The FLASH WAR comes to a close! And a name from the past makes an appearance! It’s a very special issue of THE FLASH!
The Flash 50
Written by Joshua Williamson
Pencils and Inks by Howard Porter
Colors by Hi-Fi
There are a lot of throwbacks to the mid-to-late-1990s in what Joshua Williamson is doing with The Flash, and I really think it’s the reason why I’ve been so engaged with the story lately. As Barry and Wally put their differences aside to try and stop Hunter Zolomon – Zoom – from turning back time and saving his family, we learn that’s not necessarily what he was trying to do all along.
No, instead, he was looking to enter Hypertime – the Grant Morrison-created alternative to the Multiverse that Wally West was integral to discovering and fleshing out – and find a world where his family was still alive so he could finally be happy and, conversely, be a hero like Wally and Barry.
I loved the Hypertime concept when it was introduced, and the issues of SUPERBOY where he jumped from Hypertimeline to Hypertimeline is one of my favorite stories ever, but the idea may have been a bit too big for others to embrace. It was included in three story arcs – THE KINGDOM fifth week event and The Flash by Mark Waid and the Hypertension story in Superboy – before it was pretty much dropped completely when Waid and Morrison left DC Comics. It’s been mentioned a few times here and there during Rebirth, though with a Multiverse and a Dark Multiverse around again, Hypertime might be a bit too much. But Williamson uses it effectively here, as Barry and Wally get to see some different aspects of themselves.
Zoom tries to convince Wally to see his way of things, but the damage to reality – which is already damaged thanks to DARK NIGHTS METAL and NO JUSTICE – was too much for Wally to accept.
The most exciting part of the issue, though, takes place outside of the main story between the Flashes and Zoom. Right before the issue ends, we get a shocking return of a character that hasn’t been seen in a while.
BART ALLEN! Who’s Bart Allen? The grandson of Barry Allen from the future, who comes to the present called IMPULSE. How does Impulse fit into the current framework of the Flash? I’m really looking forward to finding out.