Review: FLASH FORWARD #6
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artists: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund
Colours: Luis Guerrero
Letters: ALW’s Troy Peteri
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
Flash Forward #6: The finale of Flash Forward is here, and Wally West must make the toughest choice of his life: save the day, or save his family. With the crack in the Dark Multiversal barrier reaching critical mass, Wally’s mettle will be tested in ways the young hero has never seen before…and this surprise ending will leave you speechless!
Positives
Flash Forward #6 brings about some major changes in the status quo for Wally West. I have mixed feelings about the changes, but on the whole, I am more pleased than not.
The best and most important change is that Wally’s family has been restored. Jai and Irey have been returned to DCU continuity, and are back with their mother Linda Park. And Linda’s memory of them and her marriage to Wally has been fully restored.
Given DC’s solicitations for this Flash Forward #6, prospects didn’t look good for the kids. It appeared that Wally might be having to resolve himself to never seeing his family again. Instead we got a touching scene of Linda reuniting with Jai and Irey.
Wally demands that Tempus Fuginaut take the kids home to Earth in exchange for willingly taking a seat in the Mobius Chair, so that he can bring an end to the Dark Multiverse’s incursion. However, the entirety of information the Chair has gathered will fill Wally’s mind. As Wally puts it, “There won’t be any room left in my head for anything else. No thoughts of Linda. Iris and Jai. Not even room for me in my own mind”. Wally is sacrificing his own happiness for his family and to save reality itself.
Positives Cont.
The final page tells us “The adventure continues in The Flash #750, which implies that we won’t have long to wait to see what’s next for Wally. And it’s likely that Wally’s family will be appearing in that title as well. And we also know that Wally will be appearing in May’s Generation Zero: Gods Among Us and the subsequent Generation chapters.
Negatives
I’m rather disappointed that Wally is not returning to his family, and resuming his career as the Flash. This reminds me of the story of Moses not being permitted to enter the Promised Land that he had led the Israelites to. I would much rather have Wally as the Flash than whatever his role will be piloting the Mobius Chair.
However, this is his status quo going into a major event. We don’t know what state he will emerge from this Generation event in. Plus, we see Wally with a smile on his face in the last panel. Could it be that he knows something that we readers don’t about his future?
Negatives Cont.
I am also somewhat worried about a panel in Superman: Heroes. There is a woman with Barry Allen at the Hall of Justice who is wearing a costume thematically similar to Barry’s. Brian Michael Bendis has identified this character on Twitter as Iris West. It was assumed that this was Barry’s girlfriend Iris.
However, could this have been meant to be the younger Iris West? I certainly hope not, as I don’t want to see Irey get the same instant aging process that Bendis gave Jon Kent. However, it’s hard to know which Iris this is, considering that neither one is a blonde like the image shows.
Verdict
While I hate the Wally was put through the crap he has had to endure through Rebirth and culminating in Heroes in Crisis, I am pleased to see much of the damage has been corrected in Flash Forward. Hopefully, the Generation books will finish the job and return Wally to his family and his role as the Flash.
