The latest installment of Justice League Beyond, Chapter 25, gives us the origin of the newest Flash, Dani Williams. This character has already shone in her previous appearances with the future Justice League, and now we finally get the full scoop on this very interesting addition to the Flash legacy.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
Hey Speed Readers,
As part of our Fifth Anniversary celebration, today we will be flashing back to 2009 to take a look at the state of the Flash action figure universe five (ish) years ago. Honestly 2008 only had one semi-decent Flash release so we will be skipping ahead slightly to a year or so before I came on board. DC Direct/DC Collectibles released five different versions (how apt) of The Flash back in 2009 beginning with Wally West from the Justice League of America series. Wally was released alongside Hal Jordan, Wonder Woman, and Geo-Force in January as part of the third series of releases and was the last original sculpt that we would see of Wally West released by DC Direct:
As Speed Force marks its fifth birthday, we decided to take a look back at where each of the Fastest Men Alive were in the fifth year of their original titles. Happy Fifth Anniversary, Speed Force!
Join us after the jump, as we journey back to 1944, 1963 and 1992 in search of Flash history, original artwork and more!
As part of our SpeedForce.org celebration, we’re taking a look back to the issue of The Flash that came out the same month that this site started. Back in 2008, we were right in the middle of the “Fast Money” story arc. Wally West has seen the people of Keystone City turn against him, pushed by the villain Spin, who has brought Grodd in to help him in the battle. As for the kids…Iris and Jai have been taken captive by people working for “Boss Dark Side”. That brings us to issue #241 of The Flash, with an August cover date but released June 18th, 2008. (NOTE: Thanks to John at Capitol Comics in Raleigh NC for helping me find a spare copy of this issue for the review when I could not find my own copy in my back issues).
FULL SPOILERS AHEAD!
Speed Force has set up on Instagram as @SpeedForceOrg. We’ll be posting *ahem* Flash photography by members of the blog team, starting with Ed’s photos from HeroesCon, and very soon we’ll be running…well, that would spoil the surprise. Keep an eye out!
As most fans are aware by now, James Robinson has announced in a series of Tweets that he is leaving Earth 2 and DC Comics. This marks the beginning of some uncertain times for Jay, Alan, Kendra, Khalid, Al and company. This has been a consistently excellent series, one near the top of my pull list for some time. The fact that it has done so well is testament to Robinson’s talent as a creator, and he will be sorely missed. There is certainly time for DC to try to make this right, as they previously have done wih Gail Simone on Batgirl…but just in case this is a good time to say a few words about James Robinson’s excellent run on Earth 2.
Earth 2 has been both a critical and sales success, with Robinson taking on one of the most difficult and controversial changes in the New 52 – the complete redesign of the Justice Society. Robinson took the Golden Age Heroes who for years had literally been the elder statespersons of the DC Universe and made them young again, placing them on a parallel Earth for the first time since before the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 1980s. In doing so, he revamped both the look and origin stories for characters long cherished by DC fans, with many fans (including myself) waiting for the results with skeptical eyes. What we got was something truly special, and something that has been one of the great success stories of DC’s lineup.
Jay Garrick in particular had caused some early concern. The initial drawings released to the public didn’t cast the new uniform in the best light, and while the first issue allayed that concern with a very interesting new look it also cast Jay as a bit of a slacker who couldn’t keep his life together. Yet, over the issues so far we have seen Jay grow as both a person and as a hero. Jay Garrick didn’t ask for his powers, but he didn’t shirk the responsibility that came with them. And, he is still growing and becoming both a true hero and a leader. Jay as the everyman hero has become a great character in this series.
Even the change that generated the most news in the mainstream media, revamping Alan Scott as gay, was handled expertly by Robinson. We find an Alan Scott who is noble, brave, truly heroic, and a strong leader who happens to be gay. It is one part of who he is, not merely a stunt to generate controversy or sales. In remaking these characters, Robinson has taken the best of their Golden Age and Silver Age qualities and reshaped them to fit the sensibilities and realities of today.
I could go on and on about the characters created for this series, from the great Hawkgirl to the wonderful new Doctor Fate, to the new Al Pratt and the new Mr. Terrific (who doesn’t seem so interested in “fair play” at the moment, if you are following the storyline). This is a series that I didn’t want to like, didn’t want to believe in…yet James Robinson won me (and a lot of other fans) over with his excellent storylines and characterization. He has proven that writing matters, that good writing can make most any character compelling, and that a good story is always worth reading.
I’m still holding out hope that something can be resolved a la Gail Simone and her return to Batgirl. If not, DC will have the very difficult task of finding someone who can effectively continue James Robinson’s excellent vision for this team and this series. Jay Garrick and company have lost an excellent friend…and so has the DC Universe. Wherever you go, Mr. Robinson, we will anxiously await your next work. Thanks for a great ride with Earth 2!