Jay Garrick: The Flash #4 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Diego Olortegui, Artist; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Thus far, this series has been a surprisingly intimate story of Jay Garrick and his family, as everyone adjusts to Judy being back among the living. But this issue doesn’t focus on them, except in flashbacks—because it’s Doctor Elemental’s time to shine. The mystery masked villain who was Jay’s arch-nemesis until he was forgotten by the time effect when Judy disappeared, he’s been lurking around the background, and Jay is seeking information about him. He finds it in the form of a journal—and that journal shows just how deeply enmeshed his alter ego Professor Hughes has been in Jay’s life from the beginning. Not only did he orchestrate the experiment that gave Jay his powers, but he carefully selected him and used him as a guinea pig for years, determined to prove he could create a customized superman and take humanity to the next level—and then control him.
However, the successful experiment with Jay wasn’t seen as a victory by the madman—he was then unable to duplicate the experiment on himself, leaving his goal just out of reach. That led him into alliances with other villains—including references to two members of Jay’s rogues gallery, The Rival and Parsifal—as he became a silent fixture in Jay’s life for decades. But when Judy came along, he had another target to experiment on. This series is usually so wholesome, so it’s interesting to see the focus shift dramatically to placing us in the mind of a madman. The entire concept of this book is rather tricky to pull off, because many of the main characters are essentially blank slates, but I think Adams has pulled off the impossible again. He’s created a compelling and intimidating adversary who we now know surprisingly well, making him a perfect foe for Jay and Judy’s coming showdown with destiny.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
