Chapter Two
Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Scott Kolins
Color: Michael Atiyeh
Cover: Kolins & Atiyeh
Variant Cover: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Letters: Travis Lanham
Editor: Adam Schlagman
Our main cover shows Captain Cold being chased by the Black Lantern versions of the deceased, original Rogues. The Rogues are essentially a family, and it's a bit sad to see how many of them have died over the years. Which means, of course, that Leonard Snart has lots of zombified friends and family who want to pay him a visit. I'm not a fan of Kolins, so I don't care too much about this cover, but I am happy it shows a direct scene from the story inside.
I happen to own the variant cover, which takes a more symbolic interpretation of the other story in this issue — Barry and Wally fighting for Bart's soul. Our speedsters are placed in a skull being eaten by maggots, which is grotesque and horrifying. But I applaud Manapul for finding a new way to convey the death and destruction of Blackest Night without resorting to the usual black-and-white images that have dominated the covers of this series.
Our story picks up with the Rogues breaking into Iron Heights to take the fight directly to the Black Lanterns. However, the prison is ominously deserted. They eventually come across a guard, bloodied and screaming that "some of them are still alive." Captain Cold freezes the guard and cautiously leads his team into the trap. After some glimpses of the original Mirror Master, the living Rogues soon come face to face with the zombie Captain Boomerang, followed by the Black Lantern versions of the Golden Glider, the Trickster, the Top and Rainbow Raider.
We then cut to the ending of Blackest Night #6 with Barry Allen being deputized as a Blue Lantern. As the ring tells Barry of the great hope he has demonstrated, we're treated to a quick flashback of Barry leading Wally and Bart in an attempt to free the Guardians of the Universe and Bart unfortunately turning into a Black Lantern. Barry gladly accepts the call to the Blue Lantern Corps, saying he's spent the last 48 hours trying to bury his emotions. That tactic protected him from the Black Lanterns, but didn't help him make any progress otherwise. Now he can finally embrace the hope in his heart.
The resident Blue Lantern, Saint Walker, teaches Barry how to use his new powers, explaining that he will be able to sense where he's needed if he relies on his spirit instead of his eyes. So Barry closes his eyes and immediately sees Bart is dying, but there's still hope. So Barry starts heading toward Bart, but is attacked by the Zombie Firestorm. Barry and Saint Walker try to pull the living Jason out of Ronnie's dead body, but before they can succeed, Black Lantern Bart pushes the Blue Lanterns back with a whirlwind.
Bart grabs Barry's hand, saying he should be wearing a black ring. Barry pushes Bart off him with a blast of blue energy and his new catchphrase: "All will be well." Barry then shoves Bart up against a tree, saying he knows Bart is still alive in there. But Bart kicks his grandpa away, insisting that he wasn't supposed to return. Barry's ring almost seems to act on its own, as it creates two blue images from Bart's past — Impulse and Kid Flash (but not the Flash, because DC is doing everything it can to ignore that period). Bart tries to run away from these projections, all while chiding Barry for delaying the inevitability of death.
Saint Walker admits that everyone will eventually die, but points out that no one should forfeit their life before their time. He then encourages Barry to stop struggling and hold onto his hope. The blue Impulse and Kid Flash eventually catch up to Bart and try to take off his black ring. But Bart chooses to mock Barry for becoming a light that the Black Lanterns can see from across the world.
The Black Lantern Eobard Thawne finally catches back up with Barry, boasting of his lifelong mission to rip Barry's hope away. He attacks Saint Walker, and Barry moves quickly to protect his new mentor, but this causes his Impulse and Kid Flash projections to fade away. Bart urges Thawne to go after the "old man," and Thawne obediently moves in on Barry, saying he now wants his greatest rival to hope.
Wally arrives in the nick of time and shoves a vibrating fist through Thawne's chest, causing the zombie to explode in a hundred pieces. Saint Walker places blue energy bubbles around these different pieces of Thawne to prevent him from reforming, and Wally places Bart in a headlock, while Barry explains the time-traveling nature the dead and alive Thawnes. When Wally asks about Barry's blue uniform, Bart calls it a beacon, saying the Reverse-Flash wasn't the only one to follow Barry's footsteps here. Right on cue, the Black Lantern Solovar shows up.
Solovar hits Barry, Wally and Saint Walker with a powerful psychic attack that causes Walker to lose control of his blue bubbles. Eobard quickly reforms and joins Solovar and Bart in looming over our three heroes. But while Solovar's body acts on its own, the real Solovar inside continues to cry out to Barry, begging for Barry to help him like he'll help Bart.
Back in Iron Heights, Golden Glider attacks her brother, reminding him of their tragic upbringing. And for a moment, Leonard Snart allows his heart to feel a bit of love. The original Trickster is chasing Axel around, while the two Mirror Masters are locked in a bizarre Mirror World battle. Heat Wave takes on Rainbow Raider, while Weather Wizard fights the Top.
Golden Glider sees the glimmer of love in Snart's heart, and she tries to get him to feel the emotion stronger to allow her to take it. But Captain Cold quickly shuts down his emotions and regains control of the fight. He freezes his undead sister and shatters her into a thousand pieces before turning to help his teammates. Surprisingly, the Top has defeated Weather Wizard, and Captain Boomerang is preparing to extract Mark Mardon's heart. But before Snart can attack Digger Harkness, Owen Mercer shows up, begging Captain Cold to not hurt his father. Cold explains that this walking bag of bones isn't actually Owen's dad, but Owen refuses to listen and rushes his father away from the prison, promising to bring him back.
This wasn't a bad comic, but it's still lacking the emotional impact with Bart that I'm craving. This is a Barry story, and Barry knows nothing about Bart. Plus, Flash: Rebirth isn't done yet, so we can't really get too deep into the speedsters' relationships. And, as always, we have to remember that Geoff Johns never really cared about Bart, or much about Wally, for that matter. So all the potential heart-wrenching moments we could have had between Bart and Wally — heck, even Max Mercury — completely went to waste. Black Lantern Bart didn't get to say or do anything of particular interest, and that's a shame.
Next time, we'll take a quick look at Justice League of America #41.
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