Quick Review: Flash: Rebirth #3 First Impressions

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Flash: Rebirth #3

Full review coming later, but here are my initial thoughts on Flash: Rebirth #3.

It was fast — very fast. If Geoff Johns wanted to write a Flash book about speed, he’s succeeded. The Superman/Flash race worked well and grew organically out of the story. I liked Barry’s reactions to Wally, Jay and Bart. Not to mention seeing certain other speedsters again.

But the reveal of the villain? Too predictable. Too easy. It was the safe choice, like “killing” characters who are already dead. Too much “Let’s move the Flash franchise forward into the 1970s!” It reminded me of those Star Wars novels in the 1990s where every time you turned around they introduced yet another super-weapon, because what’s Star Wars without a Death Star? Or a Sun Crusher? Or a Galaxy Gun?

I’ve been willing to give Geoff Johns the benefit of the doubt up until now, based on his run on Wally’s series and buoyed by the excitement of getting a top-tier creative team on the book. Rather than convincing me of why Barry needs to be back, it’s making me wonder why I should care.

We’re at the halfway mark. I should be more enthusiastic than when I started, but instead I’m less. Here’s hoping it reads better on a second pass, and that it picks up over the back half of the story.

UPDATE: Full review is up.

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Archive: 5 Possible Candidates for The Flash: Rebirth Mystery Villain

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Originally published as a guest post on The Weekly Crisis, on June 9, 2009. Imported here after that site shut down.

The biggest question in Flash: Rebirth so far — after “What’s up with Barry’ Allens parents?” and “How the heck did Barry come back, anyway?” — is “Who is the mystery villain?”

The very first scene in issue one is a break-in at a Central City crime lab: an unseen assailant kills the CSIs and re-creates the lightning-and-chemical accident that transformed Barry Allen into the Flash. In his internal monologue, he “speaks” as if he knows Barry Allen and even claims to have brought Barry back from the dead — and that it was the worst thing he could have done to him. It’s not likely that Geoff Johns is introducing an entirely new character. So, who might he be?

What we know for sure: He’s a man, has white hair, and carries a staff tipped with a lightning-bolt-shaped blade at each end. In short, not much. Also worth noting, Barry has picked up a new, traumatic backstory, which Geoff Johns has hinted is part of a crime committed against the Flash — in short, deliberate manipulation of history. One page of the preview for issue #3 also suggests a time traveler may be involved.

There’s been a lot of discussion on various message boards and around the web about the possible candidates and I’m sure everyone’s been wondering just who the mystery villain is. As such, I’ve put together my own list of candidates and reasons why each makes sense. Hit the jump to find out who made my short list of suspects!

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How Long is Flash: Rebirth, Anyway?

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Ever since Flash: Rebirth was announced last summer, there’s been confusion as to how long he miniseries was going to be. Some sources said six issues, others said five. Finally DC solicited the first issue as #1 of 5, and it seemed settled…

…until DC announced it was being extended to six issues.

Ethan Van Sciver explains what happened after a fan asks what changed to make the story longer:

It’s not that simple. DC offered us 5 issues, but we were always planning for 6. Geoff had it mapped out for 6. DC basically told us to knock their socks off and for me to meet my deadlines, and they’d give us the 6th issue. So we did, and they did!

But even if we hadn’t, we’d have picketed for that 6th issue. We needed the space, were expecting it, and it really should be the same length as GL: REBIRTH.

That explains a lot — not only the extension, but the confusion early on as to whether it was going to be 5 or 6 to begin with.

(via SpeedsterSite)

Wally’s New Costume Unveiling Announced

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Yesterday, Ethan Van Sciver answered a question at Comic Bloc about when we’d finally see Wally West’s new costume — the one that should make it easier to tell the difference between Wally West and Barry Allen at a glance. The new costume will debut in Flash: Rebirth #6.

Yeah, in the grand scheme of things it’s a trivial matter, but Wally’s fans do care about the issue. It’ll be nice not to feel like our favorite Flash is getting thrown under the metaphorical bus to make way for the “real” Flash.

Update November 18: Wally’s costume has in fact been revealed in Flash: Rebirth #5. If you want to see it, head over to get spoiled!.

This Week (June 10): Rebirth, Human Race, and More!

It’s a big Flash week, with the third issue of the now-six-part Flash: Rebirth, a new trade paperback collecting the second half of the Grant Morrison/Mark Millar run from the late 1990s, the Final Crisis hardcover, and various team books.

The Flash: Rebirth #3

Flash Rebirth #3 CoversWritten by Geoff Johns
Art and covers by Ethan Van Sciver

At last, the answer to the question that’s plagued DC fans for decades: Who’s faster, Superman or The Flash? Call your bookie and bet the farm, because you’ve never seen a run like this — and if speedsters keep dying at the pace they’re going, you might never see another one again!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Ethan Van Sciver). 5-page preview.

3 of 5 6 · 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Notes: I’ve mentioned before that the question of who’s faster has been answered many times over. It’s always close, and if there’s a winner, it’s always the Flash.

Flash: The Human Race TP

Flash: The Human RaceWritten by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Art by Mike Parobeck, Paul Ryan, Pop Mhan, Steve Lightle and others
Cover by Steve Lightle

Grant Morrison and Mark Millar’s run with the Fastest Man Alive continues here! Collects The Flash #136-141 as well as a story from Secret Origins #50.

160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

Note: The story from Secret Origins #50 is almost certainly Grant Morrison’s retelling of “Flash of Two Worlds.” Pre-order from Amazon or read about it here.

Team books and more after the cut: Continue reading →

Speed Reading: Lightning Blades, Bronze Age, Variant Covers and More

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RikDad identifies a precedent for those lightning-bolt blades seen in Flash: Rebirth…way back in the Golden Age.

Comic Bronze Age tries to identify…What IS the Bronze Age of Comics? Considering that many fans today are of the opinion that the Silver Age lasted through 1985, it’s a good question.

The podcast Views From the Longbox has their second installment of Views from the Speed Force, focusing on Flash: Rebirth #2.

Flash Rebirth #3 CoversNewsarama asks retailers, do variant covers sell more books? Personally, when a comic has alternate covers that are distributed equally (like they’ve done with the Final Crisis books) I’ll just pick the one I like better. When the variant is rare, like the 1-in-25 alternate covers they’re doing for Flash: Rebirth, I usually won’t bother. Though I am going to try to pick up the alternate cover for #3, which is 100% more interesting than the standard cover.

Speaking of variant covers, it looks like I forgot to link to the site updates I did last weekend: I updated the collections of variant covers and cover homages to include current and upcoming Flash: Rebirth covers. Still need to work through an email backlog of homages, though.

Crimson Lightning is back from a three-week hiatus with new posts.

Mania’s Top 20 writers of all time includes long-term Flash writers Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and Gardner Fox.

Fastest FirefoxSpeaking of foxes, and still somewhat relevant to this blog’s topic, Firefox is holding a video contest called “Show Us Your Speed“ to promote the upcoming Firefox 3.5 release. Submit a 30-second video of your fastest talent to www.fastestfirefox.com.