Wally West was ready to retire. That is, until the Speed Force itself thought otherwise and began throwing him around the timestream. The Speed Force needs to heal, and it has chosen Wally West to make it happen. We’ve seen him tossed into the body of a super-speed stone age man, and now he’s in the body of…Bart Allen? Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Wally has found himself literally in the body of Bart Allen, aka Impulse. We’re talking the far-off future of Bart Allen, where he is working with the recently introduced Gold Beetle (a new character from recent storylines in the DC Omniverse). Just as Wally faced a Speed Force infused dinosaur last issue, we now have a Dominator who has been hit with Speed Force energy. The twist is that the Dominator’s physiology is reacting differently, and instead of gaining speed he gains size. He is gigantic!
Gold Beetle knows Wally, having met him before. That is, she’s met him before in her own timeline. Wally hasn’t actually “met” her yet, and she keeps almost spilling the beans on future events for Wally. One key fact? She says that Wally has, ‘like, five more crises to get through.” That little gem should tell you whether Wally will actually retire or not any time soon.
Barry, Michael Holt, and Oliver Queen are still trying to reach Wally through the time stream. When they do, Gold Beetle is able to overhear everything. They decide to send a device to Wally (one that Inertia used some time back) via a time capsule. This device would drain the Speed Force energy from the Dominator, avoiding the kind of major explosion that we saw last issue.
Where to plant the time capsule? The place to leave that time capsule is in the Flash Museum…in a prop used for family photos. Barry, Michael and Ollie have to play along, pose for the picture and say “Flash” instead of “cheese”. The sight of three superheroes acting like ordinary fans (if slightly embarrassed fans) was a real treat.
But back to the action. The future version of the Flash Museum has precautions that could keep out speedsters, so Gold Beetle uses her craft to literally break in to the building. Wally uses the device on the Dominator, and all is well. It is after that we see Wally thrown through time once again – to Jay Garrick’s time in WW II, as he an another JSA member have been captured and the Spear of Destiny is in the worst of hands!
NOTES:
- This is a fun romp through space and time. It’s the best of Wally West’s previous time as The Flash, combined with the best of Silver Age science and fun. And with all of that, it’s still a fresh new story that works for today’s readers. Kudos to writer Jeremy Adams. This is a great first arc, and I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be a very long run on this title.
- Gold Beetle is presented well here – and this character is growing on me. She may have faded away elsewhere, but hopefully we will continue to see more of her, either in the pages of THE FLASH or elsewhere soon.
- Gold Beetle’s catch phrase of the issue, “By Being Impulsive!” was spot on. And, I may be using that to explain myself sometime soon.
- I loved that in the present-day Flash Museum so many of the customers were wearing Jay Garrick winged helmets. As much as I love all the speedsters in the DCU, I have a special place in my heart for Jay. And, I love the respect he got this way. Can’t wait to see “Jay” (or Wally in Jay’s body) next issue.
- The artwork is divided between present day Barry, Michael and Ollie, and Wally’s adventures elsewhere in time. Though the styles are different, it really works here to push the narrative further. That’s thanks to David Lafuente & Brandon Peterson (pencils/inks), Mike Atiyeh & Luis Guerrero (colors). and Steve Wands (letters).
SUMMARY:
After all the doom and gloom that has hit Wally over the last few years, this character is finally able to have fun again. And, we as readers are having all that fun along with him. I love this arc! I’ll give this issue a 9/10. Of course, that’s just my opinion – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
I agree, cool issue. You might also want to pick up this week’s Back Issue magazine, which is Flash-themed!
Oh my God! This was so much fun!
I almost forgot what it was like to read fun comics.
(I mean, how long has DC been using “Tragedy makes Super heroes more interesting.” As their philosophy?
(I’m pretty sure it’s been more than just the last ten years!)
For a while, I thought Gold Beetle might be Rani, Booster Gold’s adopted daughter. (I mean, I can’t really see any other way for this kid to get her hands on the combined tools of the Blue and Gold Legacies unless she has a legit connection to Booster at least!)