Flash #47 Review

War of Two Worlds

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: May 23, 2018

“FLASH WAR” part one! Barry Allen and Wally West…at war?! The long-rising tension between mentor and former sidekick is brought to a head when the Renegades of the 25th century come to claim Iris West for the murder of Eobard Thawne…but that’s only the beginning of a plot that will change the future of The Flash forever! By the end, it will be Flash versus Flash in a mythology-shaking event!

We open the Flash War with Barry and Wally yelling at each other and while we don't know what it's about yet, it involves Wally wanting to do something that Barry thinks is a real bad idea...like a Flash Point kind of bad idea.  It's a cool way to start off the event, but it may have hit a bit harder if we stayed for more than a page and knew just a little more of what was at stake here.

We then go back 47 minutes and 18 seconds earlier (very specific, right?!?) and get a tiny bit of Iris and Kid Flash before Barry and Wally return from stopping a tidal wave.  Joshua Williamson is really pushing the whole "Barry and Wally are different" angle here and just as Kid Flash asks how his head is, Wally Speed Force seizure's out.

On cue, the Renegades (pretty much the future's Reverse Rogues) from the 25th Century show up to arrest Iris (remember she killed Eobard Thawne way back) and before Barry can sort things out, Wally runs off with Iris.

After a "Hot Pursuit" name drop, the Renegades catch up to and are about to nab Iris when Barry and Kid Flash show and the fight is on.  That's when we see that Golden Guardian has a bit more firepower than I would have imagined and let me tell you, I am so down with it!  

While the Speedsters fight their fears, Barry and Wally continuing arguing with each other and their differences have stepped up a notch.  It's getting to the "I'm better than you" type of stuff that most (not me) thought this Flash War was going to be all about and even resolve by the end.

That's when Williamson throws a "tweest" at the reader.  Wally's head fritzes out again, but Cold recognizes it (temporal seizures) and offers to help him...if Iris surrenders herself and comes along as well.  While Wally is against it all, Barry wants them all to go and Wally concedes.  I'm betting that all of this is going to blow up in Barry's face, big time!

When they get to the 25th Century, it's obvious right away that shit has gone wrong.  Wally is not with them, but as they search for him, the reader sees where he is and if you have been reading this book leading up to this event, it's an easy guess who is with him.  The ending ties into a bunch of things from this book and beyond...family, memories, and legacy.  This is really big stuff and should really excite readers who have been following Wally since his Rebirth return.

I liked this issue a whole lot.  Yea, Joshua Williamson is really forcing this rift between Wally and Barry, but there is so much more to sink your teeth into that I can overlook it.  I loved the Wally parts from the last issue and continuing to see him remember his past is what Rebirth is all about to me and if that's one of the main ingredients of Flash War, count me in.  Plus, the Renegades are just cool and I'm even looking forward to seeing Iris and Barry in future court trying to save Iris from future prison.  Finally, something big I can get behind!

Another thing I can get behind is Howard Porter's art.  I am a card-carrying Porter fanboy so that's no big surprise, but I think everyone will be able to look at this issue and say it looks fantastic.  If they don't, they can answer to me!

Bits and Pieces:

The Flash War has officially begun and it's fun, exciting and looks great.  This feels like the next step in the Rebirth puzzle and no matter who your Flash is, you should be enlisting immediately.  I can't see into the future, but if next issue lives up to the promise here, we will all be in for a hell of a ride!

9.0/10