Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Howard Porter
Release Date: July 12, 2017
Cover Price: $2.99
The Flash has kind of had a rough year. Not that the book is bad, far from it; The book is phenomenal. What I actually mean is that the Flash's life has been rough. He gets a new force of speedsters to train, only for them to either lose their powers, die, or vanish in the case of budding love interest Mina in the attack from Godspeed. He faced the criminal organization, Black Hole, witnessed the return of The Rogues, entered The Shade's realm of shadows, investigated the murder of his greatest foe, Reverse Flash, and now has witnessed his rebirth. As I said, a VERY rough year.
So what is the Reverse Flash's goals this time around? The same as always, destroy his life of course! Step one was to kidnap the love of his life, Iris West. Step two was to reveal his identity to said love interest. It's now time to see the aftermath of this event and honestly, I don't think it can get much worse... Right?
SURPRISE! IT GOT WORSE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY!
After revealing The Flash's Identity to Iris, Thawne shows them their future where their future children turn evil and destroy Central City in a final battle against their father. This opening sets the tone of the rest of the issue, showing that the road that Barry runs on is one that will end in pain. It's a grim future that is very much plausible and can be caused by The Flash's actions. Where cases like Flashpoint, the mystery of how ambiguous of what created it, it is made clear that this is indeed Barry's fault and shows off the true curse of being a superhero in general: What is the price of time lost saving the world? The answer, in this case, is weakened relationships, which leads to a bitter future.
While on the subject of relationships, if there's really any negative in this issue, it's Iris West. As expected, she feels hurt that Barry has been lying to her for all this time, but in a surprise turn: she wants to work things out. In most superhero stories I've read, when the love interest finds out the secret on accident, they tend to be so torn up by the lie, they leave them. This is not the case here as she openly says she wants to work it out and understands why he hid this truth. The problem with this is that she says this AFTER BARRY FOLLOWS THAWNE! All of what happened next could have been avoided if she said it outright! It might sound like a nitpick, but knowing something so simple could have spared The Flash from his fate really got under my skin.
The highlight of the issue would be Barry's time in the Negative Speed Force. As he is left in the realm by the Reverse Flash, it left Barry to think of all the times he should have told his loved ones his secret; told them how he cherished them over being The Flash. You can feel the pain and anguish on his face as the energy of the Negative Speed Force is absorbed into his system and becomes... something else. I won't say what he becomes, but it looks amazing and dark thanks to the art of Howard Porter. It's probably one of my favorite pieces of comic art from him.
While on the subject of relationships, if there's really any negative in this issue, it's Iris West. As expected, she feels hurt that Barry has been lying to her for all this time, but in a surprise turn: she wants to work things out. In most superhero stories I've read, when the love interest finds out the secret on accident, they tend to be so torn up by the lie, they leave them. This is not the case here as she openly says she wants to work it out and understands why he hid this truth. The problem with this is that she says this AFTER BARRY FOLLOWS THAWNE! All of what happened next could have been avoided if she said it outright! It might sound like a nitpick, but knowing something so simple could have spared The Flash from his fate really got under my skin.
The highlight of the issue would be Barry's time in the Negative Speed Force. As he is left in the realm by the Reverse Flash, it left Barry to think of all the times he should have told his loved ones his secret; told them how he cherished them over being The Flash. You can feel the pain and anguish on his face as the energy of the Negative Speed Force is absorbed into his system and becomes... something else. I won't say what he becomes, but it looks amazing and dark thanks to the art of Howard Porter. It's probably one of my favorite pieces of comic art from him.
In conclusion, whether you follow the series or not, you NEED to get this issue. It shows off the best and worst qualities of Barry Allen while setting the stage for what could be one of the darkest chapters since the character's conception. Howard Porter brings his A-game as usual, making the twisted smile of Thawne scary and the speedsters look bad@$$. Go pick this up as soon as you can!
9.5/10
Issue Description:
“RUNNING SCARED” part two! Barry Allen and Iris West witness a chilling vision of the future courtesy of the Reverse-Flash, who reveals the couple’s legendary romance will yield only darkness for the world of tomorrow. Now, Thawne forces The Flash to make a choice: spend forever alone or doom the future?
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