Ray: This run has been an old-school throwback focusing on Wally West and his family, and after an overly complex first arc that reset the status quo, it’s been finding its footing with some decidedly un-world-shattering stories. Following up on last month’s father-daughter team-up, this issue pits Wally against a much bigger threat with a surprisingly light tone. A mysterious staff has landed in Keystone City, and no one can budge it—not even Superman, who flew in to offer an assist. Making things worse, he seems to have an attitude as soon as he arrives in town, and Mister Terrific suddenly seems to have no patience for his newest employee. Wally’s co-workers are turning on him and each other, and even Linda seems to want to pick fights over cabinets of all things. It all points to something supernatural bringing out everyone’s inner hatred—and it started just around the time the staff fell to earth.
It doesn’t take long before a whole host of villains ranging from A-list to Z-list come to town, all seemingly hearing some sort of call that they might be worthy—or unworthy—to lift the staff and gain its power. So Wally finds himself torn between trying to neutralize the staff, trying to keep all of Keystone from tearing each other apart, and stopping the villains. But ultimately, it’s a Z-list villain from old Justice League comics who proves himself the biggest threat, and potentially a portal to an even bigger threat. One threat might be neutralized, but an even bigger one has emerged. Adams manages to balance some pretty big plots with a likable everyman hero, bringing Wally back to the kind of stories he used to have in the Waid run. At times, this run feels like it’s mostly trying to please fans after such a dry streak, but other times it works on its own as a run that straddles the best of the old and the new.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
This post was last modified on October 18, 2021 2:41 pm
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