By now that you’ve heard all the rumors about the death of a certain character this week. At last I can confirm that yes, Barry Allen alias “The Flash” dies in this issue. The cover doesn’t lie, it’s death by electric chair. Don’t worry I’m only joking. Who would possibly bring a long-dead character back to life only to soon kill them off in the middle of some big event? Anyway, moving on…
While the first issue teased us with glimpses of a strange new world and then bombarded us with information about it, this one is much more secure in exploring it both internally and externally. In this way we are given two brilliant scenes of Aquaman and Wonder Woman enforcing order in their respective kingdoms with equal ruthlessness (although any scene that dishes out some pain to Deathstroke the Pirate automatically gets a cheer from me).
Meanwhile, Barry Allen has an understandably hard time convincing Thomas Wayne of his tale (does Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash have some grand plan or is he just the biggest bastard in the universe?) What comes through in this slightly overlong exchange is just how different this Batman is, a broken man who would give up everything to bring his son back. As Mr Innes observed, the Knight of Vengeance series appears to be getting the most out of the character while it can and I love the idea of exposing a neo-noir vein within a big, colorful science fiction story.
Andy Kubert once again delivers fantastic work constructing a dark and twisted world infused with the typical DC campiness. Intentional or not, he is also able to find black humour in the strangest places, especially if it’s a brief misadventure in a customized electric chair.
Joe Read.
