The Flash #31 – Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell, Writers; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Mark Waid has an extremely long history on the Flash, particularly on the character of Wally West – being the one to firmly establish him as the Flash after Barry Allen’s death. This short run feels like it’s bringing all of them full circle, taking the whole Flash family full circle on one last epic time-travel adventure during DC KO. It’s fitting that it all centers on Impulse, the young Speedster who Waid co-created decades ago – and whose chaotic nature often causes more trouble than it solves. Bart nearly died after being disconnected from the Speed Force, but regained his abilities and a new deeper connection. The problem is, that allowed him to travel in time – and make an attempt to save his grandfather, Barry Allen, from dying in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Many characters in this issue are taken from different times and places, and only Wally understands the bigger picture that has to be allowed to happen.
As Bart zooms through time and gets pulled into a fight with Barry – who has no idea who this strange kid is and is in the middle of sacrificing himself – Wally is facing off against Darkseid and the Legion, who are invested in seeing the Speed Force die as an unintended consequence of Bart’s actions. And Max Mercury, who has barely regained his faculties after being corrupted by the Legion, is just doing his best to help save the day. This issue is chaotic, which is pretty appropriate for a story featuring the fastest heroes alive. While it’s no a key DC KO tie-in, it does a great job of celebrating the long legacy of the Flashes and even pulls in a surprising figure from one of Cantwell’s other recent DC works. This temporary run wraps up here, making room for Ryan North and Gavin Guidry’s upcoming run, but I think it did an excellent job of reminding us what makes the Flash family so unique.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
