We are in a summer of horror for the DCU, as our heroes are facing their worst nightmares. Even Barry Allen cannot escape falling into a frightening world that completely distorts any sense of reality, What horrors await The Flash as he explores this strange world? Is there a way to wake up from this nightmare? What about Wally? Wanna know more? Follow us after the jump!
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
None of what you read in this story will make sense from a continuity perspective. KNIGHT TERRORS takes the continuity of the DCU and tells it to get bent, so don’t expect anything you are used to seeing. We get little hints that Barry realizes (or is starting to realize) that this isn’t real…but he isn’t fully onto this twisted reality just yet. Linda doesn’t exist in this dream world, and Wally is still Kid Flash – but Wally is in terrible shape after a battle with Gorilla Grodd.
As Barry investigates, reality gets worse by the moment. The prisoners at Iron Heights are reacting to their nightmare state with almost unthinkable actions. Hal Jordan is…well, let’s just say he’s had better days. And all along, there is something wrong with the Speed Force that stays just out of perception…some “monster” in the Speed Force.
Nothing is quite right. Barry’s actions are at times very un-Barry-like. His Rogues Gallery has gone off the deep end. People Barry remembers are not around anymore…if they ever were in this strange, nightmarish world. And, things don’t get much better, if at all in this issue. This is an “event” after all, and the resolution is still somewhere ahead of us in the coming weeks.
NOTES:
- I know that DC is trying to one-up their last “event”, which of course was meant to one-up the previous “event,”, which…you get it. I’m not completely on board with the concept of this event – but given the framework of the event, this story made things work as well as could be hoped for.
- Alex Paknadel wrote the script for this issue – and did well with the freedom a writer gets when you are allowed to completely upend a character’s reality. This is almost better than a “What If” – you are technically still within the “actual” DCU, but are not bound by any continuity. The story is meant to be somewhat jarring – and it works here.
- The art team did a great job with setting the tone, with the right amount of shading and colors to add too the eerie feeling of the story. Daniel Bayless did the pencils and inks for this issue, with Igor Monti taking on the colors and Simon Bowland tackling the lettering.
SUMMARY:
While I’m not yet fully on board with KNIGHT TERRORS as an event, I did like this particular story. Whether it has an effect down the road on continuity or not (after all Wally will return in September to some pretty horrific things), this was well-done in taking the history of THE FLASH has twisting it into a nightmarish landscape. I’ll give is an 8/10 – of course, that’s just my opinion. What do YOU think? Leave your comments below!