Barry and Iris are in Gorilla City as part of The Flash’s Force Quest. What they find is horrific. It seems that everyone in Gorilla City is dead! Was this Grodd’s doing? Was it Gemini? Will Barry and Iris be able to learn anything before something terrible happens to them as well? Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
I’m really loving this interpretation of Barry and Iris. Iris is smart, determined, keenly observant, and able to shake Barry out of his angst and into a positive direction. Their relationship seems realistic (or as real as you can get when one of the pair can vibrate through a solid brick wall). We see that here as Barry is completely shaken by the sight of the carnage in Gorilla City. Iris not only knows that Grodd is likely not to blame here…but she sees the passageway that eventually leads them to a group of simian scientists.
It seems there has always been much more to Gorilla City than Barry thought. They are ready to reveal some of the secrets of the four Forces to Barry, and Iris is able to plug into the data banks and send some info to Commander Cold for analysis. They know their next stop is Corto Maltese, where signs of the Strength Force are detected.
Those Strength Force signs take the form of Fuerza (Spanish for force, or course). But, that fight is to be a part of next issue. What happens in the meantime…
In the meantime, back in Gorilla City, Gemini arrives and finds the scientists. They overhear the scientists admitting that there was more they could have told Barry about the forces, but that he wasn’t ready. Gemini has just gotten here, so they aren’t responsible for the slaughter,either…but they threaten to kill the few who remain if they don’t get the very information that was kept from Barry!
NOTES:
- Once again I have to say bravo to Joshua Williamson for his portrayal of Iris in this script. The relationship with Iris and Barry makes this old Silver Age-d reviewer extremely happy, and it fits so well in today’s comics world.
- Case in point for Iris: when she tells Barry, “You always let your guilt get the best of you to the point where your mind runs through a million things you did wrong in a second and you miss what’s right in front of you…” That sums up Barry’s mindset perfectly, especially of late.
- Another case in point for the determination of Iris’ character: “Barry, I’ve been shot at, attacked by terrorists and kidnapped by madmen from the future…I can handle a dark tunnel.”
- I also love the page layouts in this issue. If you grab this book online (from comiXology, etc) be sure to look at the full pages and not just panel by panel. You’ll miss half the fun if you only do Guided View. Great use of the page, and solid artwork by Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Jordi Tarragona and Scott Hanna (inks), and Tomeu Morey (colors)
- One last note – the pacing of this issue was spot on. It felt like there was a LOT more going on than the page count would otherwise indicate. That’s a kudo to the full creative team.
I’ll give this one a 9/10 – but that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!