Let me get this out of the way…I loved this issue of THE FLASH! From the sheer number of Easter Eggs in the opening splash page to the discovery of [REDACTED] at the end, this was a great issue. Barry is wishing things could be as they were, but that’s hard after the events of Flash War. Still, Central City is the same, right? Right? Want to know more? Follow us after the jump!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Barry goes to the House of Heroes, a meeting place for the Flashes of all the worlds of the Multiverse. He wants to know if any of them had encountered these strange new forces in their worlds…and no, none of them have so far. He returns to Central City to find Trickster being attacked while getting ready to give information against Warden Wolfe. Barry saves Trickster, but loses him when distracted by Commander Cold.
Cold wants Barry to investigate the new forces (Sage Force, Strength Force, and Still Force), but Barry isn’t having it. He just wants to get things back to normal, whatever that may mean.
Of course, nothing is “normal” in Central City, and Iris West points that out to him. Barry has moved in with Iris, who is beginning to remember more of that “other” life before Flashpoint…including her wedding! She doesn’t tell Barry about that yet…instead she convinces him to work with Commander Cold, to stop pushing people away.
And, that’s just in time as Barry and Commander Cold discover the Strength Force…but not in a good way. The Strength Force has found a host…Axel!
NOTES:
- I just have to geek out at all the Flashes in the opening sequence. You’ll find the Tangent Flash, the Kingdom Come Flash, the New52 Jay Garrick Flash (he’s there…just very tiny), the Justice League Beyond Flash…and that just scratches the surface! Not sure what it means that the new forces only exist on the prime Earth…but hopefully we will learn more soon.
- As a fan of Barry and Iris for over 50 years, just knowing that Iris remembers the wedding was a HUGE bonus.
- Joshua Williamson’s script was excellent once again…I love his voice for Barry, and the idea of these new forces is definitely growing on me.
- WOW the artwork in this issue! Christian Duce gave us some amazing action with a bit of a Kirby-esque flair in some panels, and great expression where the emotion counted. Luis Guerrero’s colors just popped throughout. This art team was outstanding!
SUMMARY: This one gets a 10/10 for me, in part because of the outstanding script and art…and bonus points for all the multiversal Flashes early on. That’s just my opinion – what do YOU think? Leave your comments below!
…and let us know which Flashes you enjoyed seeing most in that opening sequence!