“ …But deep down they’re all thinking the same thing.. Why are you best suited to have these powers? With so many speedsters…what makes YOU so special?”
After 7 issues, the Godspeed arc concludes here!!!!!!!!! Who lives? Who dies? What mysteries are solved and what mysteries are discovered? I can tell you for sure, this has been one of the most fun and probably one of my fave books off of the DC Rebirth line aside from Gleason’s Superman and Dan Jurgen’s Action Comic’s titles. Literally, everything that has been set up since issue one, with the Black Hole, the new speedsters, and the antagonist Godspeed, all of it has made this book really fun, fast paced, and excitingly engaging. Every issue thus far had me looking forward to the next, and this one is no different. There are things in this issue that I’m glad are brought up, but let’s cut to the chase… (Pun intended, I know, bare with me here).
Riding off the heal’s of the reveal and battle in Issue 7, Barry pushes his best effort to stop Godspeed who was revealed to be Detective August, barry’s forensics partner. Both of the characters clashed in terms of ideology in terms of brands of justice. Despite Barry’s protest to convince Godspeed to not kill the inmates that reside in Blackgate Prison, Barry decides to face Godspeed head on strategically. Despite his best to utilize strategy, Barry is brutally getting beaten, until a new ally arrives, and takes up the mantle of a predecessor that Barry once mentored. I won’t give away all the details in this issue but I can talk about what I enjoyed from it.
Joshua Williamson (Writer) really nailed this story and delivered a great fast paced, high adrenaline, action packed story, mixing mystery into the thick of things. He does a great job at executing the battle between Barry and Godspeed in a very satisfying matter. What’s great is that Williamson is setting up the chest pieces which will be the foundations of some story arc’s that will be addressed by the end of this year spanning into next year. What I enjoyed most was the mention of all the dangling plot threads such as who the identity of the real Leader of the Black Hole might be. Even hinting at the mystery of Meena’s disappearance, and how the other (Pre 52) Wally West is connected to the mystery of the smiley face (Watchmen)button pin that Batman found in his cave in DC Rebirth issue 1. There are other moments that are great too that I won’t mention as I’ll leave it to the reader to find out when they pick this issue up. Admittedly, Barry’s new ally has sort of a rushed introduction in terms of how he is able to channel his suit through the speed force, but that’ll probably be explored down the road.
The art by DI Giandomenico has been fantastically consistent and energetic throughout most of the run on this book. Despite having some fill in illustrators in between the earlier issues, Giandomenico really nails that kinetic, and energetic adrenaline that each of these speedsters emit and possess. Heck, the fight between Zoom, Barry and his new ally is really awesome to look at, but the double splash page of Barry chasing Godspeed really takes the cake on this issue. The coloring in this issue by Plascencia is really beautiful, glowing and powerful as it’s always been, but in this issue, really stands out with Giandomenico’s pencils. The rest of the team on this book did a superb job on this arc, making everything fall into place in good fashion of an issue. I really enjoyed this arc, and of all the DC titles that I’ve reviewed, this was a very satisfying read and a very satisfying title. I can’t wait for what Williamson and company do next in the next arc which concerns two speedsters who share the same name. I’m pretty sure you’ll get the hint, If not, just read the issue to find out yourself to see what I mean. I definitely recommend picking this up.
Newsdesk