In his first issues as writer of THE FLASH, Jeremy Adams has taken on re-introducing the Wally West we all loved prior to FLASHPOINT.  Wally’s family has come back to the spotlight as well, and that’s also a very good thing. This issue puts the spotlight on Wally’s daughter Irey, and on a very heart-warming father-daughter relationship. It’s a great story before we start diving into whatever that thing is that’s floating through space toward Earth. Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Wally is getting ready to take Irey to a Father-Daughter dance. Like some dads, he’s already thinking far ahead to when his kids are grown and on their own. That means he’s going to do his best to make every moment special, including this dance. If  you don’t go “awwwww” while reading this, I don’t know what else to say.

Of course, there’s danger ahead. This is a superhero comic, after all. We are introduced to Dr. Nightmare, a former TerrificTech scientist who was rejected by his peers and is looking out for revenge…it may be a familiar motivation, but that’s okay here. Dr. Nightmare has developed a device that can manifest a person’s dreams into reality, using their worst fears. He uses sleeping gas to render his subjects unconscious, then uses his device to commandeer their fears.

This creates a situation that needs…wait, Wally and Irey don’t seem to have their speed right now. The gas didn’t knock them out, but it did temporarily slow them down. They need another way to defeat this bad guy.

Irey has the key, and it works…but I’ll let you check out how that happens. There is part of that sequence that will again get some “awwwww”, and it was simply too sweet to be spoiled here.

Wally and Irey finally get their dance, though not as first planned. It’s a perfect ending to this story, except…

We finally see that mysterious object that we’ve been following for some time fall to Earth. That will start a whole new arc. But for now let’s just go to the…

NOTES:

• In this run of THE FLASH, every character counts, and I’m glad to see that. This issue gave agency to Irey, making her the one who saves the day. While we see some “little kid” moments (including a well-timed raspberry to the villain), Irey comes across with the importance she deserves.
• I don’t know if Jeremy Adams has any daughters, but he did capture a healthy father-daughter relationship spot-on here. This story humanizes Wally and his family, even more than in previous issues (and that’s saying something). New fans can cheer Wally for the qualities we knew before FLASHPOINT, while old fans can still see this story as fresh and new. Kudos to Adams for an excellent script!
• The artwork was spectacular, whether getting ready for the dance or showing off all these nightmare creations. Fantastic all around! Kudos to Christian Duce, Hi-Fi, and Steve Wands for a great job!
• SPECIAL NOTE: As we see Irey coming down the stairs for the dance, she is illustrated as she truly should be. This is a child, and that’s how she is depicted. Too many comics take young girls and try to sexualize them in their artwork – this issue took the better approach.  I’m so glad to see how they handled this throughout the issue. Thank you to Christian Duce for handling this so well!

SUMMARY:

This issue hits all the feels, but just as importantly gives agency to a character that had been missing for too many years since the New 52 started. And, this issue shows a normal and healthy father-daughter relationship, with Wally back to being a great father. That’s something also missing for too long during the post-FLASHPOINT era. I realize this is simply getting us ready for bigger and more cosmic story arcs, but I loved this issue on it’s own. I’ll give it a 9/10 – but of course that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

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