The Flash #798 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Fernando Pasarin/Oclair Albert, Will Robson, Artists; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As we count down to the end of Jeremy Adams’ run, things pick up speed—pun intended. The One-Minute War is over, several cast members have departed the book, and the story jumps forward several months to when Linda has just given birth to their son Wade. Her powers go with the baby, alas, but the family is spending a happy moment together—until things go terribly wrong. As soon as Wally leaves to drop off Iris and Jai, a disguised Granny Goodness steals the baby and blows up the hospital, nearly killing Linda. Once Wally gets word of this, his current experiment with Mr. Terrific goes on the back burner and a massive space rescue mission kicks off. The odd thing is that one participant in this rescue is a character who is taking a distinctly more antagonistic role in another book that’s about to finish—makes me wonder if some reveals are coming in the delayed last issue there.
But it’s the other participant in this time adventure that makes the bigger splash—Gold Beetle, an Adams creation and offbeat hero from the future who has been revealed to be a future love interest of Jai West. She has a lot of fun, chaotic energy that reminds me a little of Gwenpool from the competition but with less moral ambiguity. This issue has a slight tone problem at times, in that the emotional threat of this issue is so high that it makes some of the jokey content a little out of place. A kidnapped baby isn’t a laughing matter, obviously, but it feels almost preordained that Wade will be fine, so it’s easier to put that element out of mind. Adams’ run is wrapping up soon, and this issue is another great example of why his run was so well-liked. He manages to capture the Silver Age fun that defines the Flash while also making its characters feel very real and human, and he’s made the Flash feel like a family book again.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
