Flash (vol.3) #2 (2010)

Flash (vol.3) #2 (July, 2010)
“Case One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues”
Writer – Geoff Johns
Art – Francis Manapul w/Joel Gomez
Color – Brian Buccellato
Letters – Sal Cipriano
Associate Editor – Adam Schlagman
Editor – Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Welcome to Day 3 of #BrightestMay!

Here’s a book I’ve wanted to revisit ever since we discussed its first issue.  By then though, I was kinda already bobbling the idea of “Brightest May” in my head… and figured it would be best if I waited.


And I did!  So, let’s get right down to it.
—

We pick up right where we left off last issue.  The Flash has been confronted by the Rogues Renegades about his apparent “future murder” of the Mirror Monarch.  Commander Cold then throws an adorable little snowflake in his direction… which explodes into a mass of ice to ensnare and capture him.

From there, a chase is on!  The Renegades attempt to incarcerate our man, however, he proves to be too fast.  Flash finagles it so the pursuant future-tech handcuffs clamp down on the Weather Warlock instead of him… which causes him to accidentally blast their “time platforms” with his wand.  They wind up being sent back to the 25th Century.

In their wake, a temporal shock buzzes down the street… directly into an old apartment building.  As it begins to fall apart, Barry rushes in to save all of its inhabitants.

He manages to get everybody out before the building can topple.

But… ya know, the building does topple.  So now Barry’s stood before a whole bunch of newly homeless people.  Or is he?  He zips across town to the library where he fills his short term memory on all-things construction…

… and then rebuilds the fallen apartment building.  Really neat use of his powers right here!

Later on at a crime scene, Barry and Iris chat up the events of the day… including his near-arrest.  She asks how much stock he puts into the allegation… and he’s unsure.  He does admit that, if push came to shove and if it would save an innocent life… he likely would kill a bad guy.  Hopefully that was “off the record”.  Anyhoo, he plans to head back to the crime lab and check out Mirror Monarch’s body.

We pop over to Iron Heights, where the newly revived Captain Boomerang is being beaten by some guards… who wind up frozen solid in mid-swing.  A look into the mirror reveals Mirror Master and Captain Cold have come a’calling.  Digger tries to hop into the mirror for an escape… but they ain’t allowing it.  In order for him to rejoin the Rogues, he’s going to have to break out himself.

Back at the Precinct, an old woman is trying to tell the officers that her Son has been wrongly incarcerated.  Everybody turns a deaf ear to the ol’ bitty, so good-guy Barry decides to listen.  This leads to his re-opening the case… and getting into it with Singh.  This isn’t my favorite part of the book.

We then wrap up with the reveal of Mirror Master’s killer… and, wouldja lookit that… it’s Barry Allen!

—

A quick read… but a great one!


Our story gets nudged forward a bit with the confirmation that Barry Allen is indeed responsible, or at least will be responsible for Mirror Master’s death (as far as we know).  We touched on it briefly last time, the idea of “preventative arrests” is a bit wonky… especially when we’re dealing with a universe that has any number of methods to engage in time-travel… but, what happens when the corpse is deposited in the “present day”?


I guess in that case, the law is the law… and if the evidence points to you (or Barry), he may as well have just gone through with it… right?  It’s definitely a “thinker”… and it’s very well implemented here.


The one part I didn’t really care for was Barry re-opening the Hicks case.  Not so much that he did reopen it, but for the conflict that it led to.  I mean, Singh may as well have been depicted with horns and a forked tail here.  His overreaction led to one from Barry… and a very “what can one man do?” type speech, which felt a bit forced.


I thought rebuilding the fallen apartment building was an amazing way to utilize Flash’s speed.  Just like last issue when he speedily disassembled that out-of-control car… such neat things Flash can do, that we don’t often think about.  Definitely also appreciate that it’s made clear that all of this knowledge goes into his short-term memory… and once he’s done with it, it’s forgotten.  It’s a way of limiting his power, in a way that makes sense.  Doesn’t hurt that these scenes came off flawlessly.


On that note, let’s gush talk about the art.  Ho-lee cow.  Mr. DC, if you’re listening… do anything you can to keep Manapul in your bullpen.  I hate resorting to tired turns of phrase like “feast for the eyes” (-Ain’t it Chris News), but man-o-man, what a treat!  This book is gorgeous… there’s really no other way to describe it.


Overall… this gets one of my higher recommendations.  Definitely check this book out!


—


Interesting Ads:

“The Greatest Thing to Ever by Crafted by Human Hands” -Ain’t it Chris News