The Flash #196

"Helpless"

Geoff Johns Writer
Phil Winslade Guest Artist
Kurt Hathaway Letterer
James Sinclair Colorist and Separator
Joey Cavalieri Editor

Our cover by Scott Kolins shows the villain of the month, Peek-a-Boo, trying to crush the Flash's throat with roller blades, which doesn't seem very efficient. I have to admit I'm not a very big fan of Kolins' style. His lines are so thin, they require equally light inks and colors, which gives everything a rather muted feel. Kolins also seems a bit inconsistent. Everything on this cover looks pretty good — except for Peek-a-Boo's face. It really feels out of place.

Technically speaking, Bart Allen does not appear in this issue. But we will see a picture of Impulse here, and this issue will help set up the Blitz storyline that Bart will participate in. So with that in mind, I'm not going to spend any time talking about Peek-a-Boo. She can teleport, and her dad is sick, I guess? Don't know. Don't care. Who I do care about is Hunter Zolomon.

Hunter has been one of Wally's friends and allies on the police force since Geoff Johns began his run. A recent battle with Gorilla Grodd left Hunter paralyzed, and now he's asking Wally to use the Cosmic Treadmill to go back in time and prevent the accident. Wally staunchly refuses, saying Barry Allen didn't build the treadmill for the purpose of changing history. He says time travel is complicated and dangerous, and that things that have already happened can't be prevented. Hunter wants Wally to set aside the theories and paradoxes and just help him because he's his friend.

To illustrate his point, Wally brings up the story of Eobard Thawne, an obsessed maniac from the 25th century. Hunter reminds Wally that Barry killed Thawne and was put on trial. Wally originally testified that Barry didn't need to kill him, but he now believes his uncle's actions were justified to protect Iris. But Wally's main point in all this is that Professor Zoom was unleashed because of time travel. Hunter's anger gives way to desperation, as he reveals he doesn't want Wally to take him back to the Grodd fight, but an earlier event that messed up his knee and got him fired from the FBI.

Wally is legitimately remorseful, but he still refuses. Hunter becomes even angrier than before, saying Wally doesn't understand because he's never experienced personal tragedy. Wally tries to say he has had tragedy in his life, but Hunter points out that a bolt of lightning made Wally the fastest man alive and now he has a beautiful wife and is adored by the world as a hero. Wally isn't able to say anything to that, and he eventually leaves Hunter to angrily stare out the window.

Wally then messes around with Peek-a-Boo for a while, and there is a slight scare with the pregnant Linda, but a quick checkup reveals she and the twins are doing just fine. So Linda believes its finally time to tell their friends and family that she's pregnant. But that night, Hunter Zolomon sneaks into the Flash Museum, rolling his wheelchair right past a large photograph of Jesse Quick, Wally and Impulse.

Hunter heads straight for the Cosmic Treadmill, armed with a U.S. government report offering theories on how the treadmill works. He tinkers around with the circuitry of the machine for a bit, hoists his wheelchair up on the track and sets the date for January 20, 1998. But when he tries to start it up, the Cosmic Treadmill explodes in a show of flying gears and lightning.



I'm really glad Winslade drew this issue instead of Kolins. His dark lines were perfect for the emotional weight of this issue. And Hunter's trip through the Flash Museum was downright spooky. And I do credit Johns for creating an intriguing story around Hunter Zolomon. I will question the security of the museum, though. This paralyzed man didn't seem to have any difficulty just rolling right in. And to make matters worse, the Flash Museum has had a long history of displaying the actual weapons and artifacts instead of harmless replicas. I mean, seriously, why have the actual Cosmic Treadmill out in the open like that?

Next time, we'll sadly reach the conclusion of the amazing Young Justice series.