Flash (vol.5) #48 (2018)

Flash (vol.5) #48 (Early August, 2018)
“Flash War, Part 2”
Writer – Joshua Williamson
Artist – Howard Porter
Colorist – Hi-Fi
Letterer – Steve Wands
Assistant Editor – Andrew Marino
Editor – Rebecca Taylor
Group Editor – Marie Javins
Cover Price: $2.99


And, we’re back to normal… with a very recent issue of one of (if not my) favorite ongoings at the moment!


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We open with Wally flashing (ha!) back to the long ago where he was about to have a race with his twins, Jai and… I guess we’re calling her “Irey” now as to not confuse her with Wally’s aunt (and her namesake) Iris.  We quickly pop into the present, with Wally in the 25th Century Flash Museum stood before his grown-up children….’s costumes.  Impulse’s costume is behind him… but, that’s not what’s important at the moment.

Wally is then confronted by last issue’s reveal… Hunter Zolomon, ZOOM.  Wally goes in for a punch, however, when he makes contact memories of their previous run-ins (ha!) flood his brain.  We see snippets of the stories from around Flash (vol.2) #200, where Zoom, after a time of being a close friend to the Flash, attempted to kill Linda.  Porter gives a great Scott Kolins-esque look to these bits.

Hunter removes his mask and assures Wally that he’s not there as his enemy… and he isn’t looking for a fight.  He wants to work with him in order to bring everything back.

Meanwhile, at the Temporal Courts… it’s quickly made clear that when Iris killed Thawne, she did so in self-defense.  So, why all the hoopla?  Well, maybe it wasn’t Iris the Judge wanted brought into the future at all.  Maybe he wanted the one fella who didn’t make it all the way to the court?  Oh, also… the Judge himself is missing, so there’s that.  Commander Cold attempts to corral the Flash Family, but finds it no easier than herding cats.

Back at the Museum, we get a refresher on the last time (well, last major time… I guess) somebody tried to change the past… when Barry caused the Flashpoint that started this whole shebang.  Barry is assuaged of most of his guilt… with Zolomon claiming that he’d “corrected” his mistake… yet, hasn’t put everything “back” correctly.

Then… the Flash-Family arrives on the scene.  Barry is shocked to see Wally consorting with a man in a yellow Flash costume.  Wally explains the sitch… he’s got twins.  Barry’s dumbfounded… but Iris remembers them!  She then wonders aloud who else she might’ve forgotten… which is definitely food for thought.  Wally shares his plan of re-entering the Speed Force in order to fetch them.  Barry ain’t diggin’ it.

Wally stops Barry right there… and informs him that he wasn’t exactly asking for permission.  With that, he takes off… into the Speed Force.  He is soon joined by Barry… and Zolomon.  Interestingly, this causes a sort of Zero Hour effect on those left behind.  As if this future will now never come to be.

We rejoin Wally as he nears a Central City of the past.  As he gets ever nearer, his head is filled with memories of his life before the Flashpoint.

Then… Barry!

Barry tries to reason with Wally… he tells him that Zolomon is surely lying… and he won’t let Wally make the same mistake he did with the Flashpoint… which, I gotta say… isn’t an angle I’d even considered.  Amazing stuff here!

Barry then tells Wally… if he decides to run, he will catch him.  With that… Wally decides to run.

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Amazing.


And not just because I might be getting back some of “my” continuity at the end of this… because, by this point… just the acknowledgement that these pre-Flashpoint concepts actually did happen is enough for me.


Now, you’ll have to pardon my ignorance here for a bit… I hadn’t really followed much of this volume post-Rebirth.  Seemed like every time I cracked open an issue, it was Barry versus the “Evil Speedster of the Month” and, for me… that got kinda old.  But, has Iris remembered her pre-Flashpoint relationship with Barry at all?  If she now remembers Wally… then, how do we explain away Wallace?  Maybe these are questions yet to be answered… or, maybe I really oughta do my homework.


My big takeaway from this issue is Barry’s reluctance to allow Wally to re-enter the Speed Force, fearful that he’ll perhaps trigger something akin to the Flashpoint.  That’s not something I even considered… and it really opens up some intriguing story options.  Does Wally get “talked down”?  Does he just throw caution (and the Universe) to the wind… and go anyway?  Does this cause an irreparable schism in the Flash Family?  I gotta tell ya… I can’t wait for the next part.  I might even have to “double-dip”, as I’m still a couple of weeks away from my next DCBS delivery!


Another takeaway was Iris wondering “who else?”.  Does this open the door for Jay Garrick and the Justice Society to return?  Does Bart Allen get another shot?  Maybe Max Mercury?  The possibilities are nearly limitless… which is what makes this story arc the one I’ve been waiting for for so long!


Art is still fabulous.  Not sure if I imagined Porter evoking a “Kolins-esque” look for those flashbacks… but, I gotta think he did… and pulled them off spectacularly.


Overall… if you’re a Flash fan… or a pre-Flashpoint DC Comicsfan, I couldn’t recommend this story arc enough.


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