Wally West, the Fastest Man in the Multiverse, has been on a long journey of redemption. While dreaming (or not) of his children (stay with me here), Wally finds himself in a fight to save not one, but TWO Earths! There is a lot going on in this issue, with appearances by [REDACTED] x3.  Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

This issue begins with Wally West, strangely back in his own home with his family. Yes, we see Linda Park-West, along with Jai and Iris. Wonderful, right? But, Wally is jolted out of that wonderful moment by a punch from the hero of Earth 13, the Super-Demon Etrigan! Wally believes he was actually holding two moments in his head at once – his family AND this fight. No time to think about that, though, because…

The Dark Matter is trying to merge two Earths together – Earth 13 and Earth 32. Both worlds have mash-ups of heroes and villains in unexpected ways. One might even use the word amalgam here… But, if these Earths finish merging, both will be destroyed! NOTE: This is a theory that has existed ever since CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS in 1985. Somehow, Wally must pull these two worlds apart.

To do that, he needs to pick up the staff that he dropped when he was first punched by Etrigan. Just as he is about to get to the staff, he finds the local speedster, Lightspeed, aka Linda Park! Okay, not our Linda Park-West, but a doppelganger with access to the Speed Force. Together, the two work to separate the worlds. And, they succeed. The Dark Matter is gone…and for the first time in a long time, Wally doesn’t feel so alone. He actually feels…hope!

This takes him to his next destination, where it looks like the Source Wall is rebuilding with some very familiar faces. It’s everyone who died in HEROES IN CRISIS. Thankfully, there are a couple of living people there…

Jai and Iris live!  But, their reunion is cut short by an unknown threat, one that we will see much more of in the next issue.

NOTES:

• Finally, Wally is getting the chance to feel some hope. And, he is rewarded here with a reunion with his kids. Whether that continues after this series is something we’ll have to find out next issue – but for now this was great to see. All the feels here, in a great script by Scott Lobdell. There is a chance of redemption for Wally, and I’m SO glad to see this happening.
• I’m blown away by the art in this issue. The page layouts, the action, the emotion…and handling all the mash-up characters without missing a beat, make this a stellar issue for the art team. Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Luis Guerrero, and ALW’s Troy Peteri are at the very top of their game here.

SUMMARY:

We see both some hope and some reward for Wally West as he continues on his mission. Wally is now front and center in the battle for the multiverse – and likely the only one who could succeed. This series is getting better by the page – and this issue is a 10/10 for me. Of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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