Detail from the cover to The Flash #21; art by Francis Manapul
For almost as long as there’s been a Flash, there has been a Flash Family. Barry Allen wasn’t ten issues into his solo series when Kid Flash Wally West was introduced in The Flash #110. Elongated Man came two issues later, and Jay Garrick returned to the fold in the classic “Flash of Two Worlds.” Eventually there were half-a-dozen or more speedsters, plus assorted other heroes and reformed villains, who made up the Flash Family. The fact that most of the speedsters were related in a literal sense just added to the family aspect.
The Flash Family is one thing that is definitively gone as a result of DC’s New 52 reboot. Barry Allen is no longer ‘Uncle Barry’ to anyone that readers know of yet, and while there is a Kid Flash running around he seems to have no connection to his namesake. The Flash #21, then, sees the first meeting between the scarlet speedster and the kid who’s been running around using his name. It’s a meeting that, while not entirely unpredictable, is enjoyable both for what it harkens back to and for what it brings to the table in a new way.
The majority of the issue takes place at superspeed, with readers joining The Flash as he chases Kid Flash around the world. The actual ‘meeting’, then, is not shown, but it’s implied that Kid Flash bolted as soon as he saw The Flash. It’s an interesting reaction, and directly inverse to the relationship between the original Flash and Kid Flash. Wally West was The Flash’s biggest fan when he became his sidekick, whereas the Bart Allen here wants nothing to do with a Flash who is anything but his mentor. For readers of The Flash, there’s some mystery about this Kid Flash – he’s a time traveler? And possibly a fugitive or criminal of some sort? – and it’s certainly enough of a hook to make one want to find out more about the character. The interaction between Barry and Bart is entertaining, and the way each uses his powers is both unique and illuminating of each of their characters.
The opening spread of The Flash #21; art by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Considering that the entire issue is essentially a race, it feels like Francis Manapul really gets to cut loose on the art. His superspeed is, as always, kinetic, but it’s even more exhilarating here than in the past. Manapul has only had short bursts of speed to work with before, so to have two speedsters in conflict this time around not only allows for some fantastic speed sequences, but also lets Manapul and co-writer Brian Buccellato illustrate the potential dangers involved in superspeed activity.
If there’s one complaint about the issue, it’s a minor one but still worth mentioning: there is dialogue between The Flash and Kid Flash that takes place when both characters are traveling well above the speed of sound, and when they’re not exactly near enough to each other to be reading each other’s lips. It’s probably fair to chalk this up to some wibbly-wobbly comic book science, but The Flash has so far been a title that has at least tried to make sense of the more practical science aspects in the past. Again, it’s a minor quibble, but still something that stands out in an otherwise well thought-out comic.
The Flash #21 is a brisk, pleasant read. As a part of the ongoing “Reverse” storyline, it stands pretty solidly on its own two feet, barely touching on the mystery of the new Reverse-Flash while it establishes the dynamic between the current Flash and Kid Flash. A meeting between these two characters was inevitable, and the way that it plays out is both logical and entertaining. Here’s hoping for more interaction between these two in the future.
