Barry has lost his connection to the Speed Force and all his super-speed thanks to Grodd. Central City is still stuck in one single moment, with no one able to move while Grodd’s plan comes to fruition. Can Grodd take all the Speed Force for himself? Not if Wally…and Wally, and Avery have anything to say about it! And what about Barry’s next move? Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Grodd has the upper hand, but without that lightning wand he can’t complete his task to steal all of the Speed Force and supposedly cure the disease that is slowly killing him. But, this issue has very little of the most fearsome ape in comics…it’s mostly about the speedsters.
Avery and young Wally are putting Barry through tests to find out what has happened to him. Almost all of the Speed Force is indeed gone – there is just enough left to keep Barry from being stuck in time with all the other citizens of Central City, but that’s about it. That doesn’t keep him from trying to direct the efforts of all the other speedsters, though…even grown-up Wally, who has arrived to help save Central City.
Barry is tortured by Grodd’s revelation of last issue – that without his powers, Barry truly believes he is nothing. Absolutely nothing. That is playing out big time in this issue, as Barry’s desperation is pushing away all his friends. You want to see the seeds of FLASH WAR? Looks like some of the distrust that will play out later is beginning here.
No one really listens to Barry right now. Young Wally and Avery run toward Meena, hoping that they can turn her from adversary to ally once again. What could possibly go wrong? Grown-up Wally goes to evacuate the city…but when he gets to his Aunt Iris, Black Hole springs a trap!
Meanwhile, Barry has taken the lightning wand to the one person left who may be willing and able to help him get his speed back…
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Godspeed!
NOTES: I have a feeling we will be looking back to this issue sometime down the road with some “aha” moments. There aren’t a lot of big reveals here (other than seeing Godspeed at the end), and there aren’t a lot of huge movements in the overall plot. But, there are a LOT of setups for future plot points, and for that reason we will be grabbing this as a back issue very soon as Josh Williamson continues the arc. I’m a bit worried about how angsty Barry is right now, though I have a feeling that will resolve before too long (or else will go into full blown rage as he gets his powers back and we hit FLASH WAR). But, this is a solid issue for what it sets out to accomplish. I liked the artwork in this issue – lots of interesting page layouts, some intriguing choices of color, and just the right mix of digital effects to denote speed. That’s thanks to Carlos D’Anda, with colors by Luis Guerrero. Overall I’ll give this issue an 8/10 – but that my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
They’re going to have to do some sort of serious walkback from Barry’s actions in this comic. Not just his absolutely insane releasing of August, but the way he talked to Wally and the way he thought of himself was so ridiculous. Even the New 52 Flash run, mediocre as it was, had powerless Barry still acting heroically (in that kind of but not really Dial H crossover). I’m so very, very tired of sad sack Barry and this is the worst example of it to date. I know it might be part of the plot but you can only run this exact same no confidence, no hope Barry crap so many times before I’m done with it. And I’m especially done with it here.
The scene with Wally and the city was nice, though a little weird. He acts as if Central City is exactly the same as he remembers it, but certainly not everything is the same. There are obvious examples of things that have changed. Maybe this is his memories of this universe more than anything, but he was talking about memories of Linda to kick it off. Wally’s situation and how he interacts with his memories is a headache for me to parse, regardless.
I care so little about Meena and Raijin as villains. I’m not usually a big fan of shows of power from heroes but I’d prefer if Wally actually let loose for once since coming back and dealt with them in the ways only he can. I’m guessing it’s going to take an entire issue to resolve, regardless, since we’ve got 3 more to go of this arc.
No opinions on other Wally or Avery. I was of the opinion that we don’t need to be adding more members to an already bloated, already torn down Flash family without getting rid of some others and neither of these characters have particularly caught my interest. NuWally still just seems to be around purely to be an age appropriate sidekick to keep with Barry so long as he’s the main Flash and Avery seems especially redundant in this book. Very little personality showing through. It feels like Williamson’s trying to do a Waid impression and make a lot of fun speedsters for everyone to like but I don’t like any of his new creations, especially Godspeed, who I’m loathe to see appear in the next issue. The Flash doesn’t need an edgy antihero Jason Todd pastiche. It’s already too edgy with no payoff or depth for my tastes.