Flash War? More Like Flash Bicker
Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Howard Porter, Hi-Fi, and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: June 27, 2018
Following a pretty intense previous issue, Barry gives Wally chase as he tries to stop him from destroying the Speed Force. Do Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter manage to... keep up the momentum? Read on to find out.
The scope of this arc really expands in this issue, as Barry and Wally's race is literally sending out massive ripple effects through the multiverse. The Justice League, various heroes, and Amanda Waller are attempting to figure out how to stop the two speedsters. Expanding the scale of the story is something I honestly didn't consider since I felt this story was a very personal Barry and Wally story. In that way, Williamson surprised me.
And I was impressed with this issue. This is by far the best arc of the series, mostly since it's a lot more condensed and artistically consistent than most arcs in the series. The inclusion of other characters hammers home the impact of Wally's choice in this issue, and Williamson crafts a mostly compelling argument between the two. Barry sees his Flashpoint accident reflected in Wally's emotionally driven decision, and that just leads to interesting conflict. What other comic contains conversations about literally rebooting a universe? It's just as wacky and fun as I wanted it to be.
Despite the fun I had, I do think Williamson indulges in some filler here and there for the sake of the page count. There's an endpoint that he wanted to reach by the end of this issue and that resulted in a bit of circle jerking, but not a considerably annoying amount.
The concept of legacy is really driven home by Howard Porter's art. Not only is he a veteran, but the pages he's producing here are solid storytelling. It's emotional and vibrant and everything that a Flash book needs to be a Flash book. Hi-Fi's colors really bring out the urgency and energy of the situation, which rounds out Porter's art nicely.
Bits and Pieces:
In a fun but slightly filler issue, Williamson doubles down on the massive argument between the two Flashes, which also includes some fun appearances from other DC characters. The art is so very gorgeous and with one issue left, I think Williamson really hit it out of the park with this arc.
8.5/10
I actually feel in this issue. As Wally gets mad, I get mad. Barry really doesn't have a leg to stand a chance in this race because he's wrong in his morality argument he has with Wally. It's cool that there are whole world consequences for what there doing as well, with Amanda Waller Titans and the justice league trying stop them. This is how powerful a flash can be. Only negative is the ass pull "Other Forces" that some how only Zoom can harness. Why can't Wally and Barry use that power as well. Art was good to.
ReplyDelete8.5/10
These other "Forces" remind me of when DC tried to introduce other Elements into the continuity after the Green became popular. Unnecessary and unwanted.
DeleteA fun issue though and further proof that Wally was always the better Flash.