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[ NO MONEY, NO HONEY ] |
TO QUOTE Nick
Wechsler: ‘Any story about revenge is
ultimately a story about forgiveness, redemption, or the futility of revenge’.
THE STORY:
Not so long ago, Barry
Allen got on the wrong side of Wallace
and Avery because he left them both
stranded in a very difficult situation. So now, after all this time, he’s
decided to atone for his sins by
showing them that he’s a thoroughly changed
man.
Initially, he does this by advising them on how they should take down two members of his rogues gallery, Tar Pit and Girder, before he then introduces them to the latest attraction, hidden deep inside the freshly furnished, ‘Flash Museum’. Namely, the ‘Speed Lab’, which is a brand new, hi-tech, base of operations that the speedsters can use for their crime-fighting activities!
Initially, he does this by advising them on how they should take down two members of his rogues gallery, Tar Pit and Girder, before he then introduces them to the latest attraction, hidden deep inside the freshly furnished, ‘Flash Museum’. Namely, the ‘Speed Lab’, which is a brand new, hi-tech, base of operations that the speedsters can use for their crime-fighting activities!
But suddenly, before he can show them around, they’re
swiftly attacked by the Black Flash, who
seems very, very, very determined to kill everybody associated with the force, including the three Flashes,
along with Steadfast, Fuerza, and Psych. Want to know more? Then please dodge Captain Cold, Heat Wave,
and The Weather Wizard, and pick up issue 76 & 77 of The Flash today. In the meantime though, here, check this out…
THE REVIEW:
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading these two episodes of The Flash because the art was amazing, the story was simple to follow, and more or
less, it was a great introduction to
this latest multi-part saga, ‘The Death
of the Speed Force’. Essentially, both of these books laid down the
groundwork and established who are the villains,
who are the heroes, and who feels what about whom and for why!
But more importantly than that, dear reader, they also throw up a number
of very interesting questions that I
feel compelled to answer. So,
without any further ado, let me snap into review mode, question and answer
style.
1) Is the ‘Speed Lab’
a good addition to the Flash Family? Well, if truth be told, I’m not
entirely sure if I like it or not. On the one hand, I don’t like the idea that Barry is mimicking Bruce’s methods, considering that he’s always been a mobile operator.
Whereas, on the other hand, I’d like to see how things will eventually play out, but only
if the creators behind this book are going to do something new with the
concept. After all, DC have failed numerous times over the years at establishing superhero HQs: Like Green
Arrow’s ‘Arrow Cave’, for
instance, which was a joke, as well as Hawkman’s
‘Spaceship in the sky’, which
didn’t seem to resonate with the fans. Heck, even when some did manage to last
the test of time, such as Superman’s
‘Fortress of Solitude’ or the Justice League’s many bases of
operation, ranging from the ‘Watchtower’,
to the ‘Hall of Justice’, to the ‘Happy Harbour Cave’, each version of
each HQ had to evolve and change with the times, both in design and physical
location! So, with that in mind, we have to now ask ourselves, which iteration
is the ‘Speed Lab’ going to fall under? A
joke? An evolving concept? Or something to rival the Batcave? Either way, I’m sure time will tell!
2) Were Wallace and
Avery right to forgive Barry? Yes. Yes they were. But only because Barry
was willing to prove himself by walking the walk and talking the talk! Well,
let’s face it; nobody’s perfect, that's for sure, and nobody should hold a grudge for the sake
of argument. Besides, Wallace and Avery aren’t infallible either, as
they’ve both made plenty of mistakes in the past and I’m sure they’re going to
make even more in the foreseeable future. So, with all due respect, if they
didn’t forgive him, they'd be hypocrites. Or at the very least, spoiled children who have no idea how lucky they really are, because if it wasn’t for Barry, neither of them wouldn’t
have won their battle with Tar Pit
and Girder or learn that there’s
something wrong with the speed force!
3) What is wrong with
the speed force? Mice. There’s a ravenous
gang of mice scurrying around the speed force and eating everything they
come into contact with. So far, they’ve eaten two packets of tacos, half a
chocolate bar, ten gallons of cheese,
a wafer-thin mint, and now they’re
getting ready to devour Barry Allen’s
pants, ha! Only joking, folks, because in all seriousness, there is
something wrong with the speed
force. Something to do with the other
forces weakening its integrity and causing every speedster to gradually
slow down, bit, by bit, by bit. Allegedly, when these additional forces were
first unleashed, blah-blah-blah,
they somehow damaged the nature of the speed force, yadda-yadda-yadda, and now it’s up to Barry and co to... to...
to... well, do something to rectify matters! Otherwise, the Black Flash is going to sterilize the force by killing everyone who’s been imbued with these newly birthed abilities! Namely, Steadfast (an avatar of the still force), Fuerza (an avatar of the strength force),
and Psych (an avatar of the sage
force). Or as I like to call them, the nice one, the arrogant one, as well as
the sly one! Which reminds me...
4) Were the bad guys, bad enough? Well, I suppose that all depends on how you’d define
the term bad. To me, bad means evil, cruel, and vindictive, and can only really
be measured in terms of somebody’s actions.
So, from a scale of one to ten, I’d say foes such as King Shark, Tar Pit, and Girder, were a four at best, because
they caused some damage but were ultimately ineffective. Whereas Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and The Weather Wizard,
were a moderate six, because they showed up, did their thing, and set up whatever
they’re going to do next. And finally, at the top of my list, I’d award Black Flash and Psych a cool eight, because their actions were very sinister and
very, very mean, wink-wink!
5) Was Rafa Sandoval's art any good? Yes, yes, and three times yes to the power of
Grayskull. In fact, Rafa’s artwork was so good; I’m not entirely sure
what I should praise first! I mean, should I begin my adulation by
applauding his bold, brazen, and bombastic illustrations of Barry and his buddies? Or should I take
that as a given, and just concentrate my praise towards his nicely choreographed action scenes that
were evenly paced and very dynamic to behold? For example, he drew those scenes featuring the Black Flash, almost as if he were a
cross between the angel of death, a super-fast zombie, and the New God, The Black Racer. Similarly, his depiction of Fuerza was also nicely illustrated as well. Although, in her case, he managed to capture her feminine and masculine sides, particularly
during that strangely disrespectful scene where she cracked the King Shark’s jaw! That said, however, I
wasn’t too keen on some of the redesigned outfits. Most notably, Captain Cold's outfit, who now looks like a bad-ass version of Santa Claus; as well as The Weather Wizard's outfit, who comes across as a morose-hippy that needs to eat some meat. Apart from that,
though, more or less, everything he drew was fairly spot-on.
THE MUSIC:
For this month’s musical match-up, I’m going to align this
adventure with the Lionel Richie song,
‘Running with the Night’, simply
because the Black Flash is good at running and is as dark as the night.
In issue 76 of the
Flash, Wallace West said that the
Speed Lab ‘feels a lot like an absentee
Dad showing up with a new toy thinking all will be forgiven’. Which, to me,
kind of sums up both of these two episodes and justifies this month’s comic
book comparison!
Say no more.
THE CONCLUSION:
At the end of issue 77,
Psych does something to his allies that I found very surprising but very
appropriate for his character. So, out of the following eight options, let’s
see if you can guess what he actually does? I mean, could it involve him…
- Slapping
them.
- Selling
them.
- Stabbing
them.
- Ignoring
them.
- Kissing
them.
- Hugging
them.
- Lying
to them.
- Double-crossing
them!
Nuff said.
FLASH #76 & #77
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
September 17, 2019
Rating:

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