Pick of the Week
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iFanboy
community think?
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Size: pages
Price: 2.99
What Geoff Johns does is he solves problems. You got a continuity issue? He’ll fix it. You got a character that doesn’t make any sense any more? He’ll fix it. You got a once popular character whose story has become a muddled mess of bad creative choices? He’ll fix it.
More so than any other issue in this miniseries, The Flash: Rebirth #5 is all about fixing The Flash and the world in which he lives. And believe me, it all needed a lot of fixing.
Up until this point, The Flash: Rebirth has been mostly focused on bringing Barry Allen back into the DC Universe and explaining the whys and wherefores behind his return. Before this issue we really had no idea what the new Flash world was going to look like after this miniseries (eventually) ends and the new Flash on-going begins. Who would be the star of the book? What would the supporting cast look like? What will be the new status quo when it all shakes out? We don’t have all the answers yet. There is still one issue to go and anything can happen, but at the very least we are starting to get some solid indications as to what the future may hold in Central and Keystone Cities.
I think my favorite thing about Geoff Johns’ writing is that you never really get the whole picture until the story is over. Johns is a self-proclaimed huge fan of Grant Morrison and that is an old Morrison hallmark and you’ve got to believe that Johns is taking a few of his storytelling cues from the Mad Scotsman. When this miniseries first began we saw a young Barry Allen coming home to find his mother murdered and his father arrested for the crime. Many sets of teeth were gnashed over this retcon because in the original story Barry’s parents were neither dead nor in jail. In this issue we find out that the time-hopping Reverse Flash has been jumping around in time to screw with Barry’s life. He reveals to Barry — in a most dramatic fashion — that he went back in time to kill Barry’s mother and frame his father for it and that Barry’s memories of his original life with his parents would begin to fade and that he would no longer remember things as they once were. As the issue ends, he runs off to remove Iris from Barry’s life as well. It’s all very deliciously evil.
In this miniseries we have seen almost the entire gallery of speedsters return from the afterlife of the Speed Force to reestablish the strong supporting cast that The Flash had throughout the previous Mark Waid and Geoff Johns eras. That was always the one of the strongest elements of the book back then. It wasn’t just about The Flash, but Jay Garrick and Impulse and Max Mercury and Jesse Quick as well (Sorry, Johnny Quick! Back into the Speed Force corn fields with you!). Slowly but surely those characters were shuffled off to the side as the book narrowed its focus to Wally West and his horrible family. Now they’re all back and there is a fantastic two-page spread in this issue with the newly revived and costumed (more on that in a bit) speedsters running straight at Reverse Flash. I had forgotten how much I had missed all of those characters and it was really nice to see them a together again. There was Liberty Belle (formerly Jesse Quick), and Max Mercury, and Kid Flash (formerly Impulse), and Barry Allen, and Wally West, and Impulse, and Jay Garrick and it was all very–
Hold up a second. There’s a new Impulse!
Possibly the very best thing that Geoff Johns did in this issue was solve the Wally West Kid Problem. Throughout recent years we have been plagued with Wally West’s horrible and creepy kids who have dragged the stories down and turned Wally West into a gigantic whiner. Here, Johns does the next best thing to having a bus run them over, J.J. Abrams style. He waves his magic Geoff Johns wand and reveals that this entire time the twins have been sharing access to the Speed Force and it is slowly destroying them unless one of the kids takes all the power on for themselves, which is what his daughter Irey does, absorbing all of her brother’s power into her own body and thus becoming the next speedster in the family. Not only is this a development I can get behind — it means no more creepy overly muscled son! — but it’s nice to have another female speedster in the mix.
The stage is now set. Barry is back, his old friends and allies are back. All that’s left now is for one seriously pissed off Barry to stop Reverse Flash from removing his wife Iris from the time stream and thus his life and memories. And he is seriously pissed off. When Barry calls Reverse Flash a son of a bitch I audibly gasped.
Now let’s get to the not so good elements of this issue and that’s the new costumes for Wally West and Jesse Quick. As the Flash Family runs to attack Reverse Flash, Wally teaches them all to use the Speed Force to regenerate their ripped up costumes. Everyone keeps their own designs except for Wally and Jesse. Wally ends up in a suit of darker red with a Batman-esque nose covering that recalls the costume from The Flash TV show. It’s not bad, but not what I was expecting. I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually. The most disappointing was Jesse Quick whose old costume had a really classic, retro feel to it that was perfect for a member of the Justice Society. Her new outfit has a lot less material (maybe she’s looking to save on laundry bills?) in the chest and leg areas and it’s as much of a disappointment as when they basically did the same thing to The Huntress all those years ago — swapping out a great full body costume for one that bared a lot more skin.
Yes, this book is plagued with some very ironic delays, but whether or not that has to do with the notoriously slow artist Ethan Van Sciver, it’s hard to argue with the results. He lays down some seriously dynamic pages in this issue, including a couple of great splash pages that mirror each other in the beginning and at the end of the issue. Van Sciver can handle the emotional acting just as well as he can the big action sequences. I keep looking at Barry’s face in the two page speedsters spread and he does such a great job of capturing Barry’s grim determination. If I sat that face running at me, I’d scream like a little girl, throw whatever I was holding straight up into the air, and run away in the opposite direction, arms a-flailing.
I’m really excited for the final issue of this series. I feel like once all six issues are read together the pieces of the story that, in the beginning, seemed disparate will all fall into place and this will be one hell of a compelling read.
Conor Kilpatrick
There’s still a bus with Jai’s name on it.
conor@ifanboy.com
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I will have to pick this up when its done, seems like a good pick, but I really want to hear what you guys thought of Invincible on the show!
I enjoyed this issue, but not as much as the rest. The best thing about this issue was getting rid of creepy muscle boy.
Punisher #11 was my pick. Damn good fun and amazing Tony Moore artwork. Plus, Legion of Monsters. What’s not to like?
My favorite book so far, but it’s the only one I’ve read of my stack, it’ll be hard for another book to knock it off and I say that without reservation.
@Conor: Thank you for (finally) putting a Geoff Johns book over the top. He deserves this acknowledgement, and I’m pretty sure that, as Blackest Night comes to a close, the rest of the iFanboy crew will be compelled to follow your insight, and choose some of Johns’ books as PotW as well.
@msarsur: This is the third Geoff Johns Pick of the Week this year.
This issue wasn’t as good as the last 2 for me, but it’s still better than nearly every comic I read. I don’t care how much of a wuss I sound like but for some reason, this book really makes me cry. I don’t know why, probably because the deep family themes resonate with me.
Honestly though, if they give us a book of this quality every 3 months or so, arent you willing to wait? Because I know I damn sure am.
@Conor I agree with you how shocking it was to hear Barry say "son of a bitch". It literally set the stakes for the last issue without having to do a cliche death.
After all the hype of Wally getting a new costume, I was very let down. I figured he’d get his Nightwing/Troia/Tempest/Red Arrow-esque persona, but hey, the series isn’t over either. If you look on the boots, he doesn’t have those "wings" anymore either.
As for that whole costume sequence itself… I-I don’t know what just happened there. I had to go back and make sure that Wally really decided as they’re in the middle of taking down Zoom, that what they really need is new costumes. Not only that, but the method of doing it was pretty ridiculous (I never read Flash before Rebirth, so I don’t know if this was an established thing before.) The whole scene just felt very X-Men 3, if that makes any sense.
I didn’t think the issue was bad, it just wasn’t great. The longer this mini goes on, the more I feel like I was wrong in my assumption that I basically knew who The Flash was. I gave it a 4, but I’ve been thinking about bumping it down to a 3. My week sucked pretty bad though. My POTW was Azrael, which was the very definition of "above average."
Jay Garrick through his helmet at Reverse Flash. That is the most awesome old man thing he’s ever done.
or "threw"
Spelling after two a.m. becomes more and more difficult.
This and Punisher were close to but Viking was really good this week.
@Slockheart Wally’s been doing the speed force costume thing since at least Waid’s first one.
I was kinda hoping they’d switch him to the Dark Flash costume.
I think I like 4 a little better than this issue, but this was still good. My pick was Hellblazer. Excellent this month.
I was like new Impulse? I’m down with that!
I too, was severely disapointed in Jesse Quick’s costume re-design.
Looking forward to some discussion on Invincible 68.
@Slockhart making a costume from the speed force was used in the Morrison/Millar run. At this point, the speed force basically does whatever the writer wants it to. It’s like God in a very fast machine.
Ha finally some thing i agree with, it’s been a straight 5 weeks since I agreed with you guys, Awesome pick Conor.
Unfortunately, this issue didn’t work for me. I’m glad many of you enjoyed it, but the story felt very strange to me. Slockhart nailed it with his description of the costume "magic". Very X3.
I didn’t have a pick of the week. Nothing I read deserved the title.
I’m with you Chadbowen248 it has been a long dry spell…
I normally don’t like when time travel is used as a plot crutch. However, I sometimes get behind it when it makes a story somewhat compelling or makes sense. That being said, I hated the development behind Zoom killing Barry’s mother. Let me clarify…I’m completely fine with Zoom doing it, as it makes sense being as he’s a time traveler. I hate the fact that there are residuals of Barry’s parents being alive, and that he sort of remembers them as such. It makes the whole time traveling thing much more confusing, and makes portions of the plot much harder to swallow for me.
Otherwise, I thought it was a pretty decent issue. I can understand why so many people have such a hard time with this book, as trying to explain something intangable and theoretical as the speed force is a really tough task. Regular metaphysics are hard enough to understand, so made-up metaphysics are understandably harder to grasp.
I don’t know, for me this was one of the worst comics I’ve read in the last few months. I started reading comics in 2004 and picked up Flash 212 with the Mirror Master story and LOVED it. I was really looking forward to Rebirth doing for the Flash what it’s done for the Green Lantern series but this is totally letting me down and making me think twice about picking up any new ongoing.
I haven’t read any Flash prior to 212 so maybe I’m missing something here and that’s swaying my opinion of this, but that shouldn’t be my problem; it wasn’t with Green Lantern: Rebirth. The whole speed force stuff just seems so convoluted that I more or less just skim through when they’re trying to explain it all. And I honestly don’t get the point of the murder, why is that necessary at all? I groaned when that page with "I killed your mother" showed up especially after seeing his other "evil" acts like pushing a kid down the stairs. I mean, seriously? I don’t know, I’d bow out now but I might as well just read the one remaining issue. Hopefully there’s something I can find to like.
I love the Flash, but I really can’t stand all the speed force mumbo jumbo. It totally takes me out of the story.
I think I like the issue more now that I’ve read your review. Some of the story peice were just a little hokey I thought, and the regeneration of costumes using the speed force? come on… cheesey. But, Conor made some points that made me bump up my star rating a smidge. And, hey, you gotta love a new Impulse, right? I also didn’t know that Johns had retconned the origin with the whole murdered mom and dad stuff, that makes it more interesting. Nice review. thanks.
Love the speed force. This was a lot of fun. Can’t wait for the new Flash ongoing.
I really miss Liberty Belle though. I loved that costume and I really liked her and Hourman together. Hope that’s not going away.
Didn’t someone important become the black flash last issue? Or was that two issues ago? I’m so confused…
I didn’t think the whole kids thing could be fixed, but Johns did it pretty satifactorily and gave us a new Impulse, which ties into DC whole Legacy thing they like to do. Though I’d be pissed if I was the brother who doesn’t have powers anymore.
@cromulent I’m sure he’ll get his powers back when his sister is brutally murdered by a perverted rogue in under 18 months. That is the cycle with these legacies nowadays. I kid because I love (and I do love me some legacy characters)
Speaking of love: Speed Force Mumbo Jumbo
Wouldn’t like the flash without it. It just makes him so much better than that guy who has "go fast" powers.The idea of stealing momentum and lending speed is just so cool. I’m kinda a physics nerd. That might have something to do with it.
The first sentence of Conor’s review really sums up my thoughts on this issue. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I thought it was a great comic. I’m impressed by Johns’ ability to explain and fix things. I think he also does a great job of finding ways to "sum up" a character. I think he does a fantastic job with a number of things in the issue. But my problem is that these little moments of brilliance are hung on a very basic plot that I feel is a little shallow.
Some fun bits, but not my pick. Right now front runners include Hellblazer and the Punisher (monster-y goodness!), but I’ve yet to read Phonogram, so we’ll see.
for a minute I thought the kids were going to die. I was really excited. then no. dammit.
Glad to see the guys finally got a pick of the week right!!!!
It was right the previous weeks too. No one has inadvertently written an essay about a comic they didn’t enjoy.
Fine review Conor. I never trusted Geoff Johns after #1 and I was wrong! I won’t be at all upset if Wally keeps the TV-ish costume . . . it’s pretty much the one he had years ago, bar the new nose and the lesser-angled chest bolt (you don’t suppose he’s getting a new name starting with S? Nahhhh).
I think Jesse looks rather good in her dad’s old cossie – and is there any reason she can’t still be Liberty Belle too, when the mood takes her?
On the explanations front, was it ever explained how come we saw Barry crumble in Crisis yet he has a body? The youthful Iris bit was interesting, but with all her time-travelling and that morphed dead woman she inhabited, who knows how she should look?
Jay still has one of the coolest costumes in comics. My favorite Flash.
Good pick Conor!
See Josh? It’s not that hard. A good big event type book comes out on Conor’s pick week, and Blammo! POTW!
Pay attention!
At least somene knows where their bread is buttered!
Sheesh!
*mutter*
@Conor: All I’m saying is that Blackest Night hasn’t been the Pick of the Week yet… I was almost wondering where all the Johns love had gone… 😉 BTW, I learned about iFanboy from that videocast you guys have made with Geoff Johns @ Universe, and have been here ever since. All in all, great pick!
This issue was amazing. Really like the whole flash family of characters gettting together.
YES!
Across various comic websites, it’s cool to see a mix of opinions and levels of excitement about different projects. In most other places, the Blackest Night love and hype have been nearly nauseating (NEARLY, but I’m still likin’ it alright, heh); on iFanboy, y’all just matter-of-factly review the issues as they come out, and I generally agree with you guys: all four BN issues so far have been pretty good, but not show-stopping great. On the other hand, most other reviewers on other sites have NOT been taken with Flash Rebirth at all; but you guys have given it the POTW twice (I think). I only read the first issue and was really, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally underwhelmed. That said, I was a fan of Legion of 3 Worlds, particularly BECAUSE it got insanely convoluted (I find that sort of disorienting stuff FUN sometimes). So maybe I’ll like the rest of Flash Rebirth if/when I ever read it. Bottom line: I’m quite interested in you guys talking up this series because few other sources are doing so.
Awesome review! I’ve been loving everything Geoff Johns is putting out. Although I don’t know how to feel about Adventure Comics #4. I think I liked it a lot.
Some of the stuff seemed a little confusing as this is the first Flash series I’ve read, plus the fact that it’s been three months since the last one came out. The only thing I got out of it was the bad Flash killed the good Flash’s mom.
I’m shocked this was pick, only because I’ve heard nothing but iffy thing about this all around the web. But I’m on trade waiting so I have no real opinion on the matter. Although hearing that Jay Garrick had a badass moment makes me excited for the trade. Still great review as always conor.
Pick was Azrael #2, although I got to admit it was a sloooow week for me. Nicieza is adding a good rogues gallery for Azrael and Bachs art was much better. Overall it was an improvement from the first issue, which is always a good sign for a comic.
I liked the new costumes.
I was not at all pleased with Jesse’s costume change, although it was a lot better then her original Jesse Quick get-up. the Liberty Belle dungerees (I apologizes for my lack of spelling) will be missed.
Great pick !! I as no sure how I felt about this mini…but this issue saved it.
@mart It’s been established… since at least Waid took over the title back in the 90s, that Barry disappeared into the speed force completely, body and consciousness, and what was left behind was an echo of Barry. There’s also a few stories where it is claimed that Barry briefly flitted to the future right before his body disintegrates and then ran back as an old man to die during Crisis.
Despite all that wonkiness, I would say…. to the Speed Force, matter is matter and thus Barry’s body could be remade just as easily as Wally’s new costume is. (I haven’t read the issue, yet, but the making a costume out of thin air is a Waid invention that other writers have expanded upon Morrison/Millar & Johns most notably.)
I with TNC, that I’m waiting for the trade. Although, I’m glad to hear that the series is finally gaining momentum(pun intended).
LOVED THIS ISSUE.
– TIME FORCE MUMBO JUMBO.YES!
– BARRY BEING BADASS! LOVE IT!
– NEW IMPULSE! I FREAKING LOVE IMPULSE!
– RACE AGAINST TIME TO STOP ZOOM! CAN’T WAIT!
– THE FLASH FAMILY JOINING FORCES! HURRAH!
Seriously there is nothing more then I could want from a Flash Comic. I can’t wait for the new ongoing. I hope Barry, Wally, Bart, Jessie, Iris and Jay are all apart of it.
However, despite giving this issue a five I still think Punisher was my POW!
You know, I was thinking about commenting on this, but it looks like TimmyWood said everything I was going to say. Except that last sentence. ADVENTURE COMICS was my pick.
@PraxJarvin, I read all those books but managed to forget the ‘echo of Barry’ stuff, I suppose that fits in with the nuttiness surrounding Bart being physically beaten to death but it not being him as that was an adult duplicate akin to cancer, or something.
I much prefer your ‘Speed Force remade the body bit’ as that gives Barry back his original face and hair. The ‘running back to die in Crisis’ thing I try to forget!
I don’t see Barry using the phrase ‘son of a bitch’ as him being suddenly ‘badass’ so much as him now being written in an era when such things can be said. Ever since Steve Englehart wrote him in the JLA as being a Midwesterner cowed by the warrior woman Diana, there’s been a prevailing idea he was a naive prat, as opposed to the guy whose phases included Starsky and Hutch-style cop, angry widower and more.
I’VE DONE IT!!
This is the only book I picked up this week and it became the POTW. Great Book!
The spreads were breathe-taking. The dialogue is superb. The action is greatly plotted. Worth the wait.
But that doesn’t mean I’m ok with delays. I’ll give Johns/Van Sciver a break for this masterstroke.
Good thing they put the Scream Award for Johns in this issue. So that when people pick this up, they know shit’s getting real.
I don’t think I can sleep because of this..UGH!
The JSA Preview was hilarious, too..
What is the Scream Award? The cover blurb meant nothing to me (ohhhhh Vienna!)!
I like Wally’s new costume. As soon as I saw it I thought of the TV show. However, I really doubt Liberty Belle will stay in this new one. Could be wrong but it’s just a hunch.
Nice review! Johns is kind of hit or miss to me, but I’ve been digging this series, and since I’m not following much else in the DCU as it comes out, the lateness doesn’t bother me much especially since the Van Sciver art looks amazing.
I admit I’m rolling my eyes a bit about death of/threat to female loved ones being trotted out as a plot device yet again, but I’m hoping that will resolve all right in the end, and certainly enjoyed the use of young Iris & Jesse in this (though I concur about Jesse’s costume) I’m hoping the resolution will save both of Barry’s parents, and will end up being a meta commentary on how not every hero needs to be Batman — orphan with a tragic backstory, etc — in order to be interesting.
I agree with the slick stuff at the tail end last 5 pages of this book. but the whole family of flashes and "Girl Power" stuff was really dopey.
@Mart : it’s an annual awards showby Spike TV. But awards are mostly people’s choice.
It focuses on rock/metal music, sci fi, video games.. The works.. It’s like if you make AOTS an award show just much much darker.
I really, really loved this issue. Johns writing Wally was one of the things that got me back into comics way back when. He knows these characters. There’s a difference in the "Flash Family" to the family nature of say, the Fantastic Four. These people aren’t necessarily related by more than sharing the same power set. But they know each other. They learn from each other constantly. Just because Max is nigh-on immortal and Jay Garrick is far older than he looks/feels doesn’t mean they still can’t learn from Bart or Barry or Jesse. The little line of Wally saying to Barry "I’ll have to teach you the costume power-up" was awesome. It bespeaks to Wally’s experience without belittling Barry’s prowess. It’s these great little moments that made the book for me.
As for Wally’s costume… it’s not entirely a new design. It looks very similar to the dakrer colored, shiny costume Wally wore during the mid-90s. I think starting with Flash #50. I like it. Jesse Quick’s short shorts on the other hand….
@ohcaroline But it wouldn’t be a Barry Allen story if Iris wasn’t in danger! 😉
It wasn’t a particularly brilliant week of comics for me and, even if I think this was by far the best issue of the mini so far, it still didn’t come close to being my pick of the week.
There were a lot less stuff this time that annoyed me (these new Speed Force revelations not with standing) but I just reread The Return of Barry Allen a couple of days ago and in comparison to that classic Flash tale, Rebirth feels rather limp. The characterisation is rather bland, the pace is slow and the story itself simply is not all that compelling. Also, Van Sciver’s art is simply to stuff and bulky to fit the Flash.
I like Wally’s new suit because I loved the suit he wore back in the 90s, which is very similar to this.
All in all, it was an OK issue that was about seven million times better than the other Johns comics this week – the totally rubbish Adventure Comics – but, honestly, at this point, I am way more excited by the return of Max Mercury than Barry Allen.
Call me towards the end of April when the hardcover comes out…
damn
It was a tough choice between this and Invincible, and I went with the latter, almost by random picking because they were both excellent.
Thanks Nathan. I’ve never seen Attack of the Show, don’t think it airs in the UK. Time for some Youtube.
Almost forgot to say: The infinite mass punch may be the greatest superpower of all time.
This was discussed in the podcast, but what is the cover an homage to?
@AmirCat: The Flash #123