“Sins of the Father” starts here, in THE FLASH #18 – and we may have the makings of a classic. This issue makes the most of the page count for DC books of late, with the feel of a complete story even though this is just the first chapter of a larger tale. Wally is dealing with the revelation that Daniel West, aka the Reverse Flash is not his uncle but rather his father…and that’s just the jumping off point for a great arc. Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Wally is having very bad dreams, the kind where the uncle he admired and loved turns out to be the father he fears. He can’t tell his Aunt Iris the full story…but he’s not the only one hiding secrets, as Henry Allen learns from Barry. After all, Barry hasn’t revealed his secret to either Wally or Iris yet, even though that relationship with Iris is obviously going places.
Wally deals with this conflict the best way he can…by running. Barry decides to run with him, and learns that Wally is looking for his dad. He also learns something Wally found out, that Daniel has been transferred to “some other prison in Louisiana”. Of course, Barry knows the implication of that, and the two find their way into Belle Reve!
They may be able to get by a lot of the defenses at Belle Reve, but does anyone get past Amanda Waller? Not too many, and our Flashes don’t succeed there, either. But, they decide to take follow a different trail, one that leads to…
Australia!
And yes, you KNOW who that means! This sets up the arc for future issues, and it looks like this is going to be really good.
NOTES: This issue of THE FLASH is paced perfectly. There is a feeling of a complete storyline here, no need for additional pages in this issue. We have great action, good character development, and an effective set up of the plot all contained in 19 pages. Thanks Josh Williamson for a terrific story to start this arc! I also loved the artwork – I’ll just note that Barry as the Flash looked a little more like pre-Flashpoint Wally in terms of muscle definition than other issues of late, but that’s fine here. The action and expression were all on point here – that’s thanks to Jesus Merino (pencils), Andy Owens (inks) and Chris Sotomayor (colors).
This issue of THE FLASH is a 10/10 for me – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!