CONVERGENCE - FLASH #1

[ SILVER AGE SALE ] 

The universe is a vast and complicated organism, comprising of endings, beginnings, as well as some sort of ectoplasmic residue popularised in an eighties movie about spunk. Yeah. That's the one. Earth Girls Are Easy. It wasn't published by DC Comics in April, 2015, and didn't star either Dan Abnett or Federico Dallocchio. There. Thank God I cleared that mess up.

To QUOTE Colonel Kilgore from Apocalypse Now: 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'.

THE STORY:

Considering he's powerless, blonde, and been trapped in an unfamiliar city for an entire year, and you would have thought the one time Flash, Barry Allen, was going to be a very pissed off person.

But no. Not really. He loves his wife Iris and he loves his job at the Gotham City Police Department. As a matter of fact, he loves life so much, he's even willing to have a cup of coffee with his old pal, Bruce Wayne, at a local coffee shop.  

However, as is usually the case with these scenarios, on the one year anniversary of this peculiar occurrence, suddenly, everything changes in a rather big way. The city is set free. Barry's power then returns. And so too does a hero from a not so super universe, ready for a fight. 

To be continued....

THE GOOD:

Is it just me, or do some of the writers who handle these Convergence spin-offs, handle them in such a manner that they come across rather formulaic and predictable by default? You see, in my eyes, they either create a tale that sets-up the title character, the world they inhabit, before unveiling the big bad villain at the very end. Or alternatively, they set-up the title character, the villain, and the two opposing worlds in unison, although in incremental and developing stages!

Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. I'm just merely pointing out that there's a strange repetition going on in these books. And as far as I'm concerned, repetition only works when the material in question has character, pathos, and a charm to it that supersedes this type of obvious tone.

Take this issue of the Flash for instance. The two great creators assigned to pen it, Dan Abnett and Federico Dallocchio, have opted for the former formulaic option. Yet in doing so, they've also managed to add a lot of old school silver-age charm. Primarily, by setting their tale within the confines of a 'day in the life' type scenario. And secondly, by imbuing it with a very pleasant and holistic Cary Bates and Carmine Infantino type edge.

Now any of you who've read a story by Cary and Carmine know exactly what I'm talking about. Where as those of you who haven't, well, try to look at this book as a updated homage of sorts. A homage of what could have been if editorial edict didn't get out of hand in the nineties and the naughties.   

THE BAD:

Can someone please explain to me what's going on with continuity in this series? I mean, for any of you who read Barry's exploits during this era, you'd know his hair was black, he had plastic surgery, he was dating Zatanna from the JLA (only mildly, of course), and he even had to escape from the 20th century because he kind of killed Professor Zoom (Ops!).

OK. I know some of these factors were explained away by this issue, especially the circumstances as to why Barry came back to Gotham, blah-blah-blah! But what about his hair and plastic surgery? What about his relationship with Zatanna? And what the hell is happening to the other heroes who populate this section of Gotham with him? Like the Outsiders, the Teen Titans, and whoever else just happened to be in Gotham during this event (excluding the Bat Family). 

Methinks certain things need better explanation. Even though they didn't directly hinder the actual story-line being told.

THE MUSIC:

In that great scene where Barry was explaining to Bruce how he didn't mind how his life turned out, a song sprung to mind that kind of summed it up to a tea. So it's over to you, Jackie Wilson, with your hit song, 'Reet Petite'.

THE COMPARISON:

Now after some serious deliberation I've come to the conclusion that this comic book is a nun. And do you know why I would dare make such a bold comparison? Simple really. It's because they're both fairly content with their lives. Amen.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue, Barry came face to face with his esteemed opposition. So just for fun -- hypothetically -- let's see if you can guess who it is out of the following eight options?

1. The Superman from Earth Transvestite: Well, I think he's a man?
2. The Superman from Earth Stan Lee: No. I'm not talking about The Sentry. I'm referring to someone else with blonde hair, excluding Barry.
3. The Superman from Earth 42: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Edition.
4. The Superman from Earth Tangent: You know. That tough looking dude that looks like the love child of Mr T and Samuel L Jackson.
5. The Superman from Earth 2: Even though he's dead.
6. The Superman from Earth Vomit: He stinks.
7. The Superman from Earth Earth: No. I don't know what that one means either.
8. The Superman from Earth Fabulous: He's that fine chap with the handbag and the curly perm.

Nuff said.