“The Search for Barry Allen Part 3” Review of THE FLASH 785

The Flash Family has sent speedsters to several different Earths in search of “our” Barry Allen.  Those searches end here. But, how well do things turn out for our favorite speedsters?  Let’s not waste any more time – wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

We know where most of our fast-footed friends have gone, but there’s one more joining the search. That’s none other than the newest speedster, Linda Park-West! Yes, if you haven’t been keeping up with recent issues, Linda has gained super-speed. And, she’s not letting that ability go to waste as she jumps into the fray to find and save Irey and Jai. Speaking of…

Irey and Jai are on a world where the hero is “Night Flash” – sort of a good-guy amalgamation of Batman and Flash. While Night Flash seems to be a danger at first, it turns out the real danger is the main baddie of this Earth, Knives Maroney. In this world, both Barry and “Knives” gained super-speed in the same accident. But, Maroney is aging in reverse and appears to be a kid while Barry is aging normally.

Eventually Irey and Jai figure out who the real hero is. Jay Garrick enters the fight just in time, and all is well on this world, at least for now. Just one note: Knives Maroney has found one of the watches that Irey and Jai had planned to use to return to Earth 0 – this likely isn’t the last we’ve heard of this bad guy.

On the post-apocalyptic world where Max Mercury and Jesse Quick have landed, they run interference for that world’s Barry Allen as he takes the last bit of magic left in that world to the one place where it can make a difference. It’s a great battle sequence, and it becomes apparent that on any world where there is a Barry Allen, you’ll find in him a true hero.

Of course, that leads to the Silver-Age world where Barry has been. While Wallace is figuring out that something is very wrong here, Wally West is being beaten to a pulp by a misguided Barry. Pariah is making Wally look like Thawne to Barry – and nothing seems to be getting through to him. That is until –

Enter Linda Park-West to save the day! She lands a huge punch that seems to knock some sense into Barry. And from there, it’s a matter of getting the Flash Family back together to save the world.

Barry won’t be joining that group, however. He realizes that the Justice League is not dead – that they are on other worlds that Pariah has set up. Barry goes to save them – reminding us all that Wally is THE Flash now. So, Barry has been found, the Flash Family is back together, and it’s time to save the world! That’s it for this issue.

NOTES:

  • The way Wally finds out about Linda’s speed is hilarious and spot on. No long corn-ball speeches, just a quick…nah, I’ll let you see that for yourself. Well done!
  • Jeremy Adams continues to mix high quality battles with so much fun. There is a special joy in this series, and this old fan (of more than 50 years reading THE FLASH) is thrilled with every issue.
  • The artwork continue to impress, with this issue’s stellar team: Amancay Nahuelpan on pencils/inks, Jeromy Cox on colors, and Rob Leigh on letters.

SUMMARY:

Why am I smiling at the end of every issue? Because Jeremy Adams and the rest of this creative team have consistently knocked it out of the park. I’m enjoying reading THE FLASH as much as I have ever done in the 50+ years I’ve been reading these stories. This is a 10/10 – of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.