The Flash #25 Review

Flash Fact

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Neil Googe, Ryan Sook, Ivan Plascencia, Hi-Fi, Dave McCaig and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 28, 2017

Now that I've gotten used to Reverse Flash being alive, I am ready to see what Joshua Williamson has in store for us.  The big thing for me is finally letting Iris in on Barry's secret, but that thing usually comes at a price...and that may be death!  Yea, Iris and Thawne are in the 25th Century and if Barry chases them, somethings gotta give.  So, did Williamson deliver the goods?  Let's find out...


The issue starts with Barry Allen giving us a little walk down memory lane with him and Eobard Thawne.  It's odd, it is so general that I think that only those in the know will get the most out of it when it seems like the time and place to get those unfamiliar up to speed...pun intended.

After the history lesson (which even includes Flashpoint), Barry arrives in the 25th Century and I can only wonder how...I see he's on the Cosmic Treadmill, but I also saw that fall apart and left behind in the Speed Force during the Button Story.  Remember, Barry and Bruce needed Jay Garrick to bring them home because of that.  Did Barry rebuild it?

We quickly learn this isn't the future Barry expected people run from him in fear and the police arrive to arrest him...because he's a Speedster.  After Barry ducks into the Flash Museum, he finds Iris, but also confronted by Thawne, who built the building to celebrate the Flash.

We then get a Thawne flashback that does a better job of explaining the what and how of Reverse Flash...and it's not a happy tale.  Sure, Barry and Thawne were friends for a bit, but when things went wrong, they went terribly wrong!

Before that, though, we see a reformed Thawne become the curator of the Flash Museum, choose his yellow costume because all of Flash's partners wore yellow and travel back in time to be with his friend and hero.  Unfortunately, when he did, Flash already had a partner...Wally West.  Oh Snap!  That was when Thawne vowed to hurt Barry by hurting everyone he cared about.

The issue ends with Reverse Flash wiping the floor with his hero and then doing the one thing that Barry has avoided doing for so, so long.  I don't know if it's going to have the full intended effect that Thawn thinks it will, but with everything that Joshua Williamson has pushed since jumping on the book, this is pretty big.

This was a nice little issue.  It's actually odd for me to call it that since it was extra sized, but with all the flashbacks and history lessons, it didn't feel like we moved the story forward much at all here.  That's not a huge problem, however, since I did like everything we got.

There were three separate art teams on the book and I have to admit, there wasn't too many transition problems and the art looked good in general.

Bits and Pieces:

Joshua Williamson gives readers a crash course in Reverse Flash and while it did feel like filler at points, the overall issue was an action packed and enjoyable read.  It all ended in a cliffhanger that was a long time coming and while that didn't fire me up much, I am looking forward to the next issue.

7.5/10