The Flash #758 // Review
Barry Allen’s world is crumbling around him in The Flash #758, written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Christian Duce and Scott Kolins, and colors by Luis Guerrero and Hi-Fi, so why is it so hard to care about it? Previously, Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne) made his surprising return when he snapped Barry’s best frenemy, Godspeed’s neck. He quickly escaped afterward, but while Flash searched the world for him, he was secretly putting together a who’s who of Allen’s enemies, including Gorilla Grodd, the Turtle, Captain Cold, and Glider, Trickster, and Barry’s own kids from the future, the Tornado Twins. As a unit, they hope to do what none of them could do alone--end the Flash once and for all.
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is missing from this arc, but it certainly is lacking some excitement. As usual, Williamson has what seems to be a fun concept (Flash vs. all of his worst enemies), but the actual execution is as bland as can be. Last issue’s cliffhanger promised an exciting fight, with the “Legion of Zoom” dividing and attacking important parts of Barry’s life simultaneously. How can Flash fight them all at once? Will he have to choose which part of his life means the most? Is this about making Barry Allen choose which of his friends and family die? All of those are questions implied by the end of issue #758. Unfortunately, Williamson sidestepped the exciting answers by having the attacks already ended by the opening of #758. Clearly, Williamson has a different story to tell, but it’s not better than the one he put into the readers’ minds with the cliffhanger to the first part of this arc.
Chapter 2 of Legion of Zoom highlights the Tornado Twins, albeit briefly, but Williamson still doesn’t give the readers much to latch onto. Maybe, if they had been a more prominent presence in the book up until now, their participation in the Legion would hold more weight, but as it is, they’re just kind of there. They seem to have legitimate gripes with their dad, but Williamson gives you so little on them, they just come off as bratty, whiny kids who grew up to be jerks. Having Barry deal with the consequences of his terrible parenting for an arc or two before having them join the Legion of Zoom would have made so much more sense than them just popping up here to help Reverse Flash kill their dad.
The bulk of this issue is drawn by Christian Duce, with a little assist at the end by legendary Flash artist Scott Kolins. Kolins, as always, leaves a memorable impression, especially with his contributions to this chapter’s surprise ending, but the same can’t entirely be said for Duce. Most of his work here is top-notch, as it usually is, but he does have one glaring weak spot that sticks out like a sore thumb: the Turtle. It is clear that Duce excels at drawing fit, toned, and beautiful people, but the Turtle doesn’t quite fit that mold. Leading to some awkward half male model, half-monster appearances by the rogue this issue, and the horror of it all won’t soon leave your mind.
This arc could have been so much more than it has been so far, with Barry Allen having to defy all odds to take on his most dangerous enemies all at once. Unfortunately, Williamson is going in a different direction. Not that that direction won’t end up being exciting in its own right, especially considering he’s only two issues into his story. It’s just concerning that the first two issues didn’t do their job of providing a strong hook to the arc. Continue reading at your own risk.
