Art by: Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan
Colors by: Matt Herms
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Cover art by: Taurin Clarke
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 20, 2022
The Flash #789 ends Mayor Wolfe's weirdly fascist takeover of Central City when the Flash, with some help from Pied Piper, discovers the Mayor is more than meets the eye.
Is It Good?
The Flash #789 ends Mayor Wolfe's draconian policies with a feel-good family time, a confrontation with the Rogues, and a huge gamble by Wally to show the Powers That Be that humanity is worthy. On the plus side, the arc ends with a Happily Ever After before heading into the One-Minute War event. On the downside, the big reveal is poorly explained, and the ending is anti-climactic.
When last we left Flash, he was about to get toe-to-toe with the Rogues when Pied Piper showed up to de-escalate the situation. Now, Flash zips off with Piper to catch up on old times, visit with the family and talk about the sad state of politics in Central City.
Eventually, the gang figures out the direct approach is best, so Flash zips away for a personal chat with Mayor Wolfe to find out what's really going on. When the chat spirals out of control, the Flash figures out more extraordinary powers (literally) are behind Mayor Wolfe's insistence for Order at any cost.
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Adams's script has a light, airy tone that makes it hard to take any of the events involving Mayor Wolfe too seriously. The city's under Martial Law, the Rogues roam the streets with the Mayor's blessing, and the Mayor is discovered to be a conduit for a more significant force. These should be big deal happenings, but the tone is so mellow, nobody comes off as worried, scared, or angry. At most, Flash seems mildly concerned. Technically, the issue comes together entirely, but the tone doesn't match what should be a deadly dire situation.
Pasarin and Ryan's art style looks great in this issue. Wally's face mask still takes getting used to, with the oversized nose cover and strangely tall forehead, but the action scenes are where the art needs to count most, and the art team delivers. Flash action flows and crackles with energy, and you can practically feel Wally having fun while making his opponents look like they're standing still.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Flash #789 ends the arc with a big reveal about Mayor Wolfe that should be a big threat to the entire world. Wally handles the threat well enough, but the light, mellow tone deflates any sense of danger, urgency, or stakes. It's a good ending, just not a great one.
8/10
I like the light, mellow tone of this book. That's why it and WF are two of my favorite books right now. It's a nice change of pace from the Doom and gloom DC normally puts out.
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