DC’s Justice League Group solicitations are out for September and the Zero issues, including…
THE FLASH #0
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
1:25 B&W cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale SEPTEMBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Update: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format. (from Newsarama)
- At last, it’s the origin of The Flash!
- The loss of his mother put Barry Allen on the road to becoming a hero, but only when he gains his powers will he understand her most important lesson.
As noted last week, this is not the final cover, but a piece of promotional art.
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m disappointed that the tragic backstory Geoff Johns grafted onto the character is still in place. I know getting rid of it would mess up the theme of Flashpoint, but if you look at the New 52 as its own entity (which is what they’re doing everywhere else), it would have been the perfect time to clean up the “Can’t be a real hero unless he knows tragedy” cliche.
(I’ve become more and more certain over time that Hunter Zolomon was thematically an author stand-in in the same way that Superboy Prime is a stand-in for fans that Geoff Johns disagrees with.)
So, basically they’re going to show us how he got his powers, when technically they tell us every issue in a small yellow box.
*sigh* I’m not sure about buying this, but the raging “fanboy” in me says yes.
In fairness, when was the last time we actually saw a fleshed-out origin tale for Barry? The Bronze Age, maybe? Personally, I think it is long over-due.
1997, The Life Story of the Flash by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn.
D’oh! That’s right. Still…that was 15 years ago. That’s pre-history considering how many times Superman’s origin gets retold! lol!
Classic storytelling advice: Show, don’t tell.
“(I’ve become more and more certain over time that Hunter Zolomon was thematically an author stand-in in the same way that Superboy Prime is a stand-in for fans that Geoff Johns disagrees with.)”
I’m sorry, did you mean Eobard Thawne? Because I was trying to figure out how Hunter Zolomon was a authorial avatar for Barry. For Wally, I can see it (“you must be stronger to be a better hero”) though, totally.
No, I meant Hunter Zolomon. His whole thing with Wally was that he needed to experience tragedy in order to be a better hero.
At the time, it seemed like the point of Blitz was that he was wrong, but a lot of what Geoff Johns has written since suggests that he agrees with the idea.
That really is a very interesting idea. It seems to ring true in a lot of ways.
I miss Zoom. I liked that his powers were different than but similar to Wally’s.
One thing is for darned sure…
This cover is a whole lot better than the one for Catwoman: The Bouncing Impossible Pose.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5gp43AJj61qgxb99o1_500.gif
May Flash always be classy.
Placing bets that the color artwork is going to be used for the #0 issue, but instead of the greyed out cover it’s going to be a specialized text treatment “#0” that the characters are popping out of.
P.S. Hoping this is the backdoor way of having Zero Hour 2 and we revert back to not having Earth 2 flash having a Star Wars helmet on his head.
Their need to preserve the tragedy is disappointing, but I’m holding out hope that Manapul and Buccellato can rescue The Flash’s origin so that it contains tragedy but isn’t about tragedy.
Superman, for example, definitely has an element of tragedy, but I think very few would characterize it as a tragedy in the way Batman or Spider-Man’s origins are.
Hopefully, they rework the story so that, at a minimum, it makes sense. The “wrongful conviction = I must become CSI” doesn’t work as written. Either Barry believes in the system and evidence- in which case he’d think his dad was guilty and want to become something like a psychologist to understand why his dad turned… or he’d believe the the system was defective and convicted his father on too little evidence in which case he’d want to be a lawyer to make sure the burden of conviction was met… or he’d think the evidence was defective on faith and his endeavor as a CSI is essentially an attempt to impose his faith upon impartial scientific evidence (which would make him a lousy witness for any prosecutor trying to get Barry’s work to stick against a suspect).
Time to get more complicated and/or confusing
Actually, I believe that (hopefully) the zero issues will clear up some questions that readers have been asking about the DCnU.
Tragedy (apparently) makes a character more relevant and relatable, at least according to DC.
Myself, I quite like the notion that a person acquires great power and then decides, of their own accord, to use that power to help others and in service to society as a whole.
Oh, you mean like Mr. Terrific? (I mean the original I’m-better-than-you-and-I’m-bored, not the new I’m-better-than-you-and-my-family-is-dead.) Nah, these days, no one would believe that someone does the right thing if they have any alternative.
It’s not only DC, Marvel does it too.
I’d considered reading Spiderman, but had the impression from somewhere that they’d royally run over his background and marriage too so it…
I just had an epiphany as to why the movies tend to do so well in comparison to the books. (jk)
Well, his background is pretty much the same from what I know. If you like Peter’s marriage, don’t read One More Day.
“I’ve become more and more certain over time that Hunter Zolomon was thematically an author stand-in in the same way that Superboy Prime is a stand-in for fans that Geoff Johns disagrees with.”
I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a shame, because a) such behavior is actually insulting to the fans, and b) Hunter Zolomon was a great character.
At least they got rid of that stupid Barry-creates-the-Speed-Force retcon, though.
Did they get rid of that?
I’m asking because I’ve only had previews to go by and it’s getting harder to find those. Haven’t actually worked up enough interest to check out the Wikipedia yet. Probably will after a year’s gone by.
Yep, Barry didn’t create the Speed Force…He is the SOLUTION!
*headslap* I wasn’t aware the SF had a PROBLEM. Maybe it just needs counseling?
No, no not like that. The Speed Force is constantly in motion but unfortunately it had no outlet, so the excess energy creates wormholes that weaken the fabric of time. (One of the wormholes is apparently responsible for the Mayans disappearing.) When Barry became the Flash, he became connected to the Speed Force and could serve as an “outlet” to use up the excess energy created by the Speed Force. In short, Barry runs, no wormwholes.
BTW, I’m seriously mulling over getting the New Teen Titans Omnibus vol 1. It’s about as expensive a book purchase as I get though so…I know the stories are considered classic and that Wally wasn’t used to as great effect, but he *was* in there….but does is the binding make the center unreadable? Does anyone have a copy of this and can let me know?
FINALLY! Can’t wait to read this!!
Amd I’ve been thinking about the whole “tragedy” as motivation thing too, it seems to be a staple with superheroes, even Wally had that with Barry Allen’s “death” in a way. But I digress, a LOT of people I’ve found have went into police work because of something that happened to them or affected them personally.
Long as Flash isn’t brooding (and he hasn’t been thus far) and this is well written I don’t mind though. Hoping for a good read and some answers as to WHY he wears the red suit and created it in the first place. That has NEVER been done before, even in “Life Story”. (back then all we heard was that Jay was the inspiration, that was it, and I always kinda wanted to see a more thurough explanation like with Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man)
Has the Flash ever been brooding? I know Batman does it nearly 25/7, but I don’t recall Barry moping about something.
You have a good point about the suit. It would be interesting to see why he wears it.
No, he’s never been and I hope he never is lol. I’d just like to see the transition from Barry to Flash, I’m anxious to see how they make that work. Partly because whatever is done here will more than likely be the groundwork for the film, so I hope it’s good.
Let’s have some faith, Manapul and Buccellato haven’t disappointed us yet. Well me yet, I can only assume that you like the current Flash title.
Yeah, Manapul and Buccellato have been fantastic, I love the current series. Nest of the New 52, IMO.
** best
Although, I do hope that Barry and Iris get to together again at some point in the future.
Flash: Rebirth and The Road to Flashpoint come to mind…
Yeah, but I’d like to think that was just done for the purpose of the storyarc and not how Johns views The Flash. He doesn’t act like that in Blackest Night or JLA which were both written by Johns.
His origin! Finally!….again!
I don’t expect much changes from the way it had been mentioned recently, be it in his pre-Flashpoint series, Reborn mini, etc.