As Villains Month begins, we see a newly returned Gorilla Grodd…and he is not only out of the Speed Force, but he’s learned a thing or two during his stay. Grodd is more dangerous than ever – and with no Flash to stop him what is he capable of doing? Central City is about to find out in The Flash #23.1 (aka Grodd #1).
LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD
Speed Force held a contest to celebrate our fifth anniversary in June, and though it took a while to finish (sorry about that), things are finally back on track. We are pleased to announce the winners, and to share everyone’s stories!
The question posed to readers was simply why do you like the Flash?, and thirteen people responded with some wonderful entries. There were beautiful stories, photographs, and fan art which were a delight to see. We will reprint them all here for everyone to enjoy, broken up into several posts for ease of reading.
It’s villains month at DC Comics, and the first of three Flash villain one-shots arrives this week.
Also, Forever Evil #1 won’t have the Flash in it, but it will have the Earth-3 speedster Johnny Quick.
Flash #23.1: Grodd #1. Grodd returns in the Flash’s absence, changed by his time in the speed force. Nerdist has a preview of the issue by Brian Buccellato and Chris Batista.
In digital back-issues:
Impulse #77: An “Our Worlds at War” tie-in. Impulse and Young Justice take the war to Apokalips, but when one of Bart’s “speed duplicates” is killed, the psychic feedback takes him out of commission.
(Note that Bart only gained this power a few issues earlier. I seem to recall reading an interview with Todd Dezago saying that the new power was editorially mandated, and he and the artists didn’t want to clutter up the concept, so they gave Bart a reason to stop using it as soon as they could.)
As we left the Titans last issue, Kid Flash was being pulled into a portal against his will. Can Bart be saved or must he face a past that he doesn’t even recall? And, now that the big battle against Trigon is out of the way for now, can the Titans heal the strained relationships in their own ranks? That’s where we pick up in issue #23 of Teen Titans.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
Trinity War comes to a high point in this issue of Justice League…but to say that the war “ends” is a bit inaccurate as this leads directly into the upcoming Forever Evil storyline (and all those Villains Month issues coming up). By now, there have been enough interviews with huge spoilers that most fans know how this ends, and who shows up at the end…but in this case it’s “all about the journey”, so let’s pick back up in the midst of that huge battle over Pandora’s Box.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
DC Comics has released two pages of art from the upcoming Reverse-Flash one-shot that will reveal the new villain’s origin.
So now you know the “who” of Reverse-Flash’s identity, but you don’t yet know the “why.” That’s what you’ll find out in his Villains Month one-shot.
In THE FLASH #23.2: REVERSE-FLASH, learn the tragic backstory behind how Daniel West turned into the villain he is today. You’ll also learn a lot about his sister, Iris, and how their relationship has impacted Daniel. The issue will also set up how THE FLASH #25 will be a tie-in for BATMAN: ZERO YEAR by giving readers a first look at how and why Iris ends up in Gotham City.
The issue is written by [correction] Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato with art by guest artist Scott Hepburn, who shares a studio with Francis Manapul.
DC goes on to say a bit more about the issue. Beware spoilers if you haven’t read this week’s issue.