The Flash #111

Dead Heat Final Lap: Godspeed

Mark Waid, Story
Oscar Jimenez, Pencils
Jose Marzan, Jr., Inks
Gaspar and Kevin Cunningham, Letterers
Tom McCraw, Colorist
Alisande Morales, Assistant Editor
Brian Augustyn, Editor

We have a pretty dynamic cover by Jimenez and Marzan, for once giving us a good, clean look at Savitar. Flash looks great, the lightning looks great, and the action is not only awesome, but actually shows what happens inside the issue. It's everything I'd expect for the finale of a crossover.

Our story picks up with Flash chasing after Savitar to save his girlfriend, Linda Park. Having already crossed the ocean from the Balkan Mountains, they now make their way through America, passing Boston and Brooklyn, with Savitar trying to slow Flash down by causing several explosions and disasters along the way. When they pass through Washington, D.C., Savitar wrecks the tombstone of Green Arrow, who recently died.

The rest of the speedsters soon arrive, having ran in a straighter line, but they are quickly and easily knocked out by Savitar. In Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, Impulse tries to take on Savitar one-on-one, but Flash pulls him out of the way, calling him a stupid, reckless kid.

As Flash and Savitar continue their race toward Manchester, Alabama, XS joins the run. She has trouble keeping up, but she manages to deliver a message from Iris Allen. According to Iris, Wally can't beat Savitar and has to give him what he wants.

Wally quickly figures out what Iris means, and he offers to take Savitar to see God. Wally races toward the Speed Force, with Savitar excitedly following behind. Once they reach the Speed Force, Savitar rejoices at finally being at one with the Force, and he vanishes in a flash of light. Wally feels the same effect happening to him, but refuses to let it happen, choosing instead to return to Linda once more.

Everyone regroups at Max and Bart's home in Manchester. Iris fusses over Bart's injured forehead, and everyone else has their wounds tended to and comforts Jesse for the loss of her father. Bart asks where Wally is, and, right on cue, a flash of lightning emerges in the room. But instead of Wally appearing, it turns out to be a different Flash from the future.




And thus ends the first Impulse-Flash crossover. Savitar was a pretty awesome villain, although I kinda wish he did more damage. Johnny Quick did die, but he wasn't killed directly by Savitar. But this more carnal desire of mine doesn't weaken the story. It was exciting and emotional, and boasted some great art. This issue in particular, has some excellent splash pages of Flash and Savitar entering the Speed Force.

Only one letter in Speed Reading mentions Impulse, and that is the one by Kent A. Phenis, of Indianapolis. Having been promised a speedster would die in Dead Heat, Kent (correctly) reasons through who that could and could not be. He says Wally and Bart can't die, and Bart can't live alone, meaning Max can't die. Kent says Jay is too beloved and Jesse is too new, leaving Johnny Quick as the only possible candidate for death. Now on to the ads:

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Next time, Superman will ask for Flash to help him on a case, but since Flash is mysteriously missing (again), Supes will have to settle with Impulse in The Adventures of Superman #533.

Impulse #11

Dead Heat Fifth Lap: Breaking the Barrier

Mark Waid – Story
Humberto Ramos – Pencils
Wayne Faucher – Inks
Chris Eliopoulos – Letters
Tom McCraw – Colors
Alisande Morales – Assistant Editor
Brian Augustyn – Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

This is a pretty amazing cover by Ramos and Faucher. It's the first time the Flash has shown up on the cover of Impulse, and our colorist — Tom McCraw, I'm assuming — went all out for the occasion. We have the red lightning of Impulse, the yellow lightning of Flash, the purple lightning of Savitar plus the pink lightning of his sword. Not to mention the white, natural lightning in the background and the orange molten lava on the ground. It truly is a spectacle to behold. My only slight complaint is that Savitar's face is obscured. But other than that, this is one of the best covers Impulse has ever had.

Our story begins with a very happy Impulse. He's got his powers back, Max is alright, and there are ninjas to fight. All is well in the world. The first page shows Impulse's face reflected in all the ninjas' swords, and Mark Waid treats us to some fun narration boxes, saying, "An army of ninjas versus a Mortal Kombat player who thinks Emperor Shaokahn is an orangutan. Bet on the boy."

While all the speedsters engage the ninjas, Savitar quietly slips away, leading Christina on a leash (she's being punished for letting Jesse destroy the battery turbine). Max realizes that Savitar is weakened while the ninjas harness his speed, so Max, Johnny and Jesse take off after Savitar. Wally and Jay find they have greater success against the ninjas if they lead them into close quarters and take them on a few at a time. But Bart doesn't stick to the plan.

Max, Johnny and Jesse chase Savitar to his library/chapel, and Johnny shocks Max by talking openly and freely about the Speed Force. Savitar continues to berate Christina by insinuating that Jesse is a worthier companion to him, and Max angers Savitar by burning his many books he's written himself.

Wally chews out Bart for not being on the same page as everyone else, saying they need to hit hard and fast. To demonstrate how to do this, Wally vibrates through a wall, causing it to explode, taking out a few ninjas. Bart says he'd also like to try that and vibrates through a couple of ninjas, who instantly begin to panic, believing they'll explode themselves. Bart sneaks behind them and whispers, "Boom," which causes them to scream out loud. Bart then tells them to chill and knocks them out.

Jay impresses Bart by weaponizing his helmet, and Wally again chastises Bart for not taking the fight seriously. Wally also asks why he didn't bring XS with him, and Bart explains that Max wanted her to stay behind with Linda and Iris.

We then check in on those three girls, and Linda is chewing out Iris for refusing to divulge any more information on the future. Linda argues that the present is constantly changing, and since Iris has the ability to help, she should. Linda eventually gets through to Iris, and she decides to act, telling Jenni she has something for her to do.

Back to the fight, our heroes have knocked out half the ninjas, but they find out the hard way that the fewer ninjas there are, the faster they become, not having to share the speed between as many people. Bart gets cut on the forehead, and Wally starts to form a plan to take out all the ninjas at once.

Savitar, furious that Max has destroyed his holy room, knocks out Max and Johnny. But he leaves Jesse unharmed, explaining that she will become his new priestess. But Christina can't bear the thought of being replaced, and she breaks her leash to charge after Jesse. Johnny wakes up in time to see this, and races after them faster than he's ever run — even abandoning his tried and true formula. There is a huge explosion, leaving Christina knocked out.

Max chases after Johnny, who's on his way to the Speed Force. Max tries to get John to stop and come back, but he refuses, saying he can feel the Speed Force calling him. Johnny says it's up to Flash to beat Savitar, and he asks Max to tell Jesse that he loves her and will always be a part of her, now more than ever. As Johnny Quick enters the Speed Force and becomes one with the light, Max weeps for his old friend.

Meanwhile, Wally, Jay and Bart have rounded up the remaining ninjas in a group, and synchronized their vibrations to cause the roof to collapse and knock out Savitar's minions. Christina is also caught in the collapsing roof, and she refuses to let Jesse save her. All the speedsters reunite, and Max tells them what happened to Johnny. Jesse breaks down in tears, and even Bart starts to cry, apologizing to Max for not taking this more seriously.

Savitar then rushes by in a big wind, vowing to steal everything from the Flash. Wally realizes he's talking about Linda, and rushes off after him. The other speedsters begin to follow, with Max worrying that Savitar will keep striking and striking until Wally kills him.

Woah. Another pretty heavy issue of Impulse. I guess that's what happens when you do a crossover with the Flash. But this whole issue wasn't doom and gloom — there were plenty of fun moments with Impulse, especially when he faked out the ninjas by vibrating through them. But I didn't expect Johnny Quick to die in the pages of Impulse — I figured Mark Waid would have wanted that to occur in The Flash. But I'm glad something major like that happened in Impulse — it helps validate this series' place in the DC Universe.

Sadly, there aren't any letters to the editor in this issue, so we'll go straight to the few new ads:

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They're all that stands between Gotham City and chaos. Batman & Robin Adventures. By Ty Templeton and Rick Burchell.

Next time, follow Max and Impulse into the pages of Flash #111 for the heart-racing conclusion to Dead Heat.

The Flash #110

Dead Heat Fourth Lap: Cut to the Quick

Mark Waid, Story
Oscar Jimenez, Pencils
Jose Marzan, Jr., Inks
Gaspar, Letters
Tom McCraw, Colorist
Alisande Morales, Asst. Editor
Brian Augustyn, Editor

Our cover by Jimenez and Marzan Jr. uniquely features Jesse Quick and not the Flash. But I think its nice to feature Jesse every now and then, especially when she has a worthy female adversary to fight. And no, this girl she's fighting wasn't just made up for this story — more on her background later — and no, she doesn't have six arms, that's just her super speed in action.

Our story begins with Wally and Jesse arriving at Savitar's citadel in the Balkan Mountains (which could be either Bulgaria or Serbia). The two heroes sneak inside and briefly discuss Wally's journey to the Speed Force during the fight with Kobra. Wally admits he doesn't remember anything from the time he spent there, and is also worried that if he ever does return, he won't be able to come back. They then find out how Savitar stole everyone's speed — with a large room converted into a battery, using ninjas as living cells to store the excess energy Savitar can't hold. And this battery is powered by a large transformer, which gets its energy from the girl we saw on the cover.

Wally explains that this girl is Christina Alexandrova, a former Soviet speedster who spent time with the evil Vandal Savage and even called herself Lady Flash for a time. She tried to go out with Wally, but he brushed her off. And now he feels guilty to see Christina has allied herself with Savitar.

Even though Wally and Jesse believe they are hidden, Savitar can sense Wally's energy, and orders Christina to kill him. Wally quickly throws Christina off his trail and confronts Savitar directly, who displays a superior mastery over the Speed Force, by instantly healing his wounds and generating a protective force field by absorbing the motion of objects thrown at him and redirecting them back at Wally.

Meanwhile, Christina finds Jesse trying to shut down the giant battery, and the two girls battle just like on the cover. The fight is as emotional as it is physical, with Jesse insisting that Savitar is using Christina, and Christina threatening to kill Jesse's friends and father. Threatening family is too much for Jesse, and she manages to destroy the turbine, which restores the super speed to all the speedsters, just as we saw in Impulse #10.

Savitar quickly realizes what's happened, and leaves the Flash to knock out Jesse and take Christina away to be punished. Wally revives Jesse just in time to hear Savitar announce he has unleashed 50 of his best ninjas. Just when all hope seems lost, Max Mercury, Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick and Impulse arrive to save the day.

Not a whole lot of Impulse here, but his arrival at the end with everybody was pretty cool. And seeing Savitar's power was great. But mostly, this issue was about Jesse Quick, who rarely gets a chance to shine. Finally, she had a worthy opponent — girls have to fight girls, that's just the way it is — and credit to Mark Waid for digging through old Flash history to find an existing female villain with super speed and bring her back in a unique, yet sensible way.

Only one Speed Reading letter mentions Impulse, and that is Chris Khalef, of Houston, simply saying he's a fan of Impulse and excited for Dead Heat. So let's move on to the ads now.

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Next time: Impulse #11 for Dead Heat chapter 5. Savitar raises the stakes and a speedster runs his last race.

Impulse #10

Dead Heat Second Lap: Disaffected Youth

Story Mark Waid
Pencils Humberto Ramos
Inks Wayne Faucher
Chris Eliopoulos Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist
Alisande Morales Assistant Editor
Ruben Diaz Associate Editor
Brian Augustyn Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

Even though this is the third part of Dead Heat, this issue was mistakingly titled "Second Lap." Not a big deal, though. This cover by Ramos and Faucher is quite effective. On one hand, it's kind of funny with Impulse getting stuck in hot tar. But on the other hand, this is a very sad and stark cover with the strong red background and the look of defeat on Bart's face. Brace yourself: We've got a fairly serious issue of Impulse coming up.

Our story begins with Bart sadly — and slowly — walking to school. This is contrasted by his memories of putting on his Impulse costume to run on top of telephone wires and catch bullets with ease. But today, he's only wearing a New York Yankees jersey and feels like he's walking through wet laundry. This is the first time in Bart's short life he's ever not had super speed, and for the first time in his school career, Bart is late for class.

Preston tosses a video game to Bart he borrowed, but Bart can't react quickly enough, dropping the game and his books. The once hyperactive kid then spends the rest of class numbly and distractedly sitting there, not even bothering to finish writing his name on the quiz. Mrs. Dalrymple is initially upset by this behavior, but Assistant Principal Randal Sheridan arrives to tell her Bart's uncle is in the hospital.

We then visit Max in the hospital, along with Jay Garrick, Linda Park, Jenni Ognats, and Iris Allen, who recently joined the group. Jenni, whose English has improved considerably the past couple of days, says she didn't grow up with super speed, so she's not experiencing as big a shock as Bart is. Iris explains that was exactly why she wanted Bart to go to school today — so he could get a jump on adjusting to a normal life, just in case he never gets his speed back.

Jay and Linda discuss how odd it was that Max was never able to sense Savitar despite all his precautions. Johnny Quick then enters the room, still in his costume and still unable to get his speed formula to work. Jay catches him up on everything and Johnny finally admits that Max may have been right all along about the Speed Force. And then Max wakes up.

Bart's tough day at school continues, with him getting his butt kicked in dodgeball for the first time and having his coach chew him out for "actin' like somebody done cut off" his legs. At lunch, Carol spills her food right in front of Bart, and she yells at him for not trying to help. Preston whispers to her about Max, and she becomes concerned for Bart.

When Bart tries to sit down, some kids pull his chair out from under him and have a great laugh. Carol chews them out, telling them Bart's uncle is in the hospital, but the bullies laugh it off, saying Bart doesn't care about anything at all. This strikes a nerve in Bart, and all the frustration that's been building up the past few days finally comes to the surface. Bart punches the bully, is pulled away by Preston and Carol, then shoves them off and runs away.

With tears streaming down his face, Bart calls out for Max and begins the long journey to the hospital. He quickly runs out of breath, and has a hard time dodging a couple of kids on bikes and cuts up his knee. But Bart continues his sad journey.

Back at the hospital, Max explains that he's stored away some speed to help him metabolize his injuries. But then a couple of Savitar's ninjas show up to finish off the wounded. Max grabs Johnny's hand and transfers his remaining speed to him. Johnny begins to take out the ninjas, and Linda locks the door to try to keep the ninjas from spilling out into the I.C.U. Suddenly, Jay, Jenni and Bart begin to crackle with energy.

Jay and Jenni join the fight, and Bart picks up the pace. But the ninjas are formidable, and both Jenni and Jay are injured. And in the chaos, one of the ninjas places his sword on Max's neck. Suddenly, Bart comes crashing through the window and saves the day. And as is his custom, Savitar disintegrates his failed henchmen.

Max thanks Johnny for saving him, but Johnny says the credit belongs to Bart. Max looks at him and says, "Ah." Bart exclaims: "'Ah'? 'Ah'? I barreled in just in time to save your long, thin neck ... and all I get is 'Ah'?" Max looks at him for a moment, then says with a grin, "Ah." And Bart responds with the biggest smile he's had in a long time.

Jay then calls attention to the group, saying that if their speed has returned, that means Wally and Jesse must have done something right against Savitar. So they all prepare to take off and join the fight, but Max asks Jenni to stay behind with Iris and Linda, who are charged with coming up with a cover story for the nurses. And so Bart, Johnny, Jay and Max take off for Savitar's castle.

What a sweet, touching issue. My heart went out for poor Bart, who's had his entire world turned upside down. And although Bart and Max often butt heads, they do care about each other deep down, and it was so sweet to see that. This series proves time and time again that it's not just a goofy comedy. And it's issue like this that make this title so special for me.

Chris Mentzer, of Mesa, Ariz., says the cover of Impulse #5 perfectly sums up the series as a whole with the word, "Cool." He says he loves Bart's though balloons, and hopes to see White Lightning return, as well as a guest appearance of the Teen Titans.

Chris Karnes, of Naperville, Ill., said he liked the guest work on Impulse #7 by Pasko, Gnazzo and Stegbauer. He says Gridlock is an interesting villains, but is more interested in Bart's relationship with Carol, wondering whether Carol will ever learn that Bart is Impulse.

Chris Walker, of Pine Bluff, Ark., wrote a very long, rambling letter, where I guess he congratulated Martin Pasko, but mostly has fun pretending he's caught in a bunch of rotating time anomalies.

Chris Khalaf, of Houston, again asks for Plastic Man and Woozy to make a guest appearance. He says Pasko did a good job filling in for Waid, perfectly capturing Bart's relationship with Max, but he does express some confusion as to how Impulse actually defeated Gridlock.

Jack W. (Chris) Curl, Jr., of Houston, begins his letter directly to Impulse, saying he's sorry Impulse missed out on the adventure in space with the Titans. He then addresses the editor, requesting a miniseries with Impulse, Robin, Superboy, Damage, Ray and Green Lantern.

And to keep up the trend, the editor signs his name as Brian "Chris" Augustyn, all Chris all the time ... Now for few new ads.

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Next time, we'll take a quick break from Dead Heat to close out Marv Wolfman's 16-year run with The New Titans #130.

The Flash #109

Dead Heat! Second Lap: A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Mark Waid, Story
Oscar Jimenez, Pencils
Jose Marzan, Jr., Inks
Gaspar, Letterer
Tom McCraw, Colorist
Alisande Morales, Asst. Editor
Ruben Diaz, Assoc. Editor
Brian Augustyn, Editor

Our cover by Jimenez and Marzan does a good job of showing that Jay, Jesse and Bart have all lost their speed, while Wally's remains. However, they utilized a rather annoying computer effect to blur everything behind the Flash, and I can't stand it.

Our story begins with Wally arriving at Bart's house just in time to save him and Jenni from Savitar's super-speed ninjas. While Wally fights, Jay protects Bart's secret identity by forcing everybody inside and closing the door. Wally quickly defeats the ninjas, knocking out the last one with the refrigerator door. Savitar then disposes of his failed goons once again by causing them to rapidly age and disintegrate.

Bart tells everybody that Max has been missing for several days, and since they were counting on Max to explain who Savitar is, Bart pulls out all his personal papers to look for clues. Wally quickly sifts through everything and the only thing suspicious he finds is a journal written in Korean. Linda's parents are Korean, so she begins to translate it, while Jenni introduces herself to Wally and explains how they're related. Linda then finds Max's entry on Savitar and reads it to the group.

Savitar (real name unknown) was a military pilot from a third-world nation. He tested an experimental plane and pushed it beyond its limits and broke all speed records of the time. But then his plane was struck by lightning and exploded. But Savitar awoke unharmed thousands of miles away. He was soon surrounded by enemy soldiers, and upon discovering he had super speed, viciously attacked and killed his enemies.

The man made speed his new religion, traveling the world and studying everything he could. He took the name Savitar after the Hindu god of motion, and made it his lifelong pursuit to enter the Speed Force. All this happened when Jay was retired and before Barry came on the scene, meaning Johnny Quick and Max Mercury were the only active speedsters. Savitar once approached Johnny, seeking more enlightenment, but was disgusted to learn Johnny harnessed his power from a scientific formula. Max quickly arrived to help Johnny, but even the two of them couldn't defeat Savitar. So Max goaded Savitar into chasing him toward the Speed Force. But before they could enter it, Max shoved Savitar into the time stream, popping out himself a few years in the future. Max knew Savitar would eventually return, perhaps decades later, and that Savitar's acolytes remained, likely growing in strength and numbers. So Max spent his time probing the Speed Force through meditation and gathering as many allies as he could.

Everyone begins to discuss whether Max took Bart under his wing specifically for Savitar and why Max never mentioned any of this earlier. Linda speculates that Max was worried about Wally and/or Bart rushing off headfirst without much of plan. Right on cue, Max bursts through the front door. But he's wounded and covered in blood, revealing that Savitar carved a map to his castle into Max's chest. Max says he stored away some speed, which is keeping him alive, and he tells Wally he needs to fight Savitar before he kills him. He tells Wally that Savitar can't steal his speed, since he's so closely tied to the Speed Force.

Wally prepares to take off, giving Linda his customary kiss before a big fight, but then everybody protests about Wally taking on Savitar alone. Jenni reveals she has a flight ring — which surprises Bart — and Wally asks if Jesse can borrow the ring since he's more familiar with her. Jenni agrees, and Jesse arms herself with one of the ninja's swords. So Wally and Jesse head out — first to take Max to the hospital, and then to take on Savitar.

Things are really heating up nicely now, and Savitar is a pretty unique and formidable villain. One of the best ways to challenge a speedster is with another speedster, and a religious fanatic is a refreshing way to deal with it. It's also great to see all the hints and teases Max has been dropping for so long finally coming to light. Not a whole lot of Impulse here, but I was glad that Wally didn't chew him out for not reporting Max's disappearance. Bart will need to be taught that lesson, but now is not the time.

All the letters in Speed Reading deal with The Flash #106, which didn't include Impulse, so we'll just skip straight to the ads.

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Vectorman for SEGA Genesis. This is a page-and-a-third ad, with the extra space detailing the rules for a contest to win $25,000.

More power than ever ... Power Chrome. DC Legends '95 trading cards.

Next time, check out Impulse #10 for chapter 3 of Dead Heat as a speed less Bart has to deal with the near fatal attack on Max Mercury and the fact that for all intents and purposes he may be a normal boy forever. Meanwhile, the speed ninjas attack Max's hospital room.

The Flash #108

Dead Heat First Lap: Flatfooted

Mark Waid • Story
Oscar Jimenez • Pencils
Jose Marzan, Jr. • Inks
Gaspar • Letterer
Tom McCraw • Colorist
Alisande Morales • Asst. Editor
Brian Augustyn • Editor

We've got a pretty cool cover by Jimenez and Marzan. These are the same type of ninjas that terrorized Impulse and XS at the end of Impulse #9. It's nice to have the Flash back in a high-stakes adventure. And this cover portrays the intensity of a story called Dead Heat.

Our story begins one year ago, at the dark and scary castle we saw Max Mercury being held captive at. A group of creepy guys in blue robes perform a dark ritual and summon down a bolt of lightning, which kills one of them. Suddenly a large naked man with long hair appears and begins laughing maniacally.

Today, we see that Impulse and XS weren't the only speedsters who lost their powers. Jay Garrick drops a vase he thought he could catch — not a huge deal, but worrisome. Jesse Quick has a worse time, though. While out on a date, their car is hijacked. She speaks her speed formula — 3x2(9yz)4a — and chases after the thieves, but loses her speed mid-pursuit and is shot in the arm. But the most tragic example involves a couple of Russian speedsters I've never heard of before. Apparently they're running a high-end delivery service, and one of them decided to run a package up the side of a skyscraper. Halfway up, he lost his speed and fell to his death.

We then cut to Wally West enjoying a nice lunch with Linda Park at an outdoor cafe. They're having a good time until they bring up the topic of marriage. After a few awkward moments of silence, Wally is happy to suddenly be attacked by ninjas. But it turns out these ninjas also have super speed. After fighting for a bit, one of the ninjas gets away. Wally manages to knock one out, and is suddenly joined by Jay and Jesse.

Jay and Jesse tell Wally they lost their speed, and they believe that Wally has become so mainlined with the Speed Force that he has inadvertently stolen all the available energy. And to demonstrate how serious their predicament is, Jay shows Wally a remarkably up-to-date newspaper reporting the death of the Russian speedster.

We then cut to a quiet diner, where Iris West is meeting with Johnny Quick. Iris urges him to believe in the Speed Force, as someone's life is currently on the line. She hesitates to reveal any more information, saying only that all the speedsters are on the cusp of another major turning point. Johnny says he'll keep an eye out, but refuses to put the Speed Force above his formula. But as he tries to run away, he finds his formula has failed him for the first time.

Meanwhile, Wally's captive ninja has come to, opening up the possibility for interrogation. Wally takes the ninja to the top of a building and holds him over the edge by his ankle. The ninja reveals his master is Savitar, the lord of speed, who has "stripped the unworthy of their swiftness ... transferring it instead into Thunderbolts Agents." The ninja begins to gloat, saying Savitar will soon eliminate the "true students of speed." But suddenly, the ninja rapidly ages and his bones turns to dust in Wally's hands. Wally tells all this to the others, and that Bart Allen and Max Mercury are in danger, as well. Linda tries to call Max, but gets no response.

We then cut to a scene of Max before Impulse #9. Max is chained up and hanging upside down in the dark scary castle, being beaten by the large man we saw appear supernaturally in the beginning of this issue. The man, who can only be Savitar, accuses Max of spreading the speed and allowing others to join their little circle. Savitar says he wants to kill Max, but can't, since Max was the one who showed him "the face of God." So Savitar orders his ninjas to kill Max. And as we saw in Impulse #8, Max was able to free himself from the chains and defeat the ninjas.

Wally decides to use his new power of lending speed to others to take Linda, Jay and Jesse to Manchester to check on Bart and Max. Wally hopes Max can explain who Savitar is, and, more importantly, that Bart's secret identity has kept him safe. But it hasn't, as we end with the same image Impulse #9, with Impulse and XS surrounded by Savitar's ninjas.

The letters in Speed Reading are about The Flash #105, so we're lucky to have a few mentions of Impulse.

Chris Karnes, of Naperville, Ill., says the Impulse appearance was a nice surprise, and helped mirror the original Flash #105, which had Barry and Wally team up to fight the first Mirror Master. Chris also wants to see more interaction between Bart and Linda, believing that Bart's unnecessary use of powers would irritate her.

Chip Chandler, of Pampa, Texas, requests that Bart be used to usher in the Legion of Super-Heroes, which literally just happened with the introduction of XS.

Charles Skaggs, of Columbus, Ohio, says Impulse was a welcome sight, and he hopes Bart and Wally find a way to work out their differences.

Doud Ohmer, of Covington, Ky., says Bart needs to continue to show up in The Flash every once in a while. He also wants Wally to get along better with Bart, believing the two of them could be an unstoppable force.

Jason Perkins says he enjoyed the scenes of Impulse and Linda, and enjoys Mark Waid so much, he has decided to mow extra lawns to add Impulse to his pull list.

There are only two new ads here, and that's only if you count a different Mallrats ad. It's designed to look like a comic book cover, saying, "Supehero anatomy! Topless fortune telling! Bunny bashing! An more!"

Mad TV. It looks like a hypnotist, saying, "You will watch Mad TV!" over and over again.

Before we can continue to The Flash #109 for part two of Dead Heat, I'm going to wrap up the year of 1995 — Impulse's first full year in comics — with my Year in Review. I'll hand out awards for the best issue, writer, artist, supporting character and villain. It'll be a fun way to look back on how far this character has come.