The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #6

Lightning in a Bottle Part Six: Burning Bridges

Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo Writers
Ken Lashley & Andy Smith Pencillers
Art Thibert Inker
Pat Brosseau Letterer
Richard & Tanya Horie Colorists
Rachel Gluckstern Assoc. Editor
Joan Hilty Editor
Cover by Art Thibert

This is our first cover not drawn by Lashley, and I'm pretty happy about that. Bart doesn't look dark and evil. The background isn't a vague mess of chaos. And the scene depicted on the cover actually happens in the story inside. Yeah, the guys in the car do look a little goofy, but everything else is pretty nice. Ironically, the children Flash is carrying look remarkably like Wally West's twins — who we haven't met yet.

Our story picks up with the Griffin ignorantly performing experiments on Jay Garrick in a desperate attempt to stop his rapid aging. While Griffin fiddles with the computers, Jay vibrates free from his restraints (which are completely different from what they looked like last issue). However, Griffin spots this before Jay is completely free and hits him with a blast of green lightning. At that same moment, Bart is actually conducting some good old fashioned detective work.

Bart returns to S.T.A.R. Labs to get more information about the stolen equipment from Dr. McGee. He then quickly visits the Keystone Water and Power Central Station to track down the isolated spike in energy the Speed Force Spectrometer would cause. He finds the spot on the corner of Anderson Street and Fox Avenue (named for Flash creators Murphy Anderson and Gardner Fox). Bart carefully vibrates through the street, making sure not to stretch the matter into taffy again, then quietly sneaks into Griffin's underground lair.

With Jay unconscious, Griffin has begun rambling incoherently to himself, complaining about how the city doesn't love him anymore (even though there has been no evidence to suggest this). Looking at an old poster of the bridge between Keystone and Central City, Griffin gets an idea to do something big to make everyone forget the Flashes. Bart decides he's heard enough at this point and whips up a cloud of cement mix dust and ties Griffin to a pillar with some cables. He then spots Jay and accuses Griffin of killing him.

While Bart tends to Jay, Griffin uses his green lightning to easily escape, making sure to take down the pillar he was tied to on his way out. Bart whisks Jay away to safety before the tunnel caves in, but discovers that Jay's heart has stopped. He begins to cry, wishing he could save his mentor, when suddenly a surge of lightning sparks from Bart's fingertips, giving Jay's heart the necessary jolt to start beating again.

We then head over to the Gila Canyon test site in Nevada, where Valerie has been strapped to a chair that presumably will break down her genetic material to rebuild her father's body. Val is remarkably calm and curious in the face of death, asking the question we've all been asking: What does Inertia have to gain by assisting Mota? Inertia mostly just laughs Val off, and Mota says once he regains his body, he and Inertia will proceed with their plans to take down the Flash. But Inertia thinks to himself that he's not seeing Mota in his plans.

Later, Bart and Joan are at Keystone General Hospital, waiting to hear how Jay is doing. Dr. McGee is also there, presumably to tell the doctors what that Speed Force machine did to him. McGee tells Bart and Joan that Jay was exposed to high levels of radiation and he's been moved to the ICU, but he has stabilized and his pulse is good. Bart tells them how Jay's heart was stopped when he found them, but he somehow was able to utilize the Speed Force to save him. Bart then realizes he should probably be out looking for the Griffin now, since he is an unstable homicidal maniac, after all.

Speaking of Griffin, he is currently carrying out his insane plan to regain the city's respect by sabotaging the Keystone Bridge. He destroys one of the bridge's support pillars, causing it to collapse with dozens of cars still crossing it. Bart hears the collapse from the hospital and rushes over there to find Griffin saving some people from the catastrophe he obviously caused. Bart joins him in rescuing more people, including the kids we saw on the cover. Griffin sees this and immediately attacks the Flash for stealing his thunder.

As the two fight, Bart randomly feels compelled to tell Griffin that he's Bart. Griff calls him a liar, saying Bart was weak. Bart notes the word "was" and starts spinning like a top for some reason. And then ... I'll just admit I can't follow this art ... somehow both Flash and Griffin end up underwater. I don't know if Bart knocked him down there and then jumped in after him or if he dragged him down there for whatever reason. But the important thing is Bart and Griffin are fighting each other in the river and Bart starts drowning. In this moment of extreme distress, however, Bart suddenly remembers everything that happened after he took Superboy-Prime to the Speed Force.

Griffin almost gets away, but he's suddenly hit by a huge piece of the collapsing bridge. Bart manages to dig him out from under the rubble and drag him to shore. Griffin weakly asks Bart why he bothered saving him, saying he's already a dead man. Bart coldly says if he knew the answer to that question then he might have actually been the hero he wanted to be. Griff tells Bart he was always the smart one, and he apologizes as he dies. And Bart just sits there and watches him die, making no effort to take him to the hospital or use the Speed Force to jolt his heart or anything.

The next day, Bart and Joan are visiting Jay in the hospital, who is reading the newspaper with the headline "Flash: Back" next to another headline, "Griffin meets a tragic end," indicating that Keystone still did love him. Anyway, the good news is Jay is healing fast and Bart is ready to tell him what he remembered. When Superboy-Prime escaped, Bart, Wally, Barry and Max followed his path to another Earth with an alternate version of Jay, who was unable to prevent Prime from stealing the Monitor Armor and taking off. Wally said they need to return to Earth to warn everybody that Superboy-Prime is returning, but Max realized none of them are fast enough to catch him.

As the speedsters discussed their dilemma, they agreed it would be possible, but incredibly dangerous, for Wally to absorb the entire Speed Force and be fast enough to catch Superboy-Prime. So Bart offered to go instead, telling Wally he needed to take care of his wife and children. So Barry gave Bart his suit, saying it'll protect him. Bart said he'll be OK since he'll have all of them with him, and he made his journey back to Earth, arriving just barely before Superboy-Prime did, essentially making his warning worthless. After Bart finishes telling Jay this story, Jay cheesily proclaims Bart as the Flash — the fastest man alive.




And so we come to the end of Griffin. I feel like Bilson and DeMeo really thought they had a big, emotional climax in this issue. But they failed to establish Griffin as a likable character, let alone Bart's best friend. If Griffin actually started out as a halfway decent guy, then his downfall would have had some emotional stakes. Instead, all we got was watching a big jerk turn into a bigger insane jerk with super powers. Instead of the final battle being an Obi-Wan vs. Anakin scenario, it was a dull, anticlimactic affair muddled by confusing artwork.

It also really bugs me that Bart made a point of saving Griffin to show him what a real hero does, only to idly sit by and watch him die. I'm fine with Griffin dying, but Bart should have at least tried to  revive him. However, this death scene was much more palatable than the Griffin on the CW Flash show, wherein our "heroes" deliberately planned on causing his death. But that's a complaint for a different blog.

The most exciting part of this issue was Bart randomly remembering everything that he supposedly forgot. But we really didn't learn anything new. From Infinite Crisis and 52 we already knew that Bart was given Barry's suit to run back to warn everyone because he was the only one who could do it. So I guess the only new bit of information we gleaned from this flashback was Superboy-Prime stealing the Monitor Armor from an alternate Earth. But now I want to know more about Prime's escape and the fate of Wally and his family. And I can all but guarantee we won't be getting those answers in this series. So ultimately, what could have been an eye-popping reveal fell flat. Just like with everything else in this series. Let's check out the new ads:

Superman Returns on DVD and Blu-Ray.

A planet assaulted. Menacing villains rising. Powerful heroes uniting. Final Fantasy V on Game Boy Advance.

Every pack of Magic: The Gathering comes with 15 cards and endless possibilities.

Endless adventure, incredible worlds ... the Nintendo DS awaits. Children of Mana and Magical Starsign.

Buy Spider-Man or Spider-Man 2 and get a 28-page comic book.

The most explosive fighting game ever. DragonBall Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2.

Do you have what it takes to be a Time Spy? Time Spies books.

The DC Nation page features Dan DiDio teasing the upcoming Infinite Crisis Christmas Special.

Destroy All Humans! 2 for PlayStation 2 and X-box.

Evil knows no boundaries. Killzone Liberation for PSP.

Next in Flash #7, Bart goes West — toward a trap set by Mota and Inertia!

Year in Review: 2006

In the world of film, the year 2006 was filled with sequels, reboots and a few refreshing originals sprinkled in there. The Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, Dead Man's Chest, dominated the box office and became the third film in history to gross more than $1 billion. The Da Vinci Code came in at No. 2 with $758 million. Ice Age: The Meltdown beat out Pixar's Cars and the James Bond reboot, Casino Royale, pulled in a respectable $599 million.

There were only two superhero movies in 2006 — X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns. Both made some money — $459 million and $391 million, respectively — but both were rather disappointing in their own way. The Last Stand almost ended the X-Men film franchise, and Superman Returns failed to launch a new Superman film franchise.

On a personal note, on July 6, 2006, I began my two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Czech Republic. Not only did this service take me out of the country, but as a full-time proselytizer, I also refrained from partaking in pop culture of any kind — no music, movies, TV or even comic books. By some vast, cosmic coincidence, Bart Allen's story began fall apart right when I left the country.

Bart began 2006 by helping the Flash close out his series with a rather weak Vandal Savage story, while wrapping up one more Teen Titans adventure against Brother Blood. And then Infinite Crisis hit. And it was awesome. Until it ended.

The aftermath of Infinite Crisis was not kind to Bart. He got his own title, which should have been a great thing, but everything about it was all wrong. Bart was suddenly 20 years old and extremely reluctant to use his powers or act like a hero. The obnoxiously titled series was given two writers whose only claim to fame was a failed TV show from 15 years ago. (Did anyone seriously think that was going to work?) The ensuing story these guys told was painfully frustrating, matched with weak and inconsistent art. In short, it was a bad year for Bart.

Best Issue: Infinite Crisis #4

This is one the defining moments in Bart's life. With the unstoppable Superboy-Prime rampaging out of control and beginning to kill heroes, Bart joins Wally and Jay in pushing the villain into the Speed Force. But Jay is too old and slow and falls away. Then Wally is dragged away with his family, leaving Bart all alone. He knows he can't do it alone, but before he gets a chance to truly panic, he gets help from the other side. Barry, Johnny Quick and the long-lost Max Mercury reach out from the Speed Force to take Superboy-Prime to the other side.

Bart's actions were the epitome of true heroism. And the corresponding Teen Titans #32 made that moment even more poignant by showing Bart taking the time to deliver a final message to the original members of Young Justice — Robin, Superboy and Wonder Girl. Although I don't like what happened to Bart afterward, this moment is one of my all-time favorites.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns

Johns wins this award for the third consecutive year, but this time, it isn't by default. He legitimately wrote a touching, moving scene for Bart in Infinite Crisis #4 and Teen Titans #32. And Johns even added a heroic epilogue for the adult Bart coming back and scaring Superboy-Prime into space. Sadly, this award should have gone to the writers of Bart's solo series — Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo — but they demonstrated a fundamental lack of knowledge about Bart, as well as comic book story-telling in general.

Best Artist: Todd Nauck

Once again, this award should have gone to the artist on Bart's solo series, but Ken Lashley always required a whole team of inkers to help him make deadline, and was simply incapable of drawing more than two consecutive issues. And that might be more forgivable if the art itself was stellar. But Lashley's art was anything but. And don't get me started on his hideous covers! So this award goes to Nauck, who wins it for the fourth time, breaking the tie with Humberto Ramos for the most Best Artist awards on this blog. Nauck became the fill-in penciller for a handful of key Teen Titans issues, including the touching #32. I did briefly consider giving this award to Phil Jimenez, who did an amazing job on Infinite Crisis. But on much of that series, the art was handled by committee, and even though the "backup" artists did a remarkable job of keeping things consistent, I'm not exactly sure which one of them is responsible for Bart's dramatic journey into the Speed Force.

Best Supporting Character: Jay Garrick

Jay wins this award for the second time, mainly for this role in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. Yeah, I do wish he was a bit sterner with Bart's apathy — especially when it came to confronting Griffin — but Jay was a consistent positive influence in Bart's life. And when he went missing, Bart showed he genuinely cared about the old man, displaying much more emotion and urgency than he did when his supposed girlfriend also went missing. And no, Val did not do enough in 2006 to even earn a consideration for this award.

Best Villain: Superboy-Prime

Superboy-Prime was basically the villain of the year for the entire DC Universe, but he was especially significant for Bart. There are only a few villains who have had as big an impact on Bart's life as Prime did (Inertia and Bedlam readily come to mind). And like all good Geoff Johns villains, Prime was a compelling character who didn't initially see himself as the villain. But he was delusional and far too emotional to responsibly wield the enormous power he possessed. And perhaps the thing I love best about his relationship with Bart is the pure terror Bart was able to strike in Prime's eyes. He's essentially invincible in every conceivable way, but when he saw Bart return from the Speed Force, he immediately ran away to outer space — the one place Bart couldn't follow.

Next time we'll enter the year 2007, where we'll see more Inertia, a return to Smallville and the conclusion of The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive.

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #5

Lightning in a Bottle Part Five: Missing in Action

Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo Writers
Ron Adrian Penciller
Alex Lei & Rob Lea Inkers
Pat Brosseau Letterer
Richard & Tanya Horie Colorists
Rachel Gluckstern Asst. Editor
Joan Hilty Editor
Cover by Ken Lashley

Our cover has absolutely nothing to do with our inside story. And it's not a particularly good cover, either. It really bugs me that people are taking pictures of the Flash, but none of the pictures line up with the image of the Flash right in front of them. But it bugs me even more to see a credit error on the cover. Sal Velluto, who drew part of last issue, did not draw any of this issue. You'll also note that Ron Adrian was not described as a guest penciller, essentially signaling the approaching end of Ken Lashley. And yes, this is our fifth different art for this five-issue-old series.

Our story picks up right where last issue left off, with Bart now dressed as the Flash, racing back up the skyscraper to continue his battle with the Griffin. Unfortunately, Bart runs a little too fast and zooms right past his former roommate and is soon airborne.

Bart flies so high in the sky he can see the Earth's curvature before finally beginning to fall. He hastily creates an air cushion to brace his fall in the middle of the Keystone Zoo, but it's still a pretty rough landing. When he comes to, he's so dazed that he mistakingly believes he's being attacked by Gorilla Grodd. But it's just an ordinary gorilla named Princess. Suddenly, Cyborg arrives and takes Bart away.

The former teammates return to Griffin's apartment, but find it empty. Bart wants to immediately begin searching for him, but Cyborg advises him to recover a bit first. Vic explains that he heard Bart had grown up while he was offline for the past year, and he decided to come visit the former Teen Titan in person. He visited Bart's apartment first, found he wasn't home, then went over to Griffin's, only to see Bart flailing wildly up in the sky.

Cyborg says Bart is having a hard time controlling the Speed Force, and Bart realizes that Vic has been talking to Jay. Vic admits this and says it's weird to see the formerly impulsive Bart so scared now. Bart recounts to Vic how he raced back to Earth to warn everyone of Superboy-Prime's escape, but claims he doesn't remember most of what happened before that. He says he was gone for less than one year, but somehow aged four years in that span. Bart admits he's scared, but says he feels like his old impulsive self whenever he's with Val. Cyborg gives Bart some clichéd advice about facing his fears then leaves.

Instead of heading out to search for the extremely dangerous and unstable Griffin, Bart heads off to what must be a very late night double date with the Garricks and Val. (The sense of time in this comic has always been screwy, and this is definitely one of those times, as Bart makes it clear that this is all happening on the same day.) Val was supposed to meet them at this restaurant, but she's running late, which is making Bart nervous. Jay and Joan, however, are thrilled to see Bart finally show some enthusiasm in something after a solid year of moping.

While they wait, Jay brings up the Griffin, and Bart casually admits that Griff almost killed him about an hour ago. Jay says Bart needs to give the city the hero it deserves. Bart says he doesn't want to let Jay, Max, Wally and Barry down, but then he suddenly bolts on the conversation by running off to find Val. Joan happily comments that this is the more impulsive Bart she remembers.

When Bart reaches Val's house, he finds it completely empty — like, there's not a single piece of furniture or scrap of clothing in the entire building. The only thing he can find is a note addressed to him saying, "Bart — Sorry, but I just can't make this work right now. I'm heading West to start over. — Val." Bart returns to the outdoor table with the Garricks and lies about Val, saying she got "tied up or something."

Jay can sense something is wrong, but before he can press Bart, Griffin zooms by in his sports car. Jay immediately takes off after him. Bart hesitates, but Joan urges him to go, reminding him of how dangerous Griffin is and that Bart is the fastest man alive. Bart quickly catches up to Jay running alongside Griff's car. When Griffin sees Bart, he mistakingly believes he's Wally and he criticizes him for being M.I.A. for a year. Griffin says the cops are pinned down at 5th and Main, and he's the only hero Keystone needs. He then hits Bart with a blast of green lightning and takes off.

Jay stops to help Bart up, who quickly recovers and tells Jay where Griffin is headed. The Flashes arrive at the police standoff before Griffin does, rushing right past Detectives Morillo and Chyre and into the building. Bart and Jay quickly disarm the three gunman and make them peacefully surrender to the police. Griffin arrives right as the suspects are taken into custody, and he loudly complains that this is his city and his crime to stop. All the police officers openly mock Griffin for whining like a 5-year-old. This isn't a good idea, though, since Griffin predictably lashes out in anger, knocking the Flashes down with his lightning and causing a police helicopter to crash. Griffin escapes while Bart and Jay deal with the crash, and they finally decide that it's way past time to bring Griffin in.

We then cut to Val waking up in a small, dark room. The last thing she remembers is her energy-based father touching her and causing her to black out. She begins banging on the door demanding to know what her father wants. A voice from the corner tells her Mota is out at the moment but should be back soon. Val recognizes the voice as Bart's, but when she turns around, she sees Bart's long lost evil clone. He introduces himself as Tad Thawne, aka Inertia.

Back in Keystone, Griffin stumbles across the perfect underground lair for himself — a conveniently abandoned subway station with running water and electricity. In another lucky stroke of convenience, this place also has a computer containing information about Jay Garrick and the machine he helped S.T.A.R. Labs build to measure increments of the Speed Force. Griff realizes that Jay looks a lot younger than he really is, and he theorizes that Jay and this machine might be able to help Griffin stop rapidly aging.

We find out that Val is being kept in the Gila Canyon Test Site, and her father assures her that she won't be kept her long enough for the residual radiation to affect her. Val demands to know why she's been kidnapped, and Mota explains that he currently lives between the membranes of the physical world, constantly struggling to not completely dissipate. But with Val's genetic material, he can be restored to what he was. Val doesn't believe such technology exists, but Mota says it does in the future, which is where Inertia comes in. Inertia says he and Mota both want to wipe the planet clean of all speedsters — except for him, naturally.

Later, we see that Griffin has done a much better job of stalking Jay than Jay and Bart have been at searching for him. Griffin figures out that Jay likes to take a walk every morning, crossing a metal bridge over the canal in the nature preserve. So Griffin sets up a simple trap for Jay and electrocutes him.

Meanwhile, Bart has headed over to S.T.A.R. Labs to ask Dr. McGee if she knows where Val is. McGee says she only received a vague email from her that mentioned a research project out West, but didn't provide any information beyond that. Bart brings up the fact that Val has said Mota's been stalking her, and McGee agrees it sounds suspicious, but says they can't really do anything about it since they don't have any evidence. She then tells Bart that the Speed Force Analyzer has been stolen, which is odd, since more valuable equipment was left untouched. Bart then gets a phone call from Joan, saying that Jay has been missing since this morning. So Bart immediately takes off in his Flash suit.

We see that Griffin has taken Jay to his underground lair and strapped him to the Speed Force Analyzer. Jay tries to explain that he's not connected to the Speed Force anymore, and only has super speed because he's a metahuman. Griff demands to know what's been keeping Jay young, and Jay says it must be a side effect of his previous connection to the Speed Force. But Griffin doesn't believe Jay, nor does he understand the machine he's stolen, so he turns it on, causing Jay a great deal of pain. Meanwhile, Bart quickly discovers the scorch marks on the bridge where Jay was kidnapped, and he vows to search this entire city to find him.




Well, I guess Bart's officially the Flash now, right? All it took was five issues. And even then, he's still extremely reluctant to do anything and completely lacks a sense of urgency. Of course, the same could be said of just about everyone in this comic. Let's start with Cyborg. During Infinite Crisis, he went out into space, was severely injured, and went offline for a year. When he wakes up and learns that Bart has grown up, he goes to quite a bit of effort to track down his former teammate. When he arrives in Keystone, he sees Bart flying wildly out of control. Cyborg pulls him out of a gorilla pen, learns that Bart was in the middle of a battle with a legitimate villain, but refuses to let Bart pursue that villain. And instead of helping him track down the extremely dangerous and unstable Griffin, Cyborg just gives Bart a quick pep talk and goes home. Seriously? There is a very powerful maniac with little regard for life out on the streets right now and you're just going to walk home?

But Bart and Jay are the same way. Instead of tracking down Griffin, they sit and talk about his relationship with Val, then choose to publicly embarrass Griffin instead of actually taking him into custody. And when Griffin gets away, they don't even bother going looking for him. And even though Bart claims to only be passionate about Val, when he sees she's been obviously kidnapped, he barely does anything to look for her. At least he expressed a tiny bit of emotion when he heard Jay has been kidnapped. But man, what a painful journey it's been to get Bart to that level.

I'm still not sure what I feel about Inertia's inclusion here. On one hand, it makes perfect sense to bring back Bart's greatest villain of all time for his new solo series. But on the other hand, this appearance really comes out of nowhere. We last saw Inertia at the gate of the Speed Force, torn between the lies and programming he'd been fed by President Thawne and the true joy he felt by being heroic and loved. He was unable to completely trust others and join a loving family, but he also had realized the Allen-Thawne feud was a ridiculous waste of time. So he ran off to who knows where or when. And now we see him here, choosing to work with the most obscure of former Flash villains in order to kill Bart because ... ?

All I know for sure is that this comic book series falls below DC's standards. It's quite embarrassing, really. Well, let's check out the new ads:

A hero will fly again. Batten Kaitos Origins for GameCube.

PSP theater presents Greatest Hits.

Wonka Sour! Nerds, SweetTarts Squeez and Laffy Taffy. (Wonka had a total of five ad pages in this comic.)

The New Frontier: The Absolute Edition.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

The DC Nation page teases a new series of Year One titles.

Well, that's it for the year 2006. Next time is our Year in Review.

Teen Titans #40

Titans Around the World Part III

Geoff Johns Script
Tony S. Daniel Pencils
Jonathan Glapion & Kevin Conrad Inks
Tanya and Richard Horie Colors
Travis Lanham Letters
Tony S. Daniel & The Hories Cover
Jeanine Schaefer Assoc. Editor
Eddie Berganza Editor

Our cover is a fairly interesting collection of notable Titans who have betrayed the team in the past. From left, we have Terra, Superboy, Raven and Jericho. Of course, it wasn't really their fault that they became traitors — they were all either corrupted or brainwashed in some way — but the trauma of their betrayals still linger on. Especially when new suspicious new members, like Miss Martian, become involved.

Our story begins with one of these new members, Bombshell, recapping the history of Deathstroke and his family working to take down the Teen Titans. First, Deathstroke used Terra to infiltrate the team. Then his son Jericho betrayed the Titans and battled them several times — most recently against the team that included Superboy and Kid Flash.

Bombshell now believes that Rose Wilson is lying about having reformed and is still working with her dad. Later, Bombshell attacks Miss Martian, revealing her to be a white martian and accusing her of also being a traitor. But — surprise! — the only traitor on the team is Bombshell herself. Meanwhile, Raven has used the computer disk that contained Jericho's soul and some of Brother Blood's rituals to bring Jericho back to life. But since none of this has anything to do with Bart Allen, we won't dwell on it too much.

It was nice, though, to get a quick update on Bart's old team. And we will be returning to them pretty soon. It also makes me sad to compare this competently produced comic book to Bart's main series. Despite all my frustrations with Geoff Johns, he is so much more enjoyable than Bilson and DeMeo.

Next time, we'll return to that insufferable main series with The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #5.

Action Comics #843

Back in Action Part 3: All-Out Action

Kurt Busiek Script/Plot
Fabian Nicieza Plot
Pete Woods Art
Brad Anderson, Colorist
Rob Leigh, Letterer
Cover by Dave Gibbons
Colored by Moose Baumann
Nachie Castro, Assoc. Editor
Matt Idelson, Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Our cover is another fun newspaper/tabloid front page. It's a decent enough image, and the text recapping the story is fairly innovative. But I think too much about these things, and I can't help but wonder who took that photo. This image comes from Superman's breakout mission on the Auctioneer's spaceship, and I don't think there were any newspaper reporters up there. But I'm probably the only one who cares about that.

Our story picks up with Superman and a scrappy band of C-list heroes and villains working to escape that spaceship. While they're hard at work, the Auctioneer has been busy capturing even more superheroes across the planet, including the Teen Titans and our own Bart Allen. Eventually, Superman is able to free these other heroes, and they work together to cause as much damage possible to get the Auctioneer's attention.

(Trust me, the Flash is there. He's just reeeaaaalllyyyy tiny.) Their efforts are rewarded, and Superman is able to bargain with the Auctioneer face-to-face. Superman threatens to release all the alien's data across the universe if he doesn't return all the people to Earth and restore the landmarks he took. The Auctioneer agrees, and the day is saved.




That was a nice, quick story that really shouldn't have involved the Flash at all. I think the creators here just jumped the gun a little bit with Bart's inclusion. Based on the rate he's going in his own series, I can't see Bart being willing to help out at all during a planet-wide alien invasion. He'd say Jay can handle it, then he'd go to a bar with Griffin. Man, I'm feeling bitter today. Let's check out the new ads:

Let play out. Let adventure in. Verb.

The Dark Knight like you've never seen him before! Lego Batman.

Small snacks. Powerful flavor. Superman fruit snacks.

Like wow there's so much new stuff my eyes are popping out of my head! Kids' WB! announcing a lineup of mostly failed shows: Monster Allergy, Legion of Super Heroes, Loonatics Unleashed, Tom and Jerry Tales, The Batman, and Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!

Superman/Batman. Monthly.

One element mastered. New challenges await! Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1 on DVD.

Six Flags Fright Fest. Find your scream.

Infinite Crisis being released on hardcover.

Heaven hath no fury like the Spectre! Tales of the Unexpected.

In the DC Nation page, Dan DiDio continues his tour of the editorial offices. He says that current Flash editor Joan Hilty is currently working on a "special project" for Vertigo.

Next time, we tackle the comics with a December 2006 publication date, beginning with a quick flashback of Kid Flash in Teen Titans #40.

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #4

Lightning in a Bottle Part Four: Fast in the Life Lane

Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo Writers
Ken Lashley & Sal Velluto Pencillers
Wong, Thibert & Leisten Inkers
Rob Leigh Letterer
Richard & Tanya Horie Colorists
Rachel Gluckstern Asst. Editor
Joan Hilty Editor

Our cover by Ken Lashley is his best one yet. And I think that's mainly because he actually drew a background this time. Bart is running up the side of a building with his new girlfriend, Val, in his arms. It's a fairly interesting perspective, even if I think the execution could have been refined a bit. And no, I still don't approve of Val or Bart's infatuation with her, but I can at least take some comfort in having a cover that doesn't have vague explosions of lightning and rainbows in the background for a change.

Our story picks up where we left off last issue, with the Griffin perched on the yacht of the Keystone Motors CEO, while the terrorist Luke Thatcher approaches in a small dinghy with a homemade torpedo. Griffin relishes the fact that he's called Jay Garrick away on a wild goose chase, and realizes that his new superpowers include being able to see clearly for miles in the dark.

With a flash of green lightning, Griffin leaps off the yacht, lands on Thatchter's dinghy, and brutally electrocutes the man. He then jumps back on to the yacht, allowing the dinghy to crash into a buoy and explode, while Griffin personally protects the CEO, William Slout. Jay Garrick returns just after the explosion clears, and Slout happily proclaims Griffin as the "new hero in town."

The next day, Griffin is honored at a press conference in front of all the Keystone Motors employees. Bart is in the audience, and he angrily shouts out a question about Griffin being a vigilante. Griffin defends his actions, comparing himself to a marine taking out a suicide bomber. Slout agrees with Griffin and presents him with a check for $100,000, which apparently was the posted reward for the apprehension of Keystone's serial bomber. Griffin gladly accepts the check, saying protecting the city is a tough job and donations are always welcome.

That night, Bart meets with Jay at the Flash Museum and complains about Griffin's attitude after he killed a man instead of trying to bring him to the police. Jay says he and Detective Morillo figured out that it was Griffin who sent him on the wild goose chase. He tells Bart that he's getting slower each day without access to the Speed Force, and without directly saying it, Jay strongly implies that Bart needs to get over his fears of using his powers and stop Griffin.

Bart walks home after this talk, only to find a gathering of paparazzi outside his apartment building. Turns out Griffin has used some of his reward money to buy a fancy sports car. One of the journalists asks Bart what it's like to be roommates with Keystone's new hero, and Bart can only give a one word response: "Crowded." Griffin then invites Bart to take spin in his new car at super speed. Bart says he used to be into speed, but he's not sure anymore. However, he still willingly gets into the car and rides with Griff to a club called Hell.

Griff quickly has a girl in each arm, and a third girl is trying to get with Bart, who Griff refers to as "Kid Griff." Val just so happens to be at the same club at the same time with some of her girl friends, but she says she shouldn't be out clubbing since she kind of almost has a boyfriend. Val immediately spots Bart next to a girl, and even though Bart is clearly not into that girl, Val becomes heart-broken and leaves the club in disgust.

Bart rides back to the apartment with Griff and the three girls, and Bart meekly points out that their apartment is too small for the five of them. Griff waves him off and offers to let Bart sleep with one of the girls. Bart coldly says the Griffin should be able to handle all three of them. Griff angrily tells Bart he was just trying to help him, but Bart says he doesn't need that kind of help. So Griff announces plans to move to a new place tomorrow.

During their argument, Bart suddenly notices that Griffin's hand looks withered and old (even though Griffin was wearing gloves on the previous page). Griffin tries to brush it off as dry skin, but he rushes to the bathroom to get a better look at it. Upon discovering he has the hand of an 80-year-old man, he freaks out and sends the three girls away.

The next day, Bart returns to S.T.A.R. Labs for more testing. Dr. McGee finally asks Bart the number one question since this series began: What happened when he took Superboy-Prime to the Speed Force? Unfortunately, Bart says he can't remember anything from that moment. He still remembers all the books he read at the San Francisco Public Library, but nothing from this most significant moment. Pushing forward, Dr. McGee theorizes that not only has the Speed Force become altered significantly, but it is now embedded into Bart's system, concentrated into him alone. In other words, Bart is the Speed Force.

This naturally unnerves Bart, who points out that Barry, Max and Wally all vanished into the Speed Force and became part of it. But as soon as he says that, he realizes this must be why he's been getting all those nightmares. Bart sort of begins to spiral, saying he's a walking graveyard and the Speed Force really can blow him apart. But he is still willing to undergo more tests with Val. But Val sadly rushes out the room, telling Bart he needs to schedule something with her replacement.

Bart chases Val down and she immediately begins complaining about seeing him at the club with another girl. Bart assures her that he spent the whole night trying to get away from that girl. Val then tells Bart that she has been officially fired from S.T.A.R. Labs because she lied about being Manfred Mota's daughter. She says she thought her dad was dead, but he's recently been stalking her. Val starts to cry a bit, but quickly catches herself and laughs about Bart unwittingly keeping company with the daughter of his "family's mortal enemy" (a very generous description of a man who only fought the Flashes three times). Bart says he thought they were doing more than "keeping company" and Val says they are. She then asks him to run her home, like he did when she was 16. Bart asks if she's worried about getting hurt, but she says she's not afraid with him. He says he's not afraid with her, either, so he pops on the Flash costume and races her away.

That night, police are engaged in a high-speed chase with a couple of suspects from a drive-by shooting. Jay runs up to the side of the suspects' van and tells them to pull over. They refuse, and one of them even fires his gun at Jay, but he easily deflects the bullet. Up ahead of them, in the middle of the road, is Griffin, glowing with green lightning. He shoots a massive blast at the van, causing it to flip over upside down. Jay pulls the men out of the van and shouts at Griffin for almost killing them. Griffin justifies his actions, saying they were going to run him down and they had to be stopped. Jay says a real superhero can stop crime without leaving a trail of corpses. Griffin then randomly pulls down his hood, revealing a wrinkled face and white hair.

Griffin returns to his new swanky apartment on the top of a skyscraper. He watches a news broadcast of Jay publicly warning the citizens of Keystone to beware the Griffin. But the news reporter openly mocks Jay and praises Griffin for bringing in criminals dead or alive. Bart suddenly arrives and says they need to talk. But the first thing Bart notices is that Griffin has shaved his head. Griffin says he just felt he needed a new look. So Bart dives right into his prepared speech, telling Griff that every time he stops a crime, someone dies. Griff says that's not true, pointing out that on his first mission, the kid did survive the fall off the building, but Bart reminds him that the Flash saved that kid.

Griffin defensively argues that the people he has killed deserved to die. Bart says he should let the courts decide and he needs to ask himself what kind of a hero he wants to be. Griff boasts that the people love him and he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Bart points out that Griff looks like he's aged 40 years and he offers to introduce him to the doctors at S.T.A.R. Labs. Griff doesn't want to be a lab rat and says he needs to spend his time protecting the city. Bart insists the Flash can handle Keystone, but he asks who's going to handle the Griffin.

Griff's temper finally gets the best of him. He rants about all the times he helped Bart — getting him a job, putting up with his nightmares and mysterious past — and now he's not going to take this kind of talk from him. Bart says he'll stop Griffin himself if he has to, which prompts Griffin to attack his friend. Bart quickly evades the strike, but crashes into a table. Stunned, Griff asks Bart how he pulled off that move, so Bart lamely lies about having taken karate lessons. But Bart doesn't use his super speed to avoid being picked up by Griffin and thrown out the window. However, he does catch himself and throws on his Flash outfit before running back up the skyscraper to continue the fight.

Meanwhile, Val receives a knock on her door. She hopes it's Bart, but it turns out to be her father, who is now a being of pure energy.




Well, I guess all it took for Bart to finally act like a hero was to literally have his own life threatened. Good job, Mr. Superhero! Yes, I'm still upset that it's been four issues and Bart still doesn't want to be the Flash. But I'm more upset with the inconsistency with this series. In these four issues, we have had four different art teams. Is it too much to ask for the same penciller, inker and colorist on just two consecutive issues?

This issue had two writers, two pencillers, three inkers and two colorists. And between the nine of them, a bunch of continuity errors were made that slipped past our two editors. The most glaring was Griffin's gloves suddenly disappearing so we could see his withered hands. But we also had his hood suddenly disappear so we could see his hair. And we later had a huge argument about all the people Griffin had supposedly killed, even though we only saw him actually kill one person. Was he supposed to have killed those people in the van? Because Jay very clearly yelled at him for almost killing those people. I don't know. It's all very frustrating.

And nothing is more frustrating than the portrayal of Bart Allen in this book. He knows that Griffin is out of control. He knows he has needlessly killed (at least one man). And yet he still meekly hops into Griff's sports car and goes to the club with him. Why? Look, just because you're too much of a wuss to confront your evil roommate doesn't mean that you need to go out clubbing with him! Oh wait, I know exactly why we had this scene. It was so we could get the incredibly lame and clichéd trope of a girlfriend seeing her boyfriend with another girl and instantly running away in jealousy, even though he obviously is not into that other girl. Ugh! How uninspired can you get?

I honestly have no reaction to the reveal that Bart essentially is the Speed Force now. This whole series has made me incredibly indifferent to everything. In this issue, Bart claims to have no memory from his trip to the Speed Force, but that contradicts what he has previously stated in Infinity Crisis and 52. And I tend to believe those comics more than this one, so I can only surmise that Bart still isn't being completely honest with Dr. McGee. Or Bilson and DeMeo just don't know what they're doing. One or the other.

I also suppose now is the time to mention that Griffin Grey did appear in a 2016 episode of CW's The Flash called "Back to Normal." I was surprised that the show would turn to this most frustrating era of the speedster for a storyline. I was also disappointed that the episode essentially ended with "Team Flash" intentionally killing Griffin.

Well, enough of this sadness, let's take a look at the new ads:

The final battle. The ultimate adventure. The last stand. X-Men: The Last Stand on DVD.

His time has come. Smallville season five on DVD.

Goal by Beckham. Body by milk. got milk? with David Beckham.

Blast by ARod. Body by milk. got milk? with Alex Rodriguez.

The first 5,000 Pontiac G5's come with the digital mix: A year of XM Satellite Radio, plus and MP3 music download a day for one year.

The DC Nation page has Dan DiDio giving a brief tour of the editorial offices. Former Impulse and Flash editor Joey Cavalieri is currently working on Shadowpact. I kind of wish he was working on The Fastest Man Alive, but I'm not sure how much he'd be able to help with this creative team.

Next time, we'll return to our adventure with Superman in Action Comics #843.

52 Week Twenty-One

Teambuilding Exercises

Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Art breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Pencils by Joe Bennett
Inks by Jack Jadson
Colors by David Baron
Lettering by Travis Lanham
Cover by J.G. Jones & Alex Sinclair
Assistants Editors: Harvey Richards & Jeanine Schaefer
Edited by Stephen Wacker

This is one of the rare covers of 52 that I don't like. I can't tell if it's supposed to be showing a glass shattering or what. But what I do see is way too many characters crammed into one chaotic image. The people we actually care about are in the middle. They're Infinity, Inc., a new team of superheroes created by Lex Luthor. What could go wrong?

Our story begins in Luthor's office in Metropolis, with Natasha Irons (Steel's niece) begging Luthor to let her friend Eliza back on Infinity, Inc. Apparently Luthor had given Eliza super speed, but this also caused her to become addicted to a drug called Sharp. Eliza publicly blamed Luthor for this, costing her spot on the team. But now Natasha is saying Eliza feels awful for what she did and she's been off the drug for three weeks. Luthor considers this for a moment, then agrees to Natasha's request.

Natasha tells her friend the good news in her room, which is decorated with posters of all the Flashes, including the cover of The Flash #225. But mostly, she has pictures of good old Impulse. The Manchester, Alabama, native is overjoyed to hear she got a second chance. Eliza says she one day hopes to be the new Flash, but first, she plans to use Infinity, Inc. as a stepping stone to land a spot on the Teen Titans and become the next Kid Flash.

A couple of days later, Luthor is preparing Infinity, Inc. for their first mission — a televised battle against the new Blockbuster, who is reportedly stronger than the Blockbuster Impulse fought way back when. So Natasha, now going by the name of Starlight, leads her six-man team to Las Vegas to take on the rampaging villain. The fight gets off to a rough beginning — made even rougher by the cheesy dialogue provided by Luthor's writing staff. He resolves to re-record the dialogue in post, but decides to leave in the part where Eliza (Trajectory) kicks Blockbuster in the crotch.

Trajectory's cheap shot proves to be the deciding factor in the battle, however, as that allows Starlight to use her light-based powers to tie up Blockbuster. As soon as the villain is subdued, Beast Boy, Raven and four new members of the Teen Titans arrive. The two groups quickly begin bickering. Beat Boy, in particular, is upset that Natasha would agree to work for Lex Luthor. But he's willing to overlook that if she lets the Titans take Blockbuster into custody. Trajectory agrees with Beast Boy, saying the Titans know what they're doing. She then uses the opportunity to introduce herself to her favorite team.

Suddenly, Blockbuster breaks out of his restraints and tries to make an escape. Trajectory immediately takes off after him, waving off Starlight's warnings by saying she's going to become a star today. Trajectory quickly catches up to Blockbuster, jumps on his back and begins pummeling him. As she gloats that Blockbuster isn't fast enough to escape the new Kid Flash, Lex Luthor pushes a button on his control panel that deactivates Eliza's powers. Blockbuster immediately grabs and kills Eliza to the horror of the Teen Titans and Infinity, Inc. Luthor, meanwhile, is already making plans to replace Eliza on his team.

A couple of days later, Eliza Harmon's funeral is held in Manchester, Alabama. Luthor provides the eulogy, speaking of Eliza's admiration for Impulse, which inspired her to become a hero herself. Infinity, Inc. and the Teen Titans attend the funeral, and Beast Boy can sense that something fishy is going on. But as soon as the service ends, three of the new Titans immediately quit the team, derailing Beast Boy's efforts to investigate. Steel tries to talk to his niece about her powers, but she shouts at him and walks away in tears. Beast Boy, however, does tell Steel he and the remaining Titans are willing to work with him.

We also see that Ralph Dibny's quest has brought him to the literal gates of Hell, and a mechanic in Australia is attempting to rebuild the Red Tornado.




It is so refreshing to review a well-written comic book after those rough Flash: The Fastest Man Alive issues. I love how this story gives us someone who grew up in Impulse's hometown and was inspired by that goofy little superhero. I would have loved it even more if it would have been someone we knew from the pages of Impulse, like Ayana or even Preston, but Eliza's story was still sweet and tragic. Ultimately, she just fell victim to Lex Luthor's petty, ruthless ego. And that's when I think Lex is at his most compelling, most frightening. Willing to kill someone over a minor insult, then shamelessly speak at that person's funeral.

This issue doesn't explicitly mention Bart Allen, but I like to believe that he at least heard about poor Eliza. Her death did make national news, after all. So I think it's more than likely that this tragedy pushed Bart even further away from his destiny of becoming the Flash — at least for another seven months or so. Anyway, this was a great story, all in all. I just wish the art was a little crisper. The action scenes, especially, could have used some work. I'm not entirely sure if Blockbuster actually decapitated Eliza — the art is just really unclear.

Next time, we'll return to our frustrating main series with The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #4.

Action Comics #842

Back in Action Part 2: Action & Reaction

Kurt Busiek Script/Plot
Fabian Nicieza Plot
Pete Woods Art
Brad Anderson, Colorist
Nick J. Napolitano, Letterer
Cover by Dave Gibbons
Colored by Moose Baumann
Nachie Castro, Associate Editor
Matt Idelson, Editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Our cover is a clever recreation of a newspaper telling us everything that happened last issue and everything happening this issue. Since this is Superman, I'd be inclined to say this newspaper is the Daily Planet, but I'd always considered the Daily Planet to be a more serious newspaper like the New York Times, whereas this cover looks more like a tabloid. Regardless, it is still a pretty creative cover.

As our cover shows, the Earth is under attack by an enormous alien that is stealing rare artifacts and people to sell at an intergalactic auction. The alien has swarms of robots all over the planet, and just about every hero and villain in the DC Universe is caught up in this threat. The Teen Titans fought to protect Alcatraz Island (and the villains locked inside its prison, I'm assuming), Batman is fending off the robots in Gotham City, Wonder Woman is protecting Washington, D.C., and our very own Bart Allen saved some mosques before being chased by the robots to Siberia.

Bart still hasn't fully embraced his role as the Flash in his own series yet, but this issue confirms that he will ... eventually. Anyway, that's all we see of Bart here. The rest of the story details Superman's capture and team-up with several lesser-known heroes and villains to escape.

Next time, we'll make a rare return to Manchester, Alabama, in 52 Week 21.

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #3

Lightning in a Bottle Part Three: Night of the Griffin

Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo Writers
Karl Kerschl Guest Penciller
Serge LaPointe Guest Inker
Pat Brosseau Letterer
Stephanie Peru & The Hories Guest Colorist
Rachel Gluckstern Asst. Editor
Joan Hilty Editor

Our cover by Ken Lashley shows Bart with a very pained and distressed look on his face as he chases his roommate, Griffin, who has now become a superhero himself. It's another messy, chaotic cover with a vague explosion in the background for no discernible reason. The facial expressions are unnatural, the figures themselves are lackluster, and I don't feel guilty at all about being happy that Lashley did not draw the inside pages of this issue.

Our story picks right up where last issue left off. It's 6:32 a.m., and Bart has instinctively thrown on the replica of Barry's suit to race over to S.T.A.R. Labs to save Valerie Perez from a bomb that has just begun to explode. As Bart runs over there, he admits to himself he's terrified, but he feels like the suit is preventing the Speed Force from blowing him apart. When he runs into Val's office, instead of merely vibrating through the wall, he accidentally moves too fast and stretches the wall's molecules like taffy. But he's able to quickly free himself and pull Valerie to safety before the explosion reaches her.

As soon as Bart is sure Val is safe, he goes back to the explosion to put out the fire by creating a vacuum around it. He worries about moving too fast again and collapsing the structure, but he manages to keep it under control and saves the day. He returns to Val, saying that little stunt felt like hanging on to a comet, but he's still in one piece. Val is excited to see his suit works, but Bart defensively says this doesn't mean he wants to be the Flash. When Val presses the issue, Bart insists that Jay Garrick is the only Flash the city needs and he runs away.

Even though Bart was literally begging Valerie one minute ago to help him get rid of the Speed Force, the explosion and ensuing awkward conversation seems to have put him out of the mood. So he goes to hang out with Griffin and a couple of scantily clad girls at the gym. Bart sets a personal best on the bench press — 250 pounds — but Griffin boasts that he can lift twice that much. As Griff loads up 500 pounds on the dumbbell, Bart blames Griff's new powers as the source of his inflated ego, apparently forgetting the kind of person Griffin was before the accident. To everyone's surprise, Griffin easily flings the 500-pound weight up through the roof of the gym. The dumbbell lands on somebody's car parked on the side of the road, but our heroes don't seem to face any repercussions from this.

Later, Bart catches Griff listening to the police scanner in their apartment. When Bart questions him on this, Griff points out that there is a serial bomber on the loose and he wants to do some good. Bart says he should just let the police and Flash handle this, but Griff mocks Jay for being "old school." As Griff talks about his powers being a gift, Bart starts to say, "With great power comes —" But Griff interrupts him and says, "Great reward!"

We cut to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Dr. McGee is telling Valerie that the bombing has prompted them to conduct deeper background checks on all their employees. And this background check has revealed that Valerie's father is a former super villain, who has battled Jay, Barry and Wally. Valerie admits she lied on the application form because she was afraid she wouldn't be hired if they knew she was related to Manfred Mota.

We then get a quick rundown of Mota, who originally was a physicist who stole equipment from Jay Garrick's lab to build an atomic-powered battle suit and become the villain Atom Smasher. Jay defeated him, and after spending 20 years in prison, Manfred was released and built a new suit to become Professor Fallout. Barry Allen defeated him this time and sent him back to jail for 15 more years. As soon as Mota was freed, he created a third suit and became Fusionn. This time, Wally West battled him, and the fight ended with Mota's suit exploding. It was believed Mota died in the explosion, but that has never been confirmed.

Valerie begs Dr. McGee to let her keep her internship. She said she took her mother's name Perez instead of Mota because she hates her dad so much. Valerie does, however, tell another lie by claiming she hasn't had any contact with her father in years. Dr. McGee tells Valerie that she has done good work, and she'll keep her on staff for now, but she does warn her that the S.T.A.R. Labs board might feel differently.

The next day, Bart changes his mind once again and does decide to meet with Valerie after all. She puts him in front of an old machine that should give them some kind of reading of the Speed Force. But as soon as she turns it on, Bart becomes engulfed in painful lightning. As soon as the machine is turned off, Bart angrily snaps at Val, telling her he is not all right and demanding to know why she's so interested in him. So Valerie tells him there was once a race riot at her high school and a group of skinheads had started a fire and locked the doors. Then Kid Flash showed up and saved the day, personally carrying Valerie to safety. She says she's been a fan of Bart's ever since. And then, for no apparent reason, Bart kisses Val.

Later that night, Bart is wondering whether he should call Val when he overhears a tense hostage situation on Griff's police scanner. Bart briefly considers running over there to save the day, but decides to call Jay instead. But before he calls Jay, Bart chooses to chastise Griff for listening to the scanner, and he sees his roommate wearing the outfit he had on the cover. Bart gives Griff some hypocritical, sanctimonious lines about how he shouldn't put on a costume and play vigilante, but Griff brushes him off. He says the real Flash has been gone for over a year, and now it's time for someone else to step up.

Griffin leaps out the window, and rushes over to the hostage situation. Apparently an unstable man lost custody of his son in the divorce and has decided that the boy is better off in God's hands than living with his ex-wife. Griffin lands on the rooftop, announces himself as The Griffin, and tells the man to let his son go. The man drops the boy over the side of the building, but luckily Jay Garrick is there in time to catch the child before he hits the ground. A crowd of people cheer the Flash as the fastest man alive, and some reporters try to get a picture of Jay with the kid, but he doesn't stick around.

The man on the roof pulls a gun on Griffin, accusing him of making him drop his son. Griffin prepares for a fight, but the man pulls the trigger before Griffin can react. Once again, Jay is there at just the right time, catching the bullet in midair before it hits Griffin. He grabs the man by the collar, then sternly points his finger at Griffin, telling him this work is not for amateurs and he doesn't want to see him on the streets again. And this makes Griffin very angry.

The next day, Jay is at S.T.A.R. Labs, watching security footage of a red blur putting out the fire. Since he know it wasn't him, he calls up Bart to congratulate him for doing the right thing. Jay admits it was a bit underhanded of him to build the Flash suit behind Bart's back, but he is proud of him. Bart thanks him, but maintains that nothing has changed. Jay also says that the security cameras have a possible ID on the bomber — a former Keystone Motors welder named Luke Thatcher. Foolishly, Bart loudly repeats all this sensitive information in the presence of Griffin, who begins forming a plan.

That night, Detectives Chyre and Morillo set up a perimeter around Thatcher's apartment, taking a cautious approach in case there's another bomb in the building. But Griffin casts caution aside and tears open a hole in the roof. Once he drops down into Thatcher's apartment, he finds maps and charts of the river and a newspaper article about a yacht party for the Keystone Motors CEO, William Slout (ironically, this is just what Griffin had predicted). But before Griffin heads off to stop Thatcher, he first pulls out his cellphone to call Detective Morillo. Identifying himself as Thatcher, Griffin says he's ready to surrender, but only to the Flash. He tells the detective to send the Flash to Point Breeze Lookout, threatening to blow up an entire block if anyone else comes.

Jay, meanwhile, is attending the CEO's party on the yacht when the detective calls him. Jay's a bit confused by this request, but he decides to play it safe and run out there anyway. Not long after Jay leaves, Thatcher begins approaching the yacht in a small raft, preparing his makeshift torpedo. And secretly waiting for him on the yacht is the Griffin.




What kind of production problems did this series have? In the first two issues, Ken Lashley needed a team of inkers to reach deadline. And then he already needed a guest artist on the third issue. However, this was actually a good thing, since I love Karl Kerschl's art so much more than Lashley's. It's lighter, so I can actually tell what's going on. All the characters look great, especially Bart. Kerschl also did a great of making sure Bart still looked like Bart when he put on the Flash costume, and didn't look like Wally. I wish Kerschl was the regular artist on this series. It would have helped a lot, but unfortunately the story is still pretty weak.

Everything is jumping around at a confusing, blistering pace. Literally one minute before this issue began, Bart was desperately begging Val to help him get rid of the Speed Force. He saves her, then immediately heads off to lift weights with Griff? Val gets called in by Dr. McGee, who says she probably will be fired, but then lets her keep working? Bart randomly does start working with Val after all, but starts yelling at her, so she tells one little story and he immediately kisses her? Can we please let things develop naturally! How much time is passing between scenes?

And everything about Griffin is incredibly stupid. First, his name is Griffin Grey and his hero name is The Griffin. Second, he was portrayed pretty much as an evil jerk right from the first issue, so it's no surprise that he'd turn into a villain. Third, when there was a slim chance of him trying to be a hero, Jay Garrick was unduly harsh with him. I give up. This is just a dumb story.

But my biggest complaint is we are now three issues into this new series about Bart being the Flash, and he still isn't the Flash. In fact, he's only done one heroic thing so far — saving Val from the explosion. But he has failed to even try to track down Thatcher or pull Griff off this destructive path. And I'm supposed to be cheering for this apathetic, wishy-washy "hero"?

Well, enough complaining. Let's check out the new ads:

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Our success comes from the sick pleasure we take in frustrating thieves. Kryptonite.

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The DC Nation page advertises an upcoming story in Teen Titans involving Bart's old nemesis, Inertia. Dan DiDio says this will begin in Teen Titans #42, but it actually didn't start until issue #43.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at Action Comics #842.