The Flash #27 – Mark Waid/Christopher Cantwell, Writers; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The Flash family is right in the middle of DC Ko, even if they’re not participating in the tournament – and at the center of it all is the family’s most volatile member, Bart Allen. The teen hero known as Impulse has always been known for his rash decisions – some might say impulsive, hoo hoo. And that’s led him into the timestream, as he made the choice to try to stop Darkseid from ever rising by altering history. This, naturally, backfires – as often happens when the Flash family messes with time – and now Bart is stuck in the Wild West along with his mentor, Max Mercury. But this isn’t the Max he knows – it’s a young Max, desperate to master the speed force and getting lessons from the Legion. Of course, this is Darkseid’s Legion, and they have some unique ideas about how to harness the power. Namely, to kill the young speedster who keeps calling him Uncle Max.
Wally, meanwhile, has embarked on his own journey across time to try to retrieve Bart before it’s too late. And as he arrives, Bart is under attack by the Legion – including his own cousin, Jenni Ognats. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen XS in any comics, but this twisted, violent girl is a shadow of her former self. The main showpiece action scene of this issue takes place on a western train, as the Legion tries to burn it to the ground to kill Bart, and Wally desperately tries to create time divergences that could alter the future. Bart and Wally’s relationship plays a key role here, as the Flash hasn’t always been the most understanding of Impulse’s eccentricities, but he finally starts trying to see things from Bart’s perspective this issue – and that makes all the difference. The tone of this issue takes a little from Spurrier and a little from Adams, but it’s no surprise that Waid does a great job with the Flash family – after all, he helped to create it.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
