Speed Metal
Joshua Williamson Writer
Eddy Barrows Penciller
Eber Ferreira Inker
Adriano Lucas Colorist
Steve Wands Letterer
Barrows, Ferreira, Lucas Cover
Peach Momoko Variant Cover
Andrew Marino Editor
Marie Javins Executive Editor
Our cover shows Wally in his new blue, Mobius Chair costume, leading Barry, Jay and Wallace (all in stupid “metal” costumes) across a field of skulls, away from a horde of zombie Flashes and the enormous, all-powerful Batman Who Laughs. It is all incredibly stupid. And I’m not just saying that because Impulse was left out. The whole concept of this bloated event is utterly ridiculous and bizarre. The story itself is as strange and clunky as its name — an obnoxious clunkiness that becomes even worse in tie-in issues like this. No comic should have three titles. Two is understandable. But three is too much.
It feels like this story should take place outside of continuity — in an Elseworlds setting like DCeased. But it’s not. Apparently, shortly after Barry defeated the Reverse-Flash and hosted that triumphant backyard barbecue, the Batman Who Laughs transformed into an all-powerful enormous entity that has consumed the entire world and is chasing our heroes around just like on the cover.
After running around for a bit, Wally freezes time by using Johnny Quick’s old formula, which gives our speedsters time to visit the destroyed Flash Museum and talk about legacy and their feelings. Wally suggests they stop running away from the horde of Dark Flashes and instead run through them. Barry and the others agree, but Jay succumbs to exhaustion first, followed by Wallace. Barry then chooses to give all his speed to Wally, which gives him enough energy to take the Mobius Chair away from the Batman Who Laughs and into the Speed Force.
To Wally’s surprise, he finds his family and friends waiting for him in the Speed Force. Barry, Wallace and Jay are there, in addition to Linda, Jai, Irey, Avery, Iris, Jesse, Max, and, of course, our lovable Bart. And apparently it was Bart’s idea to take everybody to the Speed Force, as he remembered the time Abra Kadabra sent Wally there way back when.
However, Bart’s reunion with Wally is a bit subdued, as he merely says, “Sup, old man.” But it’s not like there’s time for lengthy reunions, anyway. Wally says it’s only a matter of time before the Batman Who Laughs reaches them in the Speed Force, so he recruits Barry and Jay to help him deliver the Mobius Chair to Wonder Woman, telling all the others to join them when the time is right. Bart promises to bail Wally out again, and with that, the first three Flashes race off into the rest of the Death Metal storyline.
I really don’t understand what was the point of this comic book. The most interesting parts — Barry finding Wally and Bart pulling everyone into the Speed Force — happened off page. Maybe if Williamson didn’t spend so much time on his “inspiring” heart-to-heart conversations we could have actually seen Bart organizing a dangerous, last-second escape. Of course, such a story would have been rather repetitive after that DCeased issue. So that just brings me back to my original point. Did we really need this comic? Did anything substantial actually happen? Why bother drawing all those dark/zombie Flashes if they weren’t going to actually do anything? Why give those characters different “metal” costumes if it had no bearing on the plot? I guess that’s why I don’t like this event. Nothing really matters, and as the reader, I’m just supposed to sit back and marvel at how “cool” and “metal” everything is. But that’s not me.
Next time, we’ll examine the penultimate issue of Bendis’ Young Justice.
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