The Flash #246

This Was Your Life, Wally West Part Three: Infection

Alan Burnett Writer
Carlo Barberi Penciller
Drew Geraci & Jacob Eguren Inkers
Swands Letterer
The Hories Colorists
Gluckstern & Berganza Editors

Our cover by Freddie E. Williams II is a very strange, frenetic artistic rendition of the Flash's suit being made up of dozens of little Flashes. I give him credit for trying something new, but I don't like the finished product. I'm also sad that this cover has nothing to do with the story inside. Something like this would be a neat variant cover, but it doesn't feel fitting as the main image of the penultimate issue of this series.

Our story begins with Wally taking his family to the JLA Headquarters, where he hopes Dr. Mid-Nite can cure Linda of the poisoning she received from Queen Bee. While Roy Harper and his daughter, Lian, try to keep Jai and Irey occupied, Wally spends most of this issue sitting by Linda's bedside, recounting their long and strange relationship they've had through the years. When they officially became a couple, Linda became a sort of lightning rod for Wally, always helping him return to this world whenever he ventured too close to the Speed Force. As Wally remembers their first attempt to get married, we see the briefest of glimpses of Bart Allen, the ring boy.

But that wedding was interrupted by Abra Kadabra kidnapping Linda and erasing the memory of her from just about everyone's minds. Wally leaves out the part where Bart was the only one to remember Linda, but he does recount how he was able to travel to a parallel world to rescue her. Jai and Irey sneak into the hospital room to spend the night sleeping next to their mom, and Wally remembers his battles with Zoom and the deal he made with the Spectre to have everyone — himself included — forget he was the Flash.

The next day, Linda still hasn't improved, so Wally visits Raven to ask her to take him to the Spectre. But while Wally's gone, Queen Bee manages to kidnap Jai and Irey. And to Wally's dismay, the Spectre is unwilling to help him, proclaiming that Linda will die today.




After Bart died, DC gave Wally his own book back, and even brought in superstar Mark Waid to write the series. But Waid complained of editorial interference, and left the book before too long. What followed was a rotating cast of writers and artists merely passing time until Barry Allen returned and this Flash series would get canceled at issue #247. It's quite a shame that there wasn't a creative team able to gain any traction and tell some compelling stories with Wally and his family. There certainly was potential there, but all evidence indicates that DC refused to give this series a chance to succeed.

As such, it was nice to see former Impulse artist Barberi drawing speedsters once again. The recap of Linda's relationship with Wally was interesting, and watching the West family mourn the ailing Linda was heart-breaking. It's just really hard watching Wally slowly get shoved away to make room for Barry Allen.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at Teen Titans #66.