The Flash #791 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Roger Cruz, Penciller; Wellington Dias, Inker; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The first issue of the One-Minute War wasted no time establishing the stakes—with an army of super-fast aliens descending on Earth and laying waste to cities. Earth would have been defenseless against The Fraction—except for a small group of heroes could match their speed. But not everyone was so lucky, as the issue saw Iris West-Allen seemingly dead in the initial attack. While this adds to the emotional stakes of the issue, it also sort of makes it feel like things are guaranteed to get reset to some degree at the end of this. But when this issue picks up, just about everyone is in turmoil. Even Jai West is frozen by the effect, as his speed force connection doesn’t manifest as speed. While the Wests and Allens gather in one corner, Bart, Wallace, and Jay Garrick start to mount a resistance—only to find themselves hopelessly outgunned until Jesse Quick joins the fight.
This story seems to be bringing the entire Flash family together, including reunions we weren’t expecting like Max Mercury and Bart Allen finally meeting again for the first time in well over a decade. It feels like a celebration of the Flash family after so long of DC seeming to want to pare down legacies and families. But while there are some surprisingly wholesome and emotional moments here, it never lets us forget that the stakes are sky-high. The Fraction only appears in a few pages this issue, but we learn a little more about their motivations. They serve a mysterious empress, and while their mission on Earth seems to be one of conquest and harvesting, the priorities change once they discover the speedsters—who they refer to as “Conduits.” The introduction of a new villain in the final page is sort of spoiled by the cover, a common issue, but this story is doing a great job with its unique concept of a war taking place in super-speed.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
