The Flash #794 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Roger Cruz/Wellington Dias, Artists; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Since the start of this phenomenal small-scale event, Jeremy Adams has done an amazing job of raising the stakes with each issue while managing to make us ignore the fact that it’s basically obvious that all this will be undone somehow. The death of Iris West in the opening chapter was already a pretty good indication, but last issue’s seeming death of Wally west in a phasing mishap made it even clearer. Now, the Flashes have been defeated, most of them are captured, and Jay Garrick is being taken for torture and interrogation. Only one major Flash remains free—the youngest, Irey West, who now finds herself alone with the frozen heroes including her brother, as the assassin Miss Murder prowls the lair. One of the most impressive things about this run is the way Adams has taken Irey, a character who was NOT popular before this run, and made her so much fun to read.
This story also does something that very few comics do in the middle of an event, and actually lets us see the characters grieve. Barry hitting the despair event horizon early in the run essentially neutralized him for much of the event, leaving Wally and Jay to pick up the slack. Now Wally’s gone, and a pregnant Linda has to stay strong for her daughter in some very dramatic scenes. But somehow, this second loss pushes Barry out of his stupor and kicks off the solution to the whole attack. The younger Flashes dominate this issue, but it’s really Jay who steals the show in a great interrogation scene that features one of the best—and grossest—uses of speed powers I’ve seen in an escape attempt. The stakes are high—so high that I’m wondering what this event’s legacy will be when it’s over. But there is no question that while it’s going on, this is the most entertaining DC mini-event in a while.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
