The Flash #790

The One-Minute War – Part One: Zero Point

Script: Jeremy Adams

Pencils: Roger Cruz

Inks: Matt Banning & Wellington Dias

Colors: Luis Guerrero

Letters: Rob Leigh

Cover: Taurin Clarke

Variant Covers: Daniel Bayless, Ibrahim Moustafa, Taurin Clarke

Editor: Chris Rosa

Group Editor: Paul Kaminski

Much to my surprise, Impulse is prominently featured front and center on our cover. He, Jay and Wally are trying to escape the fiery blast of a vague, alien-looking fighter jet. Unfortunately, I don’t like this cover. It looks too computery and bland. And that’s a major shame, since this is the beginning of a rather exciting story involving the entire Flash family, but this cover does not convey that at all. It’s just a generic computer-generated explosion without any context or drama. I really wish Roger Cruz could have drawn the cover, because he has an exciting, dynamic style that would have been a whole lot better here. None of the variant covers feature Bart, so we’ll just head straight into the story.

We open with a race of aliens called the Fraction approaching Earth in a ship that’s shaped like a gigantic arrow. We know they’re working for an empress and they are being guided by an invisible force toward what they call a “tributary.” We also know that they pride themselves in being able to conquer worlds before the inhabitants have a chance to fight back.

We then check in on the West family. Linda is pregnant again and Jai and Irey are happily running around the backyard as Wally hosts a barbecue for some of his non-speedster friends. But the party is interrupted by a strange sound and the feeling of static electricity on the wind. Elsewhere, Max Mercury is attempting once again to run into the Speed Force. He didn’t tell anyone he was going to do this, rationalizing that Bart will understand. Max even speculates that if he fails, and merely jumps in the future again, he’ll probably end up seeing Bart anyway. Fortunately, Max aborts his attempt at the sight of the gigantic arrow poking down through the clouds.

Jesse Quick, meanwhile, is fighting a random lion-person with Hourman when time suddenly freezes for everyone except her. Kid Flash is also busy fighting crime, just about to beat up some low-level smugglers, when Impulse interrupts the operation by zooming across the river, saying, “Hey, guys! Miss me?” Yes, Bart. We did miss you. Anyway, Bart promptly takes out all the criminals before Wallace has a chance to react.

Wallace complains that this was his bust, and Bart pretends he didn’t see him there. As Wallace keeps whining, Bart jokingly confirms that these were actually bad guys, saying, “You can only capture innocent groups so many times.” But Wallace won’t let the matter drop, accusing Bart of intentionally showing him up, perhaps because he’s mad that he’s not Kid Flash anymore. Bart tells Wallace not to flatter himself, pointing out he’s already been Kid Flash and has decided that the color yellow doesn’t work with his complexion. Wallace insists that Bart’s jealous, but Bart says Wallace is the only one here who’s jealous. Bart’s playful teasing is then interrupted by the sight of the gigantic arrow descending on the city.

We then cut to Jay Garrick, who’s drinking alone in a bar, lamenting the death of some of his old friends. And we finally catch up with Barry Allen, who’s having a fancy dinner with Iris, who seems like she’s about to propose to him. Time freezes for everyone except Barry, followed shortly by the arrow hitting the city and causing a huge explosion. And I do mean huge. This arrow/ship/tower thing is as large as half the city. And the blast from its impact knocks down all our speedsters, regardless of where they are. When Barry pulls himself out of the rubble, he is horrified to see Iris is seemingly dead. I mean, with time frozen, Barry can’t really check her pulse or anything, but it still looks pretty bad.

Well, it’s taken a few years, but someone has finally found a place for Bart in this bloated and ever-expanding Flash family: obnoxious big brother to Wallace. And I love it! Bart has never had a little brother and it’s great to see him have someone to playfully tease. Of course, I’m always going to be wondering about Bart’s civilian life — I really hoped he’d go back to Manchester, Alabama, with Max. But I really did like the little bit of Bart we got here. And the Fraction is an interesting concept. Generic name, and generic designs of the aliens, but a nice idea of using super speed to conquer an entire world in under a minute. So I’m cautiously optimistic about this story.

To be continued …