Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Flash #236
DC Comics
Waid, Rogers, Williams II & Braithwaite
The sixth and final issue of the opening arc of the second stint for Wally West as the Flash closes with probably the best story in the lot. It has action, it has Wally acting like a father, it has the main story synch up with the backup story and it even has some good usage of the few members of the Justice League. If you liked the previous issue then you will probably like this one. If you like your Flash cracking jokes and rounding up some Rogues then this issue is not for you.
We start off with Wally and his son, Jai, fighting the water creatures. Jai gets hit with the dehydration shot and Wally has to rescue him out of the battle. Wally dunks Jai in the water to get him coherent again and then grabs one of the water creature’s guns. A bulb goes off in Wally’s head and he drags in the sister, Iris, with his new power, which is having the ability to beam his kids to where he is.
Wally huddles up with the kids and devises a plan. Wally then zooms off to his wife, Linda, to explain what he thinks is going down. Basically, Wally realizes the planet that has been featured in the backup story and where, we learn in this issue, that Wally and family were hiding out while Bart got killed, is the source of the weaponry used in the attacks.
The kids interrupt the JLA fighting imaginary creatures underwater by pretending to drown. This gets them into the real fight in the city. What follows is an excellent use of the kids interacting with the JLA, particularly with John Stewart. The kids scold each other for not calling him “sir” and taking shots at him for being slow by quoting their dad. It’s a great filter of Wally’s personality and Bart’s into the next generation of even younger Flash kids. This is the side of the children this book needed from the start. This is where all the possibilities are that could make this title great again.
Wally drags the leader of the water creatures back to the world we have seen in the backup story and there the whole truth unfolds. The water creature has the same key that Flash has to pass between the worlds and the water creature was a leftover of the original bad guys that Jay stopped in the first of the backup stories. Wally’s friend Gorflack tells him how to reverse the key and, thus, stop the attack on Earth. However, in the process it will prevent Wally from ever returning to his friend’s planet. Wally does it.
Wally saves the Earth. Wally has the heartfelt moment with his wife and kids. And we get the final part to the backup story, which shows life for Wally and Linda on the distant world when the twins were first born.
A good and solid issue. It dovetails nicely. It has some good character moments for Wally and the kids. It has witty dialog and some interesting plot resolutions. It was an enjoyable read.
I personally liked the art in the backup stories better than the main story. I found some of the depictions to be odd in the main story, like the daughter, Iris, has the head of an adult for some reason. I found the backup story’s art to be very Flash-like and it showed some strong emotional expressions.
I had high hopes for this series when it began and I was mostly letdown. This is the type of issue I would have wanted to see along and didn’t. Maybe it was just a matter of the length of the arc or the layout of the arc that didn’t quite fit. I’m not sure, but this issue restored a small amount of confidence in the Flash line, but it’s still has a long way to go before its gets to where it should be. However, this issue is a good one.
4 out of 5 geek goggles.
 Flash #236 |
