Humble beginnings always require stumbling blocks and for Barry Allen, he has met his match as he faces off against his first supervillain, The Turtle!
After traveling to the future, encountering his future self, and witnessing the tyranny of the Turtle’s reign, Barry is at the crossroads and he has to make a choice, either to hide his powers or use it to make a difference. With prior knowledge of events that have yet to happen, can Barry succeed in preventing the future that he has witnessed?
Joshua Williamson/ Writing: I personally think that this arc will become just as seminal to The Flash as Frank Miller’s Year One is seminal to Batman’s mythos. It’s impressive to see how much Howard explores Barry’s journey as he gradually becomes The Flash that we’ve come to know within this run thus far. There is a ton of great scenes where Williamson digs into Barry’s process on how he utilizes his abilities in addition to seeing his costume and abilities organically develop throughout. There is a charm that Williamson is able to channel through Barry that provides readers insight on Barry’s progression and how his actions will reverberate throughout to the present. The issue is well paced, furthering the chemistry of Barry and Iris’s relationship, displaying Barry’s first battle with The Turtle and how all of the things that readers know and love all fall into place. It’s interesting to see how Williamson has weaved so much continuity from his own run and every other run together in such a way that it feels cohesive and organic from start to finish. I enjoy Barry’s monologues but I also enjoy witnessing his origins unfold in a way that will make readers curious to how it will affect the future in Williamson’s run.
Howard Porter’s artwork is great in this issue. There are some panels that do feel a little wonky at times, or maybe it’s just me, but in this issue, some panels in certain pages looked a little weird. But it’s not so terrible to a point that it takes away from the issue because it certainly doesn’t. The entirety of the issue is still wonderfully drawn and well sequenced. The fight between Barry and The Turtle is definitely amazing to see given that Porter’s strengths played in favor of the issue as it beautifully showcases how both of the characters powers works and how they negate one another. Now while the action is always great to see, I think the slower moments with Barry exploring his abilities and his dates with Iris, is some of the best panel work out there. With Hi-FI’s colors and Steve Wands lettering, it helps make this issue shine in a favorable light, where everything clicks in sync, making it an enjoyable reading experience narratively and visually.
This run continues to prove that Williamson cares for the character and is adding new material to the mythos that will be influential to the character’s mythology for years to come. I highly recommend picking this issue up and adding to your pull list for new comic book day!
Newsdesk