The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 – Kenny Porter, Writer; Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Artist; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Kenny Porter is one of the fastest-rising writers at DC right now, with DC Mech being a hit and an upcoming Superboy title. But if there’s any title loaded with baggage, it’s this movie tie-in. The movie has been massively delayed, stars an actor who has been involved in five hundred criminal scandals, and is part of a shared universe that has largely fallen apart. Despite that, though, you strip away all the chaos and you get a Kenny Porter comic that’s fairly fun and works as an evergreen Flash story. Set in its own universe, it focuses on a young Barry as he battles against Girder—and loses handily, because he really doesn’t know how to fight. After Girder—whose father is in the hospital—is given a second chance by his mobster boss to kill the Flash, Barry realizes that he needs a new edge. So he seeks out help in becoming a better fighter from the Batman himself.
The DC cinematic universe is in such flux that it’s hard to even tell who this Batman is at first, given that there are references to him being previously retired, but it does seem like it’s Batfleck under the mask—that makes this feel like a bit of a throwback. But despite all the movieverse baggage, the bond between the older crimefighter and Barry feels very true to the characters, although this wisecracking young Barry often feels more like Wally than he does the original character. That’s part of a larger trend that’s really blurred the line between the characters. The comic does a good job of showing the potential of Barry’s powers, and humanizes the villain nicely with an excellent post-script. It also feels like a very complete one-issue story, which makes me wonder what the plan is for the next two issues. I’m not sure if we’ll ever see this movie as planned, but this is a solid prequel.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
