Flash (vol.2) #154 (1999)

Flash (vol.2) #154 (November, 1999)
"Dimensionally Challenged"
Story - Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn
Pencils - Paul Pelletier
Inks - Jose Marzan, Jr.
Colors - Tom McCraw
Letters - Gaspar
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.99

Alrighty, we've had two issues of build... what say we unmask this nuFlash and figure out whose face he's got?

Spoiler Alert: You now know this issue's cliffhanger image!

Also: Today marks our NINE-HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIFTH daily discussion here at the site!  Four-Digits are on the horizon!

--

We open with nuFlash looking out into the real world from the Fourth Dimension.  He can see Angela Whatsherface and Jerkface Bridges being taunted by the Folding Man... while he himself is powerless to do anything to stop him.  Angela fires off a few "warning shots" (at point blank range).  Bridges pulls her back, and explains that while Gauss is in 2-D, his touch will do to her... whatever it did to that secretary last issue.  I'm still not sure what happened to her.  Anyhoo, they run.

Finally, nuFlash is able to vibrate from out of the Fourth Dimension and back into the real world.  While "inside" however, it would appear that he's learned a thing or two about the situation.  Firstly, that Bridges might've ordered Gauss to be killed!

Before we can get any answers there, we hop over to the Flash Museum, where Max, Jesse and Bart are still trying to get to the bottom of nuFlash's identity.  After staring at the lightning bolt Obelisk for a few minutes, and wondering if this Dark Flash uses it to travel interdimensionally, Impulse figures the whole thing out.  It's just a distraction... NuFlash just hangs out in a tunnel under the Flash Museum!  While in the "down under", the Speedsters discover Barry and Wally's personal effects.  Bart is bothered by the fact that there seem to be no pictures of... Linda.

Speaking of Linda, we rejoin her in the "other place".  "Wally" is still fighting off those bubble-masked cops.  After the fight, he sweeps her into his arms and goes to run away.  She tries pushing him off, as she knows that this isn't her Wally.  Before getting too far, "Wally" is zapped by an ultra-sonic pistol of Pied Piper.  He tells Linda that she isn't safe with Wally... as he has "changed".

Wally and Piper start going at it, and Linda runs off.  She happens across a memorial statue... her memorial statue!  It would seem that she sacrificed her life to stop Kobra from kayoing Keystone City.

Back in the real world, nuFlash drops Bridges and Angela off at the construction site for the Central City Memorial Hospital.  There, the two civvies argue about everything that's going down, while nuFlash pays particular attention to the vibrations around them.  Turns out, Gauss is there too!

After a bit of fighting (and terrorizing construction workers), Gauss finally spills the beans on the conflict.  Turns out, he had a very sick daughter.  Bridges promised her treatment in exchange for Gauss' help in creating the suit.  Once the suit was complete, however, Bridges dropped the ball on the treatment, and Gauss' daughter passed on.  Bridges pushes the blame off on a "clerical error", which isn't what the Folding Man wants to hear.

Gauss lets loose, and is just about to strike Bridges down... when nuFlash vibrates a whole bunch'a rebar through him to "hold him" in the third dimension.  Gauss is collected and brought over to Bridges' lab... but, there ain't much hope of separating him from the Folding Man suit.

Later on, back in the Forensics Lab, nuFlash and Angela chat... and kiss a bit.  Their make-out session is interrupted by the ultimate buzzkill... Max Mercury.  The Flash Family has grown tired of the questions... and is ready for some answers.

But first... back to the "other place".  Linda is running through the streets... she sees more memorials to herself, as well as Wanted Posters featuring the Flash.  She drops into an alley, and falls to her knees.  Just then, "Wally" catches up to her, and he isn't pleased that she seems not to want anything to do with him.  Just then... a bolt of lightning!

As some strange Flash-y stuff start popping up in the "other place", nuFlash has decided to come clean and unmask in the "real world".  When the dust settles...

... we're left with three Wallys?

--

Well, well, well... twenty-years later, and... yeah, the big reveal is still kind of a letdown.  There's that thought that anytime you introduce alternate versions of a character, you're kind of lowering the overall stakes of a story.  I can definitely feel that here.  We're left with not one... not even two... but three Wally Wests (hey, couldja send one of 'em to live in late 2018?!).  Let's break it down.

We have Wally the "Dark Flash".  An older Wally, who's "seen some stuff", and also claims to bear the responsibility for the death of a Speedster.  He's living in "a present" where the only person who remembers that Linda Park ever existed is... bubble-head Bart.

In the "other place", we have a crazed Wally, fueled by revenge.  After Linda sacrificed herself to save Keystone City, he kinda went off the deep-end.  He's a wanted man, and even old pals like Piper regard him as a danger.

Then... we have the third Wally.  We don't know much about him at this point, other than that he's probably the "real" one.  How (and why) he got to the "other place", we don't yet know.  How the "other place" diverged from the "real" timeline... well, we don't know that yet either.

So, about the rest of the story?  I dunno, you guys... I don't think I could care less about the Folding Man if I had to.  This felt kinda meaningless, in that "villain of the month" sort of way.  I understand that we probably needed something/someone kinda "throwaway" for Dark Flash's first story... but, man... this was dullsville.  I just kept hoping for it to be over, so we could get to the "meat" of the issue.

As for the "reveal"... like I said, I found it pretty underwhelming.  We go from all of these option... sorta risky options, at that... and we settle on the safest one, that brings with it the lowest-stakes.  I was hoping that in reading this one back two-decades later I might "receive" it differently... but, nope.  Still kinda deflated!

Overall... yeah, kind of a letdown.  Art is still top-notch, but I'm definitely not all that jazzed about what's to come.  I'm kinda of two-minds here... I almost wish they kept up the ruse for a few more issues, while at the same time... I could only imagine how deflated I'd feel if this mystery was left to bubble for a few more months!

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Flash (vol.2) #153 (1999)

Flash (vol.2) #153 (October, 1999)
"The Folded Man"
Story - Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn
Pencils - Paul Pelletier
Inks - Jose Marzan, Jr.
Letters - Gaspar
Colors - Tom McCraw
Assistant Editor - Frank Berrios
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.99

Welcome back to The Dark Flash Saga, a little story arc that might only be exciting to me... but, whattayagonnado?

After our exciting start yesterday, things are going to become a bit more procedural with this chapter.  Is that a good thing?  Well, let's take a look and find out.

--

We open on a Monday.  A pair of police are attempting to arrest a man named Edwin Gauss for computer theft.  Seems kinda odd to have only two officers there to make the arrest... though, I suppose it's not as if they knew that Edwin Gauss has actually become the Folded Man!  The baddie uses his odd dimensional powers and grabs Officer Lou by the head... crushing it!

We jump ahead to Thursday... when Lou is being laid to rest.  The new Flash rushes in to check on how Angela Whatsherface is taking things.  We learn here that the new Flash has been on the scene for about a month... and has struck up something of a romantic relationship with the Forensics Expert.

Flash sweeps her off her feet, and runs her all the way to Paris for a coffee.  It's plainly clear that this isn't the first time they've made the trip.  We do learn that, despite how close they've become over the past four weeks, she still hasn't the foggiest idea who's under the mask.  She compares that to how "open" Wally-Flash had been... but new Flash squashes any discussion of that guy.

As they talk, I notice something that I totally missed last issue.  This new Flash has a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his left cheek.  I actually re-flipped through Flash #152 just now, and... yup, it was there too!  I just missed it.  I guess there's some points for subtlety... or poor eyesight.  Anyhoo, new-Flash mentions that just before his arrival, he was responsible for another Speedster losing their life.

What he doesn't know is... Impulse is nearby listening in on the whole discussion... and transmitting it all back to Max Mercury and Jesse Quick.  Max suggests that the "other Speedster" nuFlash is referring to might be Wally... which leads him to deduce that nuFlash might just be Barry Allen.  Bart brings up "Linda" again... but is ignored.

Speaking of Linda... after falling through the oblivion of time, she finally lands... in Keystone City?!  She immediately finds Wally... and they embrace right then and there.

Suddenly, they find themselves surrounded by... some bubble-masked future-cops (?)  I dunno.  They refer to Wally as "Walter", and he claims that they've been after him "for years".  Linda watches as Wally's eyes briefly change color...

... then, he changes into the Flash, and trounces the bubble-maskers.  At this point, Linda realizes... wherever she is, she's anywhere but home.

Back in the present, nuFlash and Angela pay a visit to Devlin Bridges, the man whose tech Gauss the Folding Man had stolen.  He's doing all sortsa "techie" stuff... like talking to invisible people, and typing on invisible keyboards.  I really hope he doesn't stick around too long.  Anyhoo, he explains that Edwin Gauss is a Quantum Physicist on par with Mr. Terrific of the JSA.  He's been trying to complete some of Einstein's research on Unified Field Theory (seems easy enough, right?).  Anyhoo again, he's used Bridges' technology to craft a suit for dimensional travel.

Just then... speak of the devil, the Folding Man appears!  He's a... uh... man of few words, no?

After some fighting... and maybe the sending of a Bridges Staffer into literal limbo... the storytelling isn't quite clear here... the Folding Man kinda recoils a bit, giving nuFlash enough time to snap up Devlin and Angelica and run them to safety.  It's really kinda wonky... and, I'm not sure exactly what happened here.  Here, you take a look:

Yeah... these panels are consecutive...

Outside, Devlin explains the Folding Man's powers using rocks and sticks... the basic jist is, Edwin Gauss can be anywhere!

... Including right there!  The Folding Man reappears, and we get some more fighting.  Angela suggests "cutting the power" to the suit... to which, Devlin breaks the news that the suit is... self-sufficient! Ruh-roh.  Just then, the baddie creeps up behind Angela... and as nuFlash runs in to make the save... he gets punched real good by a giant unfolded fist.

We wrap up with nuFlash coming to... in the Fourth Dimension!

--

This was... just another issue of Flash, right?  Doesn't really feel like there's to see here.  Sure, we've still got the whole "Who is this Flash?" thing going on... but, that kinda took a backseat (or, perhaps a side-seat) to the Folding Man situation.

Now, I'm not suggesting for a minute that I thought that this nuFlash was ever going to be The Flash... but, this was a pretty good way of showing us how "business as usual" might go if that were to be the case.  It almost forces us to "move on"... and, in that regard, this was pretty well done.

Of course we've still got the time-lost Linda... and now, a wrinkle featuring a weird eye-color changing Walter West who's been hounded by bubble-masked cops "for years".  So, yeah... it's still peculating... it's just not our main focus (yet).

So... let's try and wrap our heads around Who this Fella is... without, ya know... spoiling anything (to the best of my ability).  At this point, I see there being a case for the following three speedsters:

The case for Barry Allen:

• He claims to have been responsible for the death of another Speedster (assumed, by Max Mercury, to be Wally)
• He's dating a very Patty Spivot-y woman
• He feels older
• Remember, he has "Barry's Personal Effects" inside the Obelisk

The case for Wally West:

• Last we saw him, he was left in the 30th Century... so, aging is a definite possibility
• This is still Wally's book
• Wally's journals are in the Obelisk... and I don't recall him keeping a diary up to this point, those could be entries yet to come
• He keeps up his membership with the JLA and Titans
• It's mentioned that he unmasked for Donna Troy (over in Titans)

The case for Bart Allen:

• Impulse was briefly a member of the New Titans, so unmasking for Donna Troy could fit for him as well
• The Flash as a "legacy" mantle... Bart would be next in line for the title
• The fact that nuFlash is the complete opposite of Bart... indicating that he might've "seen some stuff" that matured him up real quick

Of course, Google is right there... but, where's the fun in that?  Let's just pretend it's still 1999.

Now, for the story itself... like I said during the open, it felt "procedural".  Not "must reading", but not bad either.  It almost feels like a bit of a misdirection.  Instead of a deeper investigation on nuFlash, we get a "villain of the month".  It works for what it is... but, can't help but feel a little let down coming off of last issue.

The art... it's still Paul Pelletier, and it's still pretty great.  The only hiccup (for me) was that scene at Bridges' office... the storytelling gets a bit hinky there, though that might be chalked up to my own density.  That's always a possibility.

Overall... we've getting a bit of a slow build here, but I'd say this one's still worth a look.  I wouldn't suggest reading this one cold... however, if you're interested in The Dark Flash Saga, you're going to want to check this chapter out.

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Flash (vol.2) #152 (1999)

Flash (vol.2) #152 (September, 1999)
"New Kid in Town"
Story - Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn
Pencils - Paul Pelletier
Inks - Vince Russell
Letters - Gaspar
Colors - Tom McCraw
Assist Editor - Frank Berrios
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.99

Who's that Flash?  And, didn't we talk about a different dude in the duds yesterday?!  Well, I don't wanna spoil it... and yes, we did!  In fact, today we're going to cover the story I usually conflate with the one we covered yesterday!

I kept wondering why the John Fox arc was such a bling spot for me, and one theory I had was... I got it confused with this one!  Now, this one I have read... but, it's been nearly twenty years, so I can't remember much of it.  I think I was disappointed by the ending... though, didn't have so much of the "DC context" that I do today, so I'm hoping this time around might be different.

Also: We've got Paul Pelletier art!

--

We open at a crime scene, where Jay Garrick is standing in for an M.I.A. Wally West.  This scene is pretty gruesome, pieces of the victim are scattered all over a hotel room.  Jay takes a quick look, and locates a chunk of heart ventricle... coated with oxidized potassium.  This leads him to deduce that Dr. Alchemy must have used his Philosopher's Stone to muck about with the vic's body chemistry.  This also makes him realize... that several of these body parts might just be booby-trapped!

After an explosion, the air around Jay and the Crime Scene Investigators (or, the Forensic Four, perhaps?) turns unbreathable.  Lucky for them, the Flash is there to save the day.  Make that A Flash is there.

This Flash manages to pull everybody from danger, and even performs a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on all of the investigators, including Angela Margolin (who I immediately assumed was Patty Spivot).  Anyhoo, she seems to enjoy it.

Jay thanks Flash for the assist, and posits that he might be one of the "Future Flashes" they'd met during the Chain Lightning storyline.  Flash replies with a "No"... and, as he takes off says he is The Flash.  Jay ain't havin' none'a that... so he takes off after him.

As they run, they come across a drive-by shooting that's just about to go down.  Jay's happy that the Flash is there to stop it... but is shocked when the fella just runs on by without interjecting!

Turns out, though... that this Flash did do something about it.  He has the ability to steal the speed from objects... and the bullets all fall to the ground.  Jay corrals the creeps and drops 'em off at the station before resuming the pursuit.

A little down the ways, this new Flash runs into the rest of the Flash-Family, Impulse, Max Mercury, and Jesse Quick.  He makes them all look like amateurs (in self-defense, of course).  After he speeds off, the gang wishes that Wally were here (he'd been left in the 30th Century).  Bart suggests that he's likely still searching for Linda.  To which, the rest of the Flash Fam say, "Who's Linda?"  Uh-oh.  Bart goes on to try and remind them who Linda is... but, seems to stumble with the facts himself.  The elders figure that he's just talking about something from a video game, and dismiss him outright.

Well, we know better, right?  So, where is Linda, anyway?  Well, she's... somewhere else.  Earlier this year we took a look at the issue where Wally and Linda were to be married... which ended with her vanishing, and people (even Wally) not quite remembering her.  Well, this is where she vanished to.  She is surrounded in darkness and taunted by a voice.  The voice tells her that Wally's dead... and there's nowhere for her to escape to.

Turns out, she's in a sort of metal box... floating outside of time.  The voice tells her that nobody remembers her back home... and that her only life, is in that box.  To which... she dives into the vast oblivion of time!

Back on Earth, Dr. Alchemy is turning apples to gold... which, if I'm honest, is probably among the things I would do if I had his powers.  He finds himself attacked by the Flash... and it appears, for a moment, that the baddie's going to have the upper-hand in this confrontation.  That is, until he finds himself surrounded by Flashes.  The new Flash then shifts the speeds of the chemicals in Alchemy's brain... rendering him unconscious.

We shift to the Garrick home, where news of Dr. Alchemy's defeat is on the news.  Jay tosses his helmet at the set in frustration.  June tries to calm him down, but it's no use.  Then... the new Flash shows up!  Jay isn't really happy to see him.  He's here to make a deal... he wants Jay to cover Keystone, while he stays in Central... he also wants Jay's endorsement.  When Garrick asks why he would ever endorse a man he doesn't know... this new Flash unmasks.  We don't see who he is, but Jay does... and he's immediately on board.

The new Flash assures Jay that he's not "too old for this", which had been a recurring thought/caption from Jay during the issue, before taking off.  Worth noting, he does stop to drop off some flowers for Angela Whatsherface.

We learn that this new Flash lives inside a lightning-bolt shaped obelisk that appears outside of the Flash museum.  We follow him inside, to find... a whole lot of boxes... some labeled "Barry", others labeled "Wally".  So... who is this new Flash?!

We wrap up with the Flash picking up a framed photograph... we don't see who the picture is of... and apologizing to it.  Hmm...

--

So, there we have the first chapter of the "Dark Flash Saga"... and we're left with more questions than answers (as it should be).

The biggest question has gotta be... just who in the heck is this new Flash?!  Well, of course today that answer is a simple Google Search away, but let's put ourselves back in ye old 1999 for a minute.  This actually was something of a "burning question", so much so that Wizard Magazine made it their "Online Question of the Month".

Here, take a look:

From: Wizard: The Comics Magazine #99 (November, 1999)

Seems the most popular candidate is Barry Allen.  This is likely something that will be lost on many new-er readers... but, back in the day, it felt like we got a "Barry Returns" rumor on a yearly basis.  Any time there was an "unknown" or shadowy character in a Flash book... people went nuts with "Barry's coming back!"... especially with how Marv Wolfman wrote (in his introduction to the Crisis on Infinite Earths collected edition, dated July 15, 1998) that he wrote a "back-door" into Barry's death scene, so it could be undone.

So, yeah... Saint Barry never really went away.  Seemed like we were constantly being threatened (or teased, if Barry was your guy) that he was on his way back.

So... points in his favor (besides 45% of the Wizard vote)?  Well, he shows up at a crime scene.  He also seems to have eyes for a very Patty Spivotty woman, in Angela Whatsherface.  He's also really really good at this Flash thing... and his understanding of the Speed Force.  Finally: inside the obelisk, he does have a box of "Barry's Personal Effects"... which seems more personal to me than "Wally's Diaries".  I could definitely have seen this being a way of "back-dooring" Barry back into the books.

Next highest vote-getter (with only 21%!)... Wally West himself.  Points in his favor?  Well, this is sorta his book.  Also, there's that box of Wally's Diaries inside the obelisk.

Impulse received 7% of the nod... which, is about right.  We'd have to assume that this was an adult version of Bart Allen, naturally.  Points in his favor?  Well, the new Flash tossed him around a bit, but knew he wouldn't be hurt.  Also, Jay's reaction to the unmasking... I dunno... it felt like he was seeing a kid who suddenly became an adult (hmm...)

Other vote-getters included Max Mercury... which, I dunno... seems kinda silly.  Barry's evil brother Cobalt Blue... but Jay wouldn't have been so quick to trust him... our main man, John Fox gets a scant handful of votes... even Marvel's Quicksilver (wha?).  I say all of this, just to show how this little story arc got a lotta folks talkin'!

I miss that sorta thing in comics.  I miss it a lot.

So... as an issue?  I thought it was pretty great!  Awesome mystery-building, and it's always fun to have Jay Garrick on "point".  He is the "head" of the Flash Family, and it's nice to get the opportunity to have him as our POV character, and the voice in our heads.

Linda still being "time-lost" (or just lost) is something I'd kinda forgotten.  I mean, she's been gone the better part of a year at this point... I could'a sworn that had already been wrapped up.  That's the problem with binge-reading, I guess!  Also, with binge-reading something twenty years ago (where'd my life go?).

Art is provided by my main man, Paul Pelletier... and it's awesome.  He might just be my top guy at this point.  He just never disappoints.  Such a versatile talent... just candy for the eyes.

Overall... if you're looking for a great Flash-mystery... this ain't a bad place to look!  It doesn't look like it's been collected (though, I haven't the foggiest idea why not)... but it is available digitally.  Absolutely worth a look!

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