The Mayor of Central City (formerly Warden of Iron Heights) is a crook. Our favorite group of crooks, the Rogues, have been turned into deputized law enforcement agents. And enemy number one is…The Flash? Yes! It’s a wild issue with a lot of fun mixed in – wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
We pick up right where we left off last issue, with Pied Piper helping Wally as the Rogues look on. Wally takes Hartley back home to meet the rest of the family – and it’s a great reunion. Hartley had been offered a job like the other Rogues, but the benefits were better at…Terrific Tech! Yes, Wally and Hartley now work at the same place, where they can get free lunch!
Mayor Wolfe has really clamped down on Central City, declaring martial law and imposing a sundown curfew. We’ll find out why he’s so intense by the end of the issue, but for now Wally takes Linda’s advice and confronts Wolfe at his office. It starts with some excellent Wally West lines, but it ends up with another battle with the Rogues…and with a powered up Gregory Wolfe!
It turns out that Wolfe has been turned into an avatar of the Lords of Order. They found a “splintered mind” and gave him the power to create the kind of order they wanted to impose on the world. Wally does win the day…using his mind instead of his fists.
In the end, the Mayor is still connected to the Lords of Order but appears back to his (somewhat splintered) senses. Even so, the Rogues are given the chance to continue their “work release good guy” adventures, and that’s where we leave things for now. Next up – the “One Minute War” starting next issue.
NOTES:
- There are some fantastic Wally West lines throughout this issue. Jeremy Adams has Wally’s voice nailed. There were even some moments that made me thing of the “Justice League Unlimited” animated version of Wally – and that’s all good.
- I’m all in whenever the Rogues are together – and this time they were much harder to defeat, which is also a good thing. The Rogues have in the past been too easy to beat, but here they managed to be more formidable opponents.
- My only wish for this storyline is that it had gone for a few more issues. This seemed to wrap up quickly – and I get it, “One Minute War” is coming and I cannot wait to see that. I’m just hoping we come back to the Rogues and Mayor Wolfe sometime soon.
- Can’t leave without saying something about the AMAZING artwork. The art team did an outstanding job throughout – kudos to Fernando Pasarin (pencils), Matt Ryan (inks), Matt Herms (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters).
- And on that note – the panel near the end where the Rogues laugh (check it out) had me flashing back (no pun intended) to some of my favorite Silver Age FLASH stories. That’s part of the appeal of this creative teams’ take on THE FLASH. The best parts of every era, with a modern twist. I’m enjoying this SO much!
SUMMARY:
There has not been a bad issue in Jeremy Adam’s time on THE FLASH. I’ll give this a 9/10 – but of course that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!