The Flash #759

Finish Line Part One

Joshua Williamson Writer

Rafa Sandoval (pp. 1-3, 8-20) Scott Kolins (pp. 4-7) Artists

Jordi Tarragona (pp. 1-3, 8-20) Inks

Arif Prianto (pp. 1-3, 8-20) Hi-Fi (pp. 4-7) Colors

Steve Wands Letters

Rafa, Jordi, Hi-Fi Cover

InHyuk Lee Variant Cover

Marquis Draper Assistant Editor

Mike Cotton Editor

Alex R. Carr Group Editor

Our cover reveals that Barry Allen has been possessed by Eobard Thawne — a fact that Iris still hasn't figured out. And Eobard is using Barry's body to ... uh ... maniacally sit at the controls of a random computer/spaceship/disc jockey turntable? I don't get it. I seriously have no idea what's supposed to be happening on this cover, especially since nothing close to this happens in this issue. I wonder why the Flash covers have been consistently awful this year.

Our story begins in New Mexico, with Impulse, Teen Lantern, Drake, Spoiler, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Jinny Hex hanging out in Jinny's truck. It seems quite strange for Young Justice to have gone back to New Mexico after the battle of Metropolis, but here we are. (Most likely, Williamson just got tired of waiting on Bendis and just took his best guess on where these heroes would be.) Bart is playing with a handheld device, telling his friends they should see the virtual reality capabilities of the 30th century. Suddenly, his game freezes — and so do his friends. Bart wonders aloud what is happening, and is answered by the Flash saying, "That's because your friends can't keep up with us, Bart." (I'm not exactly sure if Eobard has actually frozen time around Bart, or if he just sucked him into a little burst of super speed or what.)

Bart acts like this is the first time he's met his grandpa since escaping the Speed Force (adding to my theory of Williamson's lack of communication with Bendis). Bart says he's been meaning to see his "Grandpa Flash," but complains that alternate realities are a pain. Flash says time and space couldn't keep them apart, and he suggests they make up for lost time right now. Bart wants to tell his friends first, but Flash says they won't even notice that Bart's gone. He then challenges Impulse to a race, and he eagerly accepts.

The real Barry, meanwhile, is trapped in the Speed Force, being confronted by monstrous versions of Jesse Quick and Max Mercury. Barry's frightened, but Jesse and Max are actually delivering positive messages, telling him he's paid enough for the Flashpoint and he can't get lost in himself again. Once Barry accepts their words, they turn back to normal, and Barry actually recognizes his former colleagues. He asks Jesse where her father, Johnny Quick, is, and she explains that he died before the Flashpoint. She then asks Barry how he found them, but Barry explains that their reunion was a complete fluke. He tells them that Eobard used his vibrational frequency to take over his body, in addition to gathering some of Barry's greatest enemies to destroy his life, while Barry remains trapped in the Speed Force. 

Max, however, explains that they aren't necessarily in the Speed Force, since the Force itself doesn't just connect on a physical or mental level. Mentioning how he once had to help Wally with a similar problem, Max asks Barry if he's ever used the Speed Force within his mind. Barry calls this trick "speed thinking," and he gives it a shot, reaching out to see what Eobard is currently doing with his body. Barry sees himself running with Impulse, whom Barry suddenly remembers. (An editor's note says they reunited in Young Justice #17, but the art and 95% of the dialogue contradict this fact.) Max, Jesse and Barry then get to work on finding a way for Barry to regain control of his body.

Meanwhile, Central City is under attack by some of the members of the poorly named Legion of Zoom — Captain Cold, Golden Glider and the original Trickster all brought back from the past. The Flash and Impulse soon show up, and Bart assures his "grandpa" that he can handle this battle as sure as Flashes can run. Eobard starts to yell at the Snarts, but Barry takes control for one second, shouting, "Bart, run!" Bart simply says he is, as he rescues some police officers from a blast of ice.

Eobard quickly regains control, but the Trickster noticed what happened. He tosses a small bomb at Eobard, who catches it and throws it back in James Jesse's face. Bart is shocked by this and says they need to take the Trickster to a hospital. To Bart's shock, the Flash rejects this suggestion and questions his commitment to justice. Eobard says he might have been wrong about Bart's place in the Flash family, then asks the teen what his plans are after going from Kid Flash back to Impulse. He then darkly reminds Bart of his disastrous, short-lived stint as the Flash.

The Flash tells Impulse to go back to his Young Justice friends and then disappear for a few years again. He then takes off with the Trickster, leaving a confused and dejected Impulse behind.

Eobard returns the Trickster to the secret hideout, where he has stashed the rest of his "legion" — Gorilla Grodd, the Turtle and even Bart's dad and aunt, the Tornado Twins. After lecturing the Rogues for not following his orders, Eobard admits that Barry is fighting for control of his body. So he gives the villains a list of things to steal that will help him gain full control of Barry's body forever. Eobard then takes off, promising to give them all the keys to their future. But once he's gone, the injured Trickster allows a wide smile to spread on his face.

We then cut to Blue Valley, Nebraska, where Iris is staying at a spacious, secluded family getaway that she conveniently inherited. Wallace West and Avery Ho are standing guard, per Barry's instructions, but they are growing a bit impatient. Suddenly, the Flash arrives, telling Wallace and Avery how proud he is of them. Wallace is confused by this sudden change of plans, since they were originally going to spend a few days apart. Iris steps out the front door, pointing out that they never told Barry where they were going. Eobard lamely says he found her because she's he's lightning rod. Iris is still worried it's not safe for him, but "Barry" claims he has taken care of Thawne. Iris and Avery have more questions, which annoys Eobard. In lieu of explanation, he says he knows where the Legion of Zoom is headed, and he suggests that they all head off right now to stop the villains.

Suddenly, Impulse shows up out of nowhere, kicking Eobard in the face, while saying, "You're mean. Barry Allen isn't mean." Bart then proceeds to beat the snot out of Eobard, while explaining how he realized this man is an imposter, before ultimately blasting him away with a whirlwind.

Wallace asks, "Who the hell are you?!" Bart responds with his own futuristic swear word: "Who the sprock are you?!" (This may be the first time Bart has ever said "sprock." He has used "grife" in the past, though.) Wallace says he's Kid Flash, and Bart confusingly tries to explain that he used to be Kid Flash but is now Impulse again. Avery notes the name Impulse is very fitting. Eobard slowly picks himself up, saying he should have killed that "damn brat."

 Naturally, Wallace is wondering why he should trust Bart. Luckily, Iris steps forward to proclaim Bart as a member of the family. Bart sadly begins to tell his grandma that he meant to come see her, but he was with Young Justice. Iris suggests he got distracted, but Bart says it was much more than that. With so much of the world being changed, he was scared that she wouldn't remember him. But Iris says she never could forget him after all the adventures and stress he caused her — not to mention the hair.

Poor Wallace's confusion only grows when his 30-year-old aunt is referred to as "Grandma." Avery says she hates time travel and vows to never do it. Bart asks Iris where Wally is, and she seems a bit confused that he doesn't already know. Eobard interrupts this conversation with a rant about how the Flash might be better off without a whole family slowing him down. Iris boldly (and stupidly) stands in front of the teens and says that Bart is right. She remembers the other times Eobard impersonated Barry — once to torment Wally and once on her wedding day. And Wallace has another little outburst at the mention of a wedding day.

Eobard laughs off this little history lesson, remind them that he knows all their futures. And now he's decided it's time to speed up their ends, by, you know, just killing them. But before he can take another step toward our little group of heroes, Jay Garrick races in front of Eobard, telling him to stay away from the kids.

Now THIS is the story Impulse fans have been waiting years for. Bart's back with his grandma! And Jay's there, too! And Jesse Quick! And, most importantly, Max Mercury!!! Bart never had much of a relationship with Barry, which is partly why the reunion Bendis gave us felt so flat (that and Barry's completely worthless advice). This issue starting putting all the meaningful pieces in place, starting with the woman who saved Bart's life and brought him back to the 20th century to start this crazy journey. Of course, Wally is still a no-show, but at least Bart is asking about him.

On another monumental note, we now see that Iris and Eobard seem to remember just about everything, even dating back to the Silver Age. This was most chillingly portrayed in Eobard's mocking recollection of Bart's stint as the Flash. And Bart remembers that! This is something that Bendis refused to answer for 17 issues, constantly hemming and hawing and beating around the bush, but never actually providing anything definitive. Williamson, on the other hand, makes it look easy. He just jumped right into those direct references to past stories that longtime Flash fans have read to show us what these characters know. Bendis never mentioned any of these past stories because I strongly suspect he's never read any of them.

And that's why it kills me that Williamson had to wait so long to tell this story. Bendis essentially held Impulse hostage, not letting Williamson use the character until he was done whipping Young Justice around the multiverse. But this was such a waste of time, because Bendis clearly had nothing planned for Impulse. He even dedicated a whole issue to Bart, that just ended up saying, "I dunno." And so we're finally here. It is a little frustrating that this issue doesn't follow the events of Young Justice (like, at all), but this story is SO much better. I'm perfectly happy with ignoring that disastrous Barry/Bart meeting last issue.

Sandoval isn't my favorite artist. It might be a combination of the inking and coloring that gives everything a sort of "fake" feel. However, Sandoval had three massive emotional moments that he nailed out of the park. I normally only include one inside picture per issue, but this time, I just had to show all three of those scenes. It was very exciting stuff.

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Next: Flash vs. Flash!