Flash #41 Review

Running in Neutral

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Carlos D'Anda, Luis Guerrero, and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: February 28, 2018

I can't wait for the Flash War!  Yea, I thought it was starting way before it really is, but I guess that will only make me crave it even more.  At least I get some Gorilla Grodd action until then and that is never a bad thing.  So, does Barry not having powers lead to something new and fresh?  Let's find out...

The issue opens with "Lord" Grodd looking down on his new kingdom of Central City and he seems very confident that everything will work out for him in the long run.  We then go off to see Barry...who is struggling.  It's not that he seems worried about his missing powers, but Avery is putting him through some grueling tests.

At this point, it really felt like Joshua Williamson was giving us story points to retro-explain what is going on in the book...Barry has traces of Speed Force so he doesn't freeze up like the rest of Central City, Avery learning how to operate STAR LABS equipment from Meena, etc.  Sure, I can go with what we are given, but it takes up some pages to give it to us.

When Wally shows up, we get the story going with Barry laying out the consequences of Grodd's Lightning Rod...if they don't evacuate the city, everyone will die!  That's when Barry pisses off Kid Flash (again!) by suddenly being mean and he and Avery leave Central City.  Set up for the Flash War?  Maybe!

More setup comes right after they leave as Wally and Barry disagree a bit with Barry's plan to get his powers back.  Again, Barry is being a jerk which makes Wally beat a trail out of Central City.  All this feels a bit too sudden if you ask me.

Of course, nobody is leaving the city and Kid Flash and Avery head off to save Meena while Wally heads off to save its other citizens...and runs into the frozen Iris.  After thinking a bit, he is attacked by Raijin and his Multiplex gang, but realizes he needs to protect Barry and the Lightning Rod more than he thought before.  We will see where that leads as the issue ends with Barry heading off to Iron Heights and in this book, all roads seem to lead back to Godspeed and this issue isn't an exception to that rule!

I can't help but look for clues as to what the Flash War will be about and this issue seems to be ripe with them.  We still have plenty of issues before the big story hits, but Williamson is putting a lot of players on the board here and I like that.  However, it's also sacrificing a lot of story to do so and I could have done with some more of that.  There is barely any Grodd here and the actual story stalls out a bit with all the setup going on.  I still had a bit of fun and the art looked really good, but after getting more excited by this book recently, this issue was a bit off.

Bits and Pieces:

This issues seemed more intent on retroactive explanations and setup than pushing the story forward and that's a shame.  I can't wait until the Flash War hits, but I also like Grodd who barely appears here.  The art was great, but as a single issue, this was disappointing.

6.5/10