It’s another big event in the life of Barry Allen, as FLASH WAR kicks off with Wally West being tempted by Professor Zoom.
The Flash 47
Written by Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Howard Porter
Colors by Hi-Fi
I started reading comic books in the early- to mid-90s. It had been almost a decade since Barry Allen sacrificed himself during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Barry Allen was not my Flash as I became a comic book fan. That honor went to his successor, Wally West. Wally had a great run as the main speedster in the DC Universe. He developed new relationships with other heroes and by the time I was introduced to him, he was no longer a replacement for Barry. He was THE FLASH.
Once Barry Allen came back, though, Wally went away for a while. The original Silver Age speedster had returned, so Wally West took his wife, Linda Park, and their two kids and laid low for a while, until the New 52 pretty much wiped them out of existence, introducing a brand new Wally West. When the original Wally returned with the DC REBIRTH story, his slate had seemingly been wiped clean. He was no longer married to Linda. They didn’t have two kids. He was a man out of time, slowly being introduced to this new continuity without the trappings of home. Over the last two years, we’ve seen him readjust to his life, not just with Barry but with his friends on the Titans as well. Wally has come close to feeling more at home in this universe lately.
Enter Professor Zoom.
The evil speedster has been working in the 25th Century and is setting events in motion to cause problems for Barry Allen. He sent the future version of Flash’s Rogues, known as the Renegades, back in time to bring Wally’s Aunt Iris to the future to stand trial for the death of Reverse Flash Eobard Thawne, but he clearly has another gambit at work. Because Wally is a man out of time, his memories of the pre-Flashpoint Earth where he was married with two kids and a hero creating his own legacy have crept into his brain. It provided one of my favorite panels of this issue.
Wally sees himself with the mid-1990s era JLA – my first real introduction to the Justice League. Written by Grant Morrison, the JLA book was drawn by Howard Porter, now the artist on The Flash. It’s a nice little Easter egg for long-time readers like myself.
Whatever Zoom is setting up, pitting Wally against Barry in the future, writer Josh Williamson has given us some great Flash stories over the last two years, and they’ve all been leading up to this. As an opening salvo in the FLASH WAR story, it’s got me excited over what comes next.