In his second story as writer for THE FLASH, Kevin Shinick has given new life to a classic Flash foe. It’s time for…Dr. Alchemy! This time around, Alchemy seems more powerful than ever…is he too powerful even for the Scarlet Speedster? Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD
We are continuing with the theme of rings (“With This Ring” Part 2), only this time the ring belongs to Dr. Alchemy. He’s turned his Philosopher’s Stone into a ring, and he’s making a three ring cirus (see what I did there?) out of Iron Heights. Albert Desmond wants the attention. He’s so close, so very close to an ultimate source of power, and he’s enjoying every instant along the way. He transmutes Barry’s mask to mercury, forcing Flash to do the old vibrate-your-face thing to protect his identity.
Desmond’s real target is at a Metal Men exhibit. This story gives a new meaning to both Dr. Alchemy’s and Will Magnus’ origin stories, tying the philosopher’s stone creation (and recreation) to both. This sets up a new approach for Flash…by using his skills as a scientist to try and beat Alchemy.
This battle doesn’t work out well, to say the least. At the end of this issue, Flash not only fails to capture Desmond…Barry is left utterly humiliated as well. Things are looking very bleak for our hero, and that’s where we leave things until next issue.
NOTES:
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I’m impressed with this depiction of Dr. Alchemy. Watching a formerly beatable foe (just get the stone away from him) become an almost-omega level threat. It makes this a compelling tale. The ego that goes with it just puts the icing on the cake.
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I know fans of the TV show know the vibrate-your-face-to-hide-your-identity trick. This goes back to some depicitions of Jay Garrick, who never wore a mask but vibrated is face just enough to disguise his identity. It’s cool once again to see it here.
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Hopefully this arc is heading for another type of ring. It’s hinted strongly here, and it’s been a question ever since Iris’ memories returned. There is a reasonable debate to be had as to whether they are actually already married (like Clark and Lois), but I still like the way this is going here.
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Articst Will Conrad gives Barry such abs that it took me back to the first episode of Season 1 of THE FLASH on the CW…when Barry says something like, “I’ve got…abs?” Good artwork overall from Conrad, colorist Hi-Fi, and letterer Steve Wands.
SUMMARY:
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This second issue gives us a much clearer picture of what kind of FLASH story we can expect from Kevin Shinick, and it looks like the Flash family is in good hands. I’ll give this a 9/10 – of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!