The Flash #10

Case Two: The Road to Flashpoint Part Two

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Manapul and Buccellato
Variant Cover: Ed Benes and Rob Hunter w/Buccellato
Assistant Editor: Darren Shan
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Our cover shows Barry, Bart and even Wally chasing after the futuristic biker who has claimed to be Barry Allen. It is a nice cover — you know how much I love Manapul — but I do have one complaint: the inclusion of Wally West. He doesn't even appear in this issue, let alone do anything of significance in the story as a whole. Because, you know, Johns could never figure out what to do with Wally once he brought Barry back. Equally frustrating is that this cover was used as the cover of the Road to Flashpoint trade paperback, falsely giving the implication that Wally would actually be involved.

The variant cover wasn't included with the digital version of this comic on DC Universe, but it was thrown in the back pages of my trade paperback. It's kind of remarkable — I've never seen a variant cover that was this similar to the main cover. All Benes did was take away Bart and Wally, but otherwise left us with the exact same pose. It's fine, I guess, but I would have preferred something different — even if wasn't necessarily related to the main story. Variant covers are the place to experiment and explore.

Our story picks up right where we left off last issue, with Barry confronting "Biker Barry" on a pier. The doppelgänger reiterates that he is Barry Allen, saying he goes by the hero name Hot Pursuit, the fastest man alive. As he speaks, he pushes a button on his motorcycle, which condenses it into essentially a policeman's baton. He explains that his nephew, Wally, helped him build his Cosmic Motorcycle, which channels the Speed Force. Hot Pursuit seems a little envious that Barry doesn't need a vehicle or special uniform to move at super-speed, and he uses his Cosmic Motorcycle to somehow confirm that Barry is indeed the generator of the Speed Force.

Hot Pursuit says he isn't from the future, but a parallel Earth — one of 52 worlds that comprise the multiverse. But Barry's Earth, the Earth we know and love, is the keystone to all other worlds, and if something happens to it, the other 51 worlds would all be affected. Hot Pursuit repeats his mission: to prevent the single greatest time anomaly to threaten reality. Suddenly, Bart Allen shows up, grabs the baton from Hot Pursuit, and says he hopes his grandpa isn't naive enough to actually believe Hot Pursuit's story.

Barry seems a bit annoyed by his grandson's uninvited presence, so Bart tells him how worried Iris was when he didn't show up at the picnic. Barry gives Bart the same lame excuse he gave Iris — that he was working on a murder case. Bart asks if this guy pretending to be Barry is the prime suspect. Hot Pursuit asks Bart who he is, which Bart takes as confirmation of his theory. He says the real Barry Allen would be able to recognize Kid Flash. Hot Pursuit says Bart is too young to be Wally West, so he somehow takes control of his Cosmic Motorcycle (even though Bart is balancing it on his finger) and it identifies Bartholomew Allen from the 31st century, providing a brief glimpse of his time growing up in virtual reality.

Hot Pursuit seems disturbed by the fact that Bart is a time traveler, so Barry clarifies, saying Bart's his descendant from the future, genetically linked to the Speed Force, and he came back to this era to learn how to use his powers. Bart corrects Barry, saying he came back here because the future is lame (and he's basically right — he doesn't really need help controlling his powers anymore). Hot Pursuit warns Bart, though, that since he's from the future, he'll be more vulnerable to the impending "timestorm" and could vanish from reality when history unravels.

Barry asks how this is going to happen, and Hot Pursuit isn't quite able to give a satisfactory answer. What he knows is that his Cosmic Motorcycle can sense temporal disruptions, and this upcoming one actually blew his bike's circuits. When he fixed the bike, Hot Pursuit was able to learn the impending chronal catastrophe is either coming directly from the Speed Force or someone manipulating the Speed Force. Barry asks how he can help, and Bart interjects, asking how they can help. Hot Pursuit coldly says, "By staying out of my way." He turns his baton back into a motorcycle and zooms off, leaving an angry Barry and Bart behind. And before Bart can even finish his question, Barry leaves him in the dust, too.

(I love Manapul's use of Bart's hair in that sequence.) Anyway, Barry catches up to Hot Pursuit and chastises him for being rude. Hot Pursuit explains that he was merely informing Barry of his presence as a courtesy, and there's no need for him to get involved. Barry points out that Hot Pursuit wasn't being very courteous when he blew up the windows of his lab, and Hot Pursuit says that some sacrifices have to be made and that getting fuel for his cycle comes with a price. He then pushes a button, which creates an electrical field around himself, knocking Barry down. Hot Pursuit vows to find whoever's threatening history and eliminate them, as he takes off once more.

Bart finally catches up to Barry, who says that Hot Pursuit's motorcycle actually pulled some of the Speed Force out of him. Bart says a "friend" wouldn't do that, let alone cause all the damage in the streets that Hot Pursuit is leaving behind. He says they need to do something, but Barry says he needs to take care of this alone, telling Bart to go home. Bart protests, telling his grandpa that he needs a reality check if he's so ready to believe Hot Pursuit's story. So Barry shows off a hair follicle that he snatched from Hot Pursuit, explaining he'll run a DNA test on it to see if at least the doppelgänger part of the story is true.

Kid Flash offers to come along for the DNA test, but Flash again refuses. When Bart asks what he can do to help, Barry bluntly says, "Nothing. I can handle this." Bart begins to become angry, saying they probably don't need a DNA test, since Barry is sounding exactly like Hot Pursuit. He then becomes saddened by a sudden realization, asking if Barry ditched the picnic because of him. Barry says that's not true, lamely using work as an excuse. Bart points out that he's always working whenever he's around. Barry insists this isn't about Bart, so Bart asks him point blank: "Why won't you spend time with us?" When Barry fails to answer him, Bart says, "I bet you wish I never came back here!" Barry continues with the weak, half-hearted excuses, until Bart finally runs away in anger. Barry chooses not to follow his grandson, pausing for a moment in the middle of the road to realize he's messed up.

Barry sadly returns to the crime lab that night, where his computer confirms a 100% match between Hot Pursuit's hair and his own DNA. Suddenly, his old friend Patty Spivot arrives. She explains that she happened to be visiting her mother in Keystone City when she got his message, and since she (and the rest of the world) believed Barry was in witness protection for the past few years, she decided to stop by and say hello. Of course, this "hello" is a tearful hug that seems to last just a bit on the long side for a married man like Barry (in my opinion).

After the hug, Barry gets down to business, telling her all about the Elongated Kid's death. But Patty refuses to help him, saying she moved to Blue Valley, Nebraska, to get away from murders. As Barry pleads with her, Director Singh calls him with another case. Patty can't refuse Barry's puppy-dog eyes forever, so she agrees to visit the scene with him, give her opinion, then leave.

Singh and Forrest are both happy to see their old coworker again, and Forrest comments on how suspicious it is for Barry to have been alone with Patty in the lab this late at night. Barry angrily tells Forrest to keep quiet, and they examine the body. It appears to be a 100-year-old man, but according to the ID in his wallet, he's actually a 31-year-old Air Force pilot. Barry says this confirms they're dealing with someone capable of stealing time, and he asks if there are any tire marks on the scene. Patty's the one who finds the marks, although there's only one wheel, indicating a motorcycle had been here. The police hear a noise and quickly discover a frightened boy, about 8 years old, hiding among some crates. And Barry realizes that this boy is a witness.




Finally! At long last, Bart was able to contribute to a Flash story in a meaningful way! And I'm so glad that he was here, telling Barry to his face, what a big jerk he's being. Yeah, Bart's abrupt departure was a little immature, but in his defense, he wasn't getting anywhere with Barry anyway. Just a long string of B.S. excuses. However, Bart was only half-right: Barry's not just avoiding Bart, he's avoiding his whole family. And as Forrest observed, something is definitely going on between Barry and Patty. As for the rest of the story? We got a bit more standing around and talking than I would have liked, but otherwise it's still pretty good. If nothing else, we were treated to another comic of beautiful art providing lots of great shots of Bart, which makes it a winner in my book.

Next time, we'll return to Teen Titans #94.