Speed Force #1 Review

     

   

 

Written by: Jarrett Williams

Art by: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colors by: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by: Simon Bowland
Cover art by: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: November 14, 2023

Speed Force #1 spins off a new series for the love of speedsters everywhere as Wallace West and Avery Ho chase down a group of missing scientists.
Is Speed Force #1 Good?

Speed Force #1 is lively, energetic, colorful, disjointed, and confusing. In short, it's a mixed bag. Jarrett Williams's opportunity to give the next generation of Flashes a chance to stand apart and rise above supporting speedster status has its heart in the right place, but Williams tries to do too much too fast (*ahem*).

Williams's script centers on Wallace West (Kid Flash) and Avery Ho (China's Flash who isn't really from China(???)) as they team up to track down the sudden disappearance of scientists from all the International branches of STAR Labs. The Jr. Speedsters detect a fast-moving speed signature, which leads them to Mas Y Menos. Sadly, the speedster brothers appear to be under some form of mind control, but before Wallace and Avery can knock some sense into the brothers, the close-contact speedsters disappear into a portal back to the headquarters of [REDACTED]

If it wasn't clear from the description above, you get a plethora of non-core Titans cameos and name-drops in this issue. Plus, we haven't seen this particular villain in a while, so the Dawn of DC's strategy of bringing old characters down from a dusty shelf is on track.

 

What's great about Speed Force #1? Wallace and Avery have a pleasant sibling charm that makes them a good pairing for a speedster-centric buddy cop adventure. The issue has plenty of energy, and the pacing is... fast.

Watch our Speed Force #1 Video Review

What's not so great about Speed Force #1? First, Williams tries to cram in too many plot developments and character appearances all at once without establishing connections, so the plot progression has a random haphazard feel. For example, Wallace and Avery discover scientists are missing after an alert. When they chase after an energy trail leading away from one of the Labs, their paths cross with Mas Y Menos, who appear to be under mind control. Are Mas Y Menos connected to the missing scientists? Was it Mas Y Menos's energy trail Wallace and Avery were following? You don't know because events occur by random happenstance.

Second, Roundhouse shows up in a meeting with Mr. Terrific and Cadence at STAR Labs, with no explanation as to how or why they're there. When Avery and Wallace return to find the trio working in the Lab, an entire page is taken up with Avery and Cadence reminiscing about when they first met. What are Mr. Terrific and Cadence doing at STAR Labs? Why does Avery waste an entire page remembering when she and Cadence first met? Why is Roundhouse standing around doing nothing?

Last and possibly the more controversial part, Williams leans hard into the "Hello, Fellow Kids" style of dialog and humor, complete with faux social media references, modified DM chat vernacular, and more. Some of the dialogue is downright painful. Painful as in a writer trying too hard to be trendy and it falls flat as a sheet of paper. It gets rougher when you learn the villain uses popular social media channels and indie musician playlists as part of his plan.

Overall, the story has a possibly intriguing mystery at its center, but the core gets obscured by a trying-too-hard personality and chaotic plot development.


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:

Speed Force #1 is a mixed bag. Williams creates endearing chemistry between Wallace and Avery, and the villain's actions are a strong hook to a dastardly plan, but the plot tries to do too much without establishing clear connections, and the "Hello, Fellow Kids" dialog and social media references are downright painful.

5.5/10