The Flash #5 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Mike Deodato Jr, Artist; Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This is one of the strangest, most heavily sci-fi-influenced books on the stands, but I also don’t think it’s lost sight of what made the past runs work—the focus on the Flash family. Everyone is in a slightly darker place right now, but it does feel like the characters are progressing. Spurrier has taken the unusual approach of switching the focus every once in a while, and this issue it’s Jai West’s turn for the spotlight. Jai has always been a character writers struggled with. His powers are always a little out of whack, he usually plays second fiddle to his sister, and he was even depowered for years and basically kept out of focus. Now he has his powers, but they’re highly unpredictable and he’s struggling with his anger. Complicating things, Irey is occupied with her own affairs, Linda is dealing with depression, and Wally, of course, is caught up in a cosmic crisis.
The Flash family is in turmoil right now, so it’s no surprise that Jai feels out of focus. There’s a conflict between Wally and Bart over Max’s fate that could explode and threaten the entire family. And then, of course, there’s the ongoing threat from the Speed Force, which is beginning to pull in Jai as well. The arrival of a mysterious figure, possibly from the future, who has a particular interest in Jai, is intriguing, but this series has been doing a good job of keeping us invested in the Flash Family amid all the strangeness. There’s a reveal here about exactly what secret Jai has been trying to tell his father that’s something I can’t recall seeing in a long time in superhero comics, but this issue seems to ping-pong wildly between character-driven stories and a high-density sci-fi comic that continues to surprise. I’m wondering what the bigger picture here is, but I’m definitely intrigued enough to stick around.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
