Flash Facts

Two comics this week featuring the Flash? Let’s get right into ’em!

The Flash #234

This issue sees the Flash family discovering some more superpowers. First, Flash is able to synch his vibrational aura to his kids’, which allows him to pull the kids to him no matter where he’s at. Jai thinks it’s fun, because it’s like flying. Iris hates it because she thinks of it as being pulled around by a leash. Also, Jai is depressed because he overheard that his and Iris’ unstable powers could kill them at any time, and he accidentally triggers a new power — he can vibrate his genetic code up and down through time, allowing himself to take on a monstrous appearance. No, these powers don’t make a bit of sense, but comic-book science should always be taken with about 20 tons worth of salt.

Verdict: Ehh, I think I’ll give it a thumbs up. I like the kids’ reactions to things, but I do wish we could see some more Flash-centric superspeeding.

The Brave and the Bold #8

Obviously, this issue sees a team-up between the Doom Patrol and the Flash — actually, with the entire Flash family. Niles Caulder, leader of the Doom Patrol, offers to examine Jai and Iris and see if there’s a way to stabilize their powers. Wally and Linda are nervous, because Caulder is, at best, a kook, and at worst, a fairly ruthless mad scientist. Still, they travel to Prague to hear Caulder out. The kids end up getting good and creeped out by Robotman, Negative Man, and Elasti-Girl, and Caulder reveals his plan to link the kids up through another special guest — Metamorpho, the Element Man — and give them a micro-cellular scan to see how to stabilize them. Unfortunately, Metamorpho mysteriously vanishes in the middle of the procedure, leaving the kids dissolving into their component atoms! Caulder thinks Robotman’s body can contain one of the kids — and Wally has to decide which one of his children to save. And bizarrely, it’s found that Metamorpho left the word “Megistus” behind — the same mysterious name that cropped up last issue.

Verdict: Thumbs up. This was a very cool comic. I loved the way the Doom Patrol was portrayed — they’re usually written as somewhat offbeat heroes, but here, they’re terrifying freaks. Even Elasti-Girl, who looks perfectly normal, smiles all the time, no matter how inappropriate, because she thinks it’s the only way anyone will like her. The story is like riding through a really fun carnival haunted house. The whole series has been grand fun, so go check it out.