[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Howard Porter
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
“FLASH WAR” part three! There’s only one thing that can put Wally West’s life back together. As he races back to the present, he has one goal: break the Speed Force! Can The Flash stop his former sidekick before it’s too late?
Positives
While Wally attempts to break the Speed Force to rescue his children, Jai and Irey, Barry races to prevent him. Barry doesn’t trust that Zoom is telling the truth, and wants to prevent Wally from making a mistake similar to Barry’s creation of the Flashpoint.
However, their race is proving detrimental to the Earth. so their teammates in the Justice League and Titans gather to try to stop them. Superman attempts to catch up to them, but they are going too fast to even notice him. This series may or may not answer whether Barry or Wally is faster, but it does definitively establish that both are faster than Superman.
It’s great to see that Barry decides to trust Wally in the end and help him. Unfortunately, it turns out that Barry was right to suspect Zoom’s motivations. Zoom really wanted Wally to break the Speed Force to allow him to access the Speed Force, as well as two other similar forces: the Sage Force and the Strength Force. With these abilities, Zoom now declares himself to be the true Flash.
I also find it interesting that the Flash costume Zoom dons is the classic Silver Age Flash costume from the pre-Flashpoint DCU. Perhaps this might presage a reintroduction of that costume to the official canon.
Negatives
I can find little to fault with this issue. I did have reservations that there could be reason for Wally and Barry to come into conflict, but Williamson has given adequate justification.
Verdict
Despite this being an eventful summer for DC, the Flash War stands out as one of the most compelling storylines. I eagerly await the concluding chapter in two weeks.
