamson for bringing us to this point with a great story line and with excellent development of all the characters. Think about where we are now…a Barry with a clear voice and with some interesting relationship possibilities. Young Wally finally embracing his speed powers and soon to be the Kid Flash we’ve been anticipating for a very long time. A compelling new villain who is a formidable opponent even for the Fastest Man Alive. It’s adding up to a great time to be fan of The Flash!
I’ll give this one a 9/10…but that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
The reveal of Godspeed wasn’t particularly shocking, nor was the very concept of Godspeed. (We just saw a speedster who can be in two places at once on the TV show.) But it was still a fun, exciting read. The highlight, though was the unexpected reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths. I really hope something big comes from that.
I also want to praise Carmine di Giandomenico’s ability to convey emotion so well. It was heartbreaking to see Wally learn of Meena’s death. He started to collapse against the wall, then quickly went from sadness to anger in a very believable way for a teenager. And even though I was disappointed at the predictability of August being Godspeed, I did like the smugness on his face as Barry discovered his secret.
Love this issue and the run so far. So much so that the only reason I haven’t commented on the last couple is all I’d have to say is “It’s great and cool!”.
Okay, so Godspeed. Kind of obvious BUT I was really bummed out that it turned out to be true. I loved the conversation with him and Barry and I look forward to seeing where it goes, but I was starting to really like Augest and part of my hoped he would stick around as a new member of the Flash family. Barry could use a bro and Wally is more of a little brother, or surrogate son. They could have had the greatest bromance 🙁
Of course the biggest part of the entire issue and possibly run so far is the reestablishment of Crisis (or at least Barry’s death). That moment was almost the tagline for decades of Flash and while taking a break from that history for a while may have been good (though frustrating) and helped make Barry more of a person post-flashpoint and less of the saint he was post-crisis, it’s definitely nice to have back. Makes me feel like I’m reading the “classic” Flash again finally and not the Ultimate universe equivilant. He mentioned Wally’s Flash run in the flash rebirth issue but I was almost holding my breath with that one, this opens up a ton things to explore from here on out and I hope it happens more and more.
Dammit! I really liked August Heart as a supporting character. Pragmatic and by-the-gut vs. Barry’s idealism and over-thinking.
I’m thinking his heel turn is part of the larger Rebirth war. Disillusioned with the justice system, takes matters into his own hands — sure, but killing innocent people (including Meena who HAD adopted a superhero identity) just seems too big of a psychotic leap without there being an outside influence. And now that I think about it, he’s not the only ally to turn evil recently. Among the Rebirth titles I’m reading, it’s happened in Detective Comics and Batman. Any others?
Anyway, I thought it was a well done reveal though, especially how his alibi was packaged in with the new power. Good stuff!
Awesome issue. Some of the dialogue in earlier issues was a little average but this one was on point. I find myself really hoping Barry gets all of his memories back to. Can’t wait for more Flash vs Godspeed in future issues.
I am honestly not enjoying this arc as much as I’d hoped. The writing is good, and I love Barry’s characterization, but the plot as a whole is too predictable to me. Something about it feels very, very generic. Way too by-the-numbers.