The Flash #800

The Max in the Mirror

Writer: Mark Waid

Pencils & Inks: Todd Nauck

Colors: Matt Herms

Letters: Rob Leigh

Editor: Chris Rosa

Group Editor: Paul Kaminski

Our cover by Taurin Clarke shows Wally triumphantly running in front of some random images of his past. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of this one. And it’s not just because Impulse was neglected. I don’t like that orange. It’s an off-putting shade. Anyway, as you might expect, there are a bunch of variant covers for this issue, but none of them feature Impulse. Additionally, four of the five stories in this issue don’t include Impulse, aside from one extremely minor cameo that’s not even worth mentioning. Luckily for me, Christmas came early this year, and I did get one Impulse story. Not only that, it comes from both my favorite writer and favorite artist!

Our story takes place between Impulse #6 and Impulse #7, which means Bart is still pretty new to his life in good ol’ Manchester, Alabama, with Max Mercury. One morning, Bart wakes up, worried that Max will make him watch paint dry again. But to Bart’s surprise, Max is stuck inside his bathroom mirror.

Turns out, Max was helping Wally battle the Mirror Master in Keystone City that morning, and now both of them are trapped in a temporary mirror dimension that’s slowly fading away. Max tries to slowly and carefully explain the situation to Bart, but Wally panics and blurts out that Mirror Master is still on the loose in Keystone. Before he can finish his sentence, though, Bart throws on his Impulse uniform and knocks out the villain. Wally screams at Bart, saying he needed to make Mirror Master free himself and Max, to which Bart matter-of-factly says Wally left that last part out.

When Wally complains, Max points out that Bart is Wally’s cousin. Wally (correctly) states that Bart is once removed, which, in his opinion, isn’t removed enough. Max calmly explains that Bart is actually quite bright, but you have to give him very specific instructions in a sequential order, just like a Mars rover. Max asks Bart to look for a reverse switch on Mirror Master’s gun, but the weapon was unfortunately damaged in Impulse’s quick attack.

Bart casually asks if they have any glue at home, then abruptly takes off. Wally calls out to him to go get Steel to try to fix it, but Max warns Wally that Bart has the attention span of a toaster. Bart either didn’t hear Wally or chose to ignore him, instead going to the Keystone City Public Library and reading every book on mirrors, light and electronics. He returns to Max and Wally, who is panicking even more now, since they’re fading away fast. Bart quickly repairs Mirror Master’s gun, while we’re treated to one of his classic thought bubbles of old: a crying Flash with a diaper and bottle.

Unfortunately, the repaired mirror gun won’t work. Wally tells Bart to fix the gun again, but Bart insists it is fixed, but has no power. He asks what powers the gun, but Wally doesn’t know, saying that’s what Steel was supposed to figure out. Max asks Bart to look for an indication on the gun of how it’s fueled. Bart sees the letters “MPS” over a gauge of lights, and immediately takes off again. Wally worries that his last words are going to be, “Kill the boy.”

Bart races a few times around the city, and when he returns, a very faint Max tells him it’s now or never. Bart pulls the trigger, and this time it works, successfully pulling Max and Wally back into the real world. He explains that he was charging the gun, since “MPS” stood for “Miles Per Second” and Bart suspected Mirror Master was powering his weapon by tapping into the Flash’s super speed. Max praises Bart for his quick thinking and urges Wally to give a begrudging thank you. Wally suggests the three of them go out for breakfast, and Bart takes off once again, not knowing where he’s going. Max says that basically happens 12 times an hour, and Wally realizes he admires Max more every day.

Oh, that was over too fast! What a beautiful blast from the past — a real treat for people like me, who are now parents and get to explain to our kids how fun the comics of our youth were. This story fits perfectly in the Mark Waid/Humberto Ramos run of Impulse, and I loved every moment of it. True, it would have been fun to see Ramos come back and draw this one, but I always liked Todd Nauck’s style better — it’s clean, consistent, cartoony and carries a certain charm that few other artists can capture. And, of course, you know how much I love Waid, the creator of Impulse. He’s back at DC now, writing amazing stories in World’s Finest and Shazam. But I’m still going to hold out hope that he’ll be the one to revive the Impulse title. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

So once again, I end a post with no idea when I’ll return. Impulse (mercifully) wasn’t featured in the disastrous live-action Flash movie, so I don’t have to review that. I’ll just keep watching and waiting for somebody to do something — anything — with my favorite comic book character of all time.