The Flash #760 Review and *SPOILERS*

Family Vs. Legion

Written By: Joshua Williamson
Art By: Christian Duce, Scott Kolins, Luis Guerrero, Hi-Fi
Letters By: Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 25, 2020

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The Flash book is coming off a high. We just had a significant issue, and frankly, we haven't had an issue that great in this series for quite some time now. However, after having several issues, just setting up everything, we finally arrived at a book that gave us entertaining story progression. We finally could look at the Flash book and honestly say that I didn't want to put the book down. Williamson is a writer that always flips between mediocrity and greatness. The latest issue was his greatness shining through; however, we do not need another trek into mediocrity. I need this creative team to capitalize on the previous book and impact this story. I know their run with this book is coming to a close, but that's all the more reason they need to keep their foot on the gas. Let's jump into this new issue and see if that's what they do.



Our issue begins in the Speed Force, where Barry is being held captive. Max Mercury explains to him that he calls it The Starting Line, which is the Big Bang for the Speed Force. The moment of creation. Barry must use his mind to think at super speed and regain a hold of his body since he is still tethered to Earth-0. Meanwhile, in the real world, Eobard (still in control of Barry's body) is facing Jay Garrick. However, just as Eobard is ramping his attack up, he suddenly stops and realizes that Barry is attempting to regain control of his body. The Flash Family regroups and makes sure everyone is alright before Iris reveals that she has gotten a tip from the newspaper that gives her an idea of where the villains are heading. Next, we see that during this battle, the Legion of Zoom has been wreaking havoc on Central City to cause chaos in the city. This disguises their real target: the grave of Nora Allen. The Legion hesitates since desecrating a cemetery doesn't seem like a great idea. Eobard eventually shows up and explains that he needs the body because there is temporal energy stored inside of her. He can have a permanent hold on Barry's body once he gets it. Thawne struggles to hold on to the body, and inside we see Barry getting closer to his goal, but he is suddenly interrupted by Thaddeus Thawne, a clone of Bart Allen. He has been trapped in here too, and he is trying to attack Barry to allow Thawne's plan to succeed. Barry says that he has no intention of fighting the child.

Meanwhile, the Legion of Zoom suddenly shows signs of fracturing as the team refuses to dig up the body, but they are suddenly interrupted by the Flash Family. Thawne is curious about how they got there in time, and Trickster reveals that it was he who betrayed the Legion, and for this, Thawne sends him back to his original time. He sends the Tornado Twins after the Family, and they face off with Bart Allen. In a quick exchange, Bart eventually makes contact with his father, which causes them to come back to their senses. The Tornado Twins reveal that it was Thawne who used the Negative Speed Force to manipulate them. They begin to fade away and return to their own time. Back at the Starting Line, Barry avoids all of the attacks from Inertia. Just as Inertia is about to come at him harder, Barry reaches out and tells him that he doesn't have to do this and make his path. Inertia shrugs this off, but something must have reached him because he decides to simply run off and leave Barry alone. This allows Barry to keep going with his plan.

Thawne screams out in pain as Barry starts to retake control. Max and Jessie reveal that they don't think they can come with him at the Starting Line, but Barry refuses to accept this and pulls them both close to him. Seeing Thawne losing control, the Legion decides they must kill him to prevent Barry from returning. However, they are unable to reach him due to the Flash Family's interference. Eventually, the two split, and Barry has arrived in the real world, and Thawne has been pushed out and regained his old body. Barry was also able to pull Max and Jessie out with him successfully, and thus, the Flash Family is at full strength. Zoom begins running and taunts the Family, saying that he could find so many people who dislike the Flash, and when he stops, he has a new fully-fledged Legion of Zoom with far more members than before. Thus, a final confrontation between the Flash Family and the Legion of Zoom has begun. This is where the issue leaves us.

Holy crap, this issue is excellent! Seriously, a tremendous job by this creative team. We don't skip on the cliffhanger from the previous issue, instead, we get to see it play out and find out more about where Barry is and how he can return to the battle. We understand the Legion of Zoom's discourse and see it finally manifest as Trickster betrays the team. We see Barry finally free himself from Zoom's grips and bring along two new speedsters with him. We get to see Thawne struggle to keep Barry's body under control and desperately clings to the power he has taken all before it is lost. However, we don't stop there. Instead of our villain now back into a corner they will surely be defeated in, Thawne enacts a new plan and brings forth a new Legion of Zoom. Now, as we enter the next issue, we have a full-strength Flash Family facing off with a full-strength Legion of Zoom for all the marbles. I cannot wait to see what happens next. Seriously a master-class this time around.

Bits and Pieces:

This Flash issue shows that this creative team can give us amazing stories when they try their best. We got an exciting issue from beginning to end and while some things may have been handled a bit quickly, overall, we can look past those small mistakes because, in exchange, we get some of the most remarkable scenes in Williamson's entire Flash run. Every page turn moves the story forward and ultimately leads up to an extremely exciting cliffhanger for the next issue that I cannot wait to get my hands on.

9.5/10