The Flash #757 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Rafa Sandoval, Penciller; Jordi Tarragona, Inker; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s the calm—sort of—before the storm as Josh Williamson launches his final Flash storyarc. Last issue we saw Reverse Flash assemble his army of evil including Captain Cold, Golden Glider, Trickster, Turtle, and Gorilla Grodd. But Barry, who has searched the world for Thawne and come up empty, has other priorities. A case that bears resemblance to his own traumatic childhood has been adjudicated—just in time for Barry to realize that the evidence may not have been properly examined due to his absence during Wally’s return. This quickly becomes a new obsession for him, as he’s determined to keep an innocent man from paying the price. But it’s a rare moment of rest and relaxation with Iris and his young proteges that provides the series’ best emotional moments, as we see Williamson’s writing as its most subtle and most enjoyable. More of Avery and Wallace, please.
But those quiet moments don’t last, as soon Thawne makes his move. Or rather, his minions do, as they make one attack after another on places relevant to his life. The Flash museum, his childhood home, the CCPD headquarters, and STAR Labs all come under assault one by one, and the villains seem carefully chosen to cause the most damage. Thawne is almost entirely off-panel this issue, with the exception of a flashback that will be immediately familiar to old-school Flash fans. If Thawne is meant to be the ultimate enemy here, Williamson is doing a great job of letting the tension build before the final showdown. There are still a lot of hanging plotlines here that I’m hoping Williamson will come back to before the end, but it seems pretty clear that this will be one of the defining Flash runs. I can only hope whatever property Williamson moves on to next lets him go as in-depth as this one did.
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