Jay Garrick: The Flash #5 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Diego Olortegui, Artist; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The father-daughter adventure is reaching its final act, and Jay and Judy Garrick have been terrorized by the mysterious Doctor Elemental—and are ready to take the fight back to him for the first time. While the last issue was the most story-driven and gave us an extensive flashback, this is probably the most intense and action-packed one—kicking off right at the start with an explosive beginning where the villain’s robotic henchwoman tries her best to kill the heroes and then self-destructs, barely allowing them to get away. With his other minions fast on their trail, the father and daughter head down south to South America to find an unexpected ally—Pieter Cross, the first Doctor Midnite. This is a nice surprise, as the character has been gone for a very long time and it seemed like his successor was taking over, but it seems like Cross is retired and working as a doctor again.
This gives us some very fun looks into the past of the JSA, with the two older heroes having a rich history including some secret missions and aliases. Jay has so often been cast simply as the no-nonsense mentor of the Flash family that it’s great to see him in a more informal role—getting to be a husband, a father, and a friend. But it’s not long before the villains find them in their new hideout, with Doctor Elemental seeking out Judy for the last piece of his experiment. With Ro-bear on the rampage, Jay and Midnite spring into action again—but the villain is one step ahead of them, setting up a tense final issue with Judy’s life hanging in the balance. This story has been doing a great job of both fleshing out characters we already know and giving Judy what she needs to be a DCU mainstay going forward. Hopefully this mini and his Flash run continue to feed into what Adams has planned next.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Ray Goldfield
Ray Goldfield is a comics superfan going back almost thirty years. When he's not reading way too many comics a week, he is working on his own writing. The first installment in his young adult fantasy-adventure, "Alex Actonn, Son of Two Seas", is available in Amazon now.
