So far in Year One of THE FLASH, we’ve seen a lot of emotional content to go with the action sequences. In this chapter five, the balance tilts strongly to action as we see Barry Allen going toe to toe with the Turtle…the one from the future!!! Can future Barry help this young Flash defeat the Turtle? Where does Iris fit in all of this? And, will we ever see the famous Scarlet Speedster costume we all know and love? We get some answers here…and if you wanna know more, just follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

We are now in October of Year One of The Flash, and the future King Turtle has come back to present day, forcing future Barry along with him. Future Barry is dying, at the hands of the Turtle’s powers. He does his best to convince young Barry that he needs to run away, far away from this fight. Barry actually considers that for a moment, but remembers what his mother had said about never losing hope. With that, he goes back into battle – but first…

Iris has taken on the Turtle in her own way. She goes straight to Iron Heights to confront him. Maybe not the safest move, but definitely the gutsiest move. Iris demonstrates bravery and a fearless ability to confront evil…and it almost costs her dearly…

…but Barry arrives in his new (old) costume to attempt to save the day. Problem is, if future Barry and present day Barry can both be in the present day at the same time, couldn’t that also be true of the Turtle? You bet! And next issue is titled, “The Death of the Flash” – stay tuned for that one!

NOTES:

• This Year One story covers a lot of excellent concepts, but none more so than what Barry has always represented – hope. We’ve seen how Barry held on to that hope as a kid, until the loss of his mother and the incarceration of his father. His powers gave him hope, but this series of battles has all but taken that away. And now, he is pushing forward once again with that hope his mother gave him. All this on his road to eventually being that beacon of hope we have seen since the dawn of the Silver Age. I’m enjoying this examination of the subject – it goes along while enhancing the story rather than pulling away from the enjoyment.
• The choice of the Turtle as the main villain for Year One is intriguing – and writer Joshua Williamson has really made this work. There hasn’t been much from this bad guy over the years compared to Flash’s Rogues Gallery…but suddenly this character has become a truly formidable opponent. This proves once again that any character can be awesome in the hands of a great writer.
• Please take a look at the costume – one important note here. The yellow circle around the chest emblem that we’ve seen since the start of the New 52 is nowhere to be seen. Now, this could be simply a Flash costume 1.0 and we’ll see that yellow circle later on – or it could be that the design of this character is moving to something more familiar from pre-FLASHPOINT days. Either way, the artwork by Howard Porter remains stunning. I’m enjoying every panel and splash page.

SUMMARY:

This is another 10/10 for me – of course that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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