The Flash #4 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Mike Deodato Jr, Artist; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This continues to be the strangest book at DC right now, taking a concept that was previously light, breezy, and above all FAST and turning it into a melancholy musing on what it takes to be a superhero and a family man and combining it with hard-sci-fi concepts. It’s also turning into a pretty good book, or at least a fascinating one. We last saw Wally escape the Speed Force—but be unable to get Max Mercury out in time, leaving the senior speedster trapped in unknown realms. We flash forward a bit to find Wally isolating himself, which leads him to a strange garden of statues where a mysterious being contacts him, taking him through the recesses of his mind. Did I mention the statues seem to be constantly changing? It’s a creepy concept, but one that doesn’t turn out to be nearly as sinister as I expected, and it leads to a pretty interesting convergence with the other story.
Because the real star of this issue is Irey West, who strikes out on her own to solve a mystery and winds up encountering Jesse Quick. The two have a fun sisterly rapport here, constantly snarking at each other, and Irey is really turning into an intriguing lead in her own right (although the reveal that she and Jai are now 13+ makes me think the current DC generation is growing up a bit too fast). The two of them are on the trail of a woman who received the speed powers from the unfortunate guy who died in the first issue—but she’s not taking to them well. This leads to the reveal of a major Flash villain, who has given himself an upgrade and may be more dangerous than ever. I did like that Spurrier is pulling this back to the Flash family—this is the first issue where the cosmic stuff didn’t feel like it was taking over the book, even if the overall tone is still an odd fit for the property.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
