The Flash #230

Last Man Standing

Joey Cavalieri ... Writer
Val Semeiks & Joe Cooper ... Pencillers
Livesay & Drew Geraci ... Inkers
Pat Brosseau ... Letterer
James Sinclair ... Colorist
Stephen Wacker ... Editor
Harvey Richards ... Asst. Editor

Our cover by Art Thibert shows Wally West quite literally shedding off the mantle of the Flash. It's a pretty cool cover, and it would have been even more significant if this actually had been the final issue of The Flash, closing with Wally simply choosing to no longer be a superhero. And for about a year, this really was Wally's finale — until someone *cough, cough* completely failed in his run as the Flash.

Our story begins with another one of Wally's nightmares — this one showing what life would be like if Vandal Savage's asteroid actually did hit Earth. In the real world, he had been momentarily knocked out by some of Savage's super-powered congregation. Luckily, Wally is able to recover quick enough to battle the people. He gets a helping hand from Detectives Chyre and Morillo, but the most valuable assist comes from the curator of the Flash Museum, Dexter Myles, who discovered the schematics to the Summoner.

Wally reads the schematics and figures out how to put the Summoner in reverse to send the asteroid away from Earth. Vandal Savage freaks out at this and jumps in front of the device. He's caught up in the beam and is carried away toward the asteroid out in space. Wally tries to save him, but Savage refuses, insanely rejoicing in this experience.

Once Savage and the asteroid are gone, the police arrive and arrest Savage's congregation. Wally speculates that they'll eventually lose their powers without receiving periodic injections of Savage's blood. Wally returns home to find Jay and Bart waiting for him. Bart is giving Jay a hard time for mocking Savage's goons when they were chained up, but Jay says he didn't want to sit there listening to Savage monologuing. Wally's confused by this phrase, and Bart explains that he got Jay a DVD of "The Incredibles," which the elder speedster apparently enjoyed once he learned to use the remote.

Bart promptly crashes on the couch to play some video games, teasing Jay that he couldn't have played them when he was a kid because he needed two hands to steer his covered wagon. Jay takes the joke in stride, saying he's just impressed that a boy from the 30th century can still find enjoyment from this ancient technology. Jay comments on how everything is constantly changing, and he wonders aloud how anybody can raise kids these days. Wally says everyone has always had a problem with knowing how to prepare for the future. He then turns this conversation toward himself, saying, "But there'll always be a Flash ... even if it isn't me." Bart is shocked that Wally's quitting, but Wally clarifies that he's not officially quitting just yet, but is going to slow down for now to take care of the kids.

I could tear this comic apart for so many reasons. But I'll just say that this was not the ending Wally deserved after 19 years and 230 issues. If I could rewrite this I would have emphasized Wally's crippling fear of his twins. Really play up the nightmares — reduce the whole Vandal Savage story into just another nightmare — and show Wally constantly running back to check on his babies, while being unable to deal with the most basic of bank robberies and traffic accidents. And then for the final issue, I would have done a proper crossover with Infinite Crisis, adding more detail to the very emotional scene we'll get to next time.

I do have one more odd complaint — the "Incredibles" DVD. I know this story was written before Disney acquired Marvel, but it still feels weird for a superhero comic to reference a real-life superhero film. Would actual superheroes enjoy watching a cartoon about superheroes getting hit with so many lawsuits they were forced into hiding? Wouldn't the average citizens of the DC Universe watch this and think, "Hey, I should sue the Flash for all the damage his battles cause?" I don't know. This is really the least of my concerns with this issue, but I've decided not to criticize every little detail of this story. Joey Cavalieri likely faced tight deadlines and a lot of editorial restrictions. So I guess the blame should go to Geoff Johns, who likely could have ended his run on The Flash with a clean transition into Infinite Crisis, but for whatever reason, chose not to.

Next time, we'll get back to that massive event and will learn why Wally's run had to end in Infinite Crisis #4.

Wonder Woman #224

Marathon Part Two

Greg Rucka Writer
Cliff Richards Pencils
Ray Snyder Inks
Richard & Tanya Horie Colors
Todd Klein Letters
Ivan Cohen Editor
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston

Our cover by JG Jones shows Wonder Woman leading her fellow Amazons in battle. Jones' realistic painted style is a really nice change of pace every now and then, and I really like the different Amazons here. Wonder Woman herself looks a bit odd, but that's just a minor nitpick on my part.

When we last saw the OMACs, they were swarming over Blüdhaven, leaving an overwhelmed Nightwing wondering what to do. But then the evil sentient satellite Brother Eye got a better idea and sent all the OMACs to Themyscira to attack the Amazons. Wonder Woman tries to warn her sisters that the OMACs are actually innocent people trapped in robotic shells, but she's unable to prevent the Amazons from killing a large chunk of the OMACs.

Turns out that this was exactly what Brother Eye wanted. He realized the OMACs wouldn't be able to defeat the Amazons, but he could turn the world against them. Building on his video of Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord, Brother Eye sends out another video across the world, showing Amazons killing innocent people trapped in OMAC suits. This video is even seen by the Teen Titans, who have apparently returned from their adventure in Los Angeles and picked up Robin on the way.

Wonder Woman feels the Amazons' reputation will never be able to recover after this, nor will they be able to prevent future attacks on Themyscira. So she has the entire island disappear from the world of man, while she stays behind to continue battling the OMACs.



Geoff Johns is sometimes annoyingly precise when dealing with time (11:48 a.m., 12:07 p.m., etc.). But with Infinite Crisis, he was mercifully vague. This will especially come in handy during the crossovers that will try to add a few little details to the main story that is so jam-packed with action, it often feels like everything is happening at the same time. In this particular case, I think it's good to assume that the Teen Titans did have a little bit of downtime after their fight with Brother Blood, giving Robin enough time to finally meet up with the team.

As for this issue, I did like Brother Eye's plan (and Wonder Woman's sacrifice to counter that plan), but I don't know why such a big deal was made of the OMACs flying over Blüdhaven if their goal was always Themyscira. And this wasn't Greg Rucka's fault — this was exactly how Johns had it in the main Infinite Crisis series. I mean, Infinite Crisis #1 had an entire two-page spread of the OMACs over Blüdhaven, and nothing happened. Oh well.

Next time, we'll conclude the battle with Vandal Savage in The Flash #230.

Teen Titans #31

Lost and Found Part 2 of 2

Writer Geoff Johns
Pencils Tony S. Daniel & Todd Nauck
Inks Marlo Alquiza & Richard Bank
Colors Tanya & Richard Horie
Letters Comicraft
Ass't Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza
Special thanks to Chris Castallo

Our cover by Tony S. Daniel gives us the horrific image of Brother Blood's team of deceased Teen Titans — the former Hawk and Dove, Omen, Aquagirl and Kole. It's a nice, creepy cover, that is surely much more meaningful for longtime Titans readers who actually remember these characters. For me, I see this as a precursor to a future Geoff Johns story — Blackest Night.

Our story begins with Brother Blood as his team attacking the Titans, while the horde of demons continue to ravage Los Angeles. Kid Flash somehow became encased in one of Kole's crystals, but he's able to break out quick enough. Wonder Girl asks if they should be holding back in this fight, and Kid Flash asks who it is they're exactly fighting. Speedy says she's read up on the former Titans, and she correctly identifies Aquagirl and Phantasm. She believes these former heroes don't deserve to be treated like this.

Bart then asks a more relevant question: How is Brother Blood suddenly able to raise the dead? Raven isn't sure, but she does know the doorway between life and death is under threat right now. Bart asks what happens if that doorway is destroyed, and Raven says there will be no more judgment. Bart initially thinks that's a good thing, until Raven says that also means all souls would cease to exist. Beast Boy puts Wonder Girl in charge, telling her to take on Brother Blood while he and Raven attempt to journey to this doorway.

Raven's hesitant to bring Beast Boy with her, but he insists, saying he'll be her moral support. So Raven teleports the two of them to a space between dimensions called the Crossroads. Gar decides that now is a good time to ask her about the kiss they shared in the morgue, and he gets all upset when Raven puts off the question to focus on their very intense journey to Hell itself. They soon arrive at a massive door, conveniently labeled "Life and Death." Raven explains that this area has taken the form that their minds can comprehend. Our heroes also see that a young man is chained to the door, keeping it open.

The young man introduces himself as Kid Eternity. He was killed in a boating accident, but mysterious forces told him it wasn't his time and sent him back with the ability to summon deceased people. Later, Kid Eternity was "killed" a second time by a sorcerer craving chaos power. Since he had already died, Kid Eternity ended up in this strange Crossroads land, until Brother Blood ambushed him, chained him up to the door, and drank some of his blood to steal a bit of his powers. But according to Kid Eternity, Brother Blood is bringing back people incorrectly — only resurrecting their bodies, but not their souls.

Raven wonders if Kid Eternity is responsible for the resurrection of Jason Todd and Donna Troy, but he says the doorway was already cracked open before he got chained to it. He blames the resurrection of Superman for initially cracking it open. He asks to be set free to send all the dead people back to where they belong, and Raven confirms he is telling the truth. But before they can break his chains, they're attacked by Gizmo, Madame Rouge and the original Ravager.

Back in Los Angeles, Wonder Girl complains that her powers are fluctuating, which probably explains how she's able to get caught by Omen, who holds Cassie for Brother Blood to suck her blood. Kid Flash punches Brother Blood off her, but is quickly surrounded by more demons.

Beast Boy finally manages to break Kid Eternity's chains, enabling him to close the door and cause the zombie villains to disappear. In the real world, Speedy is forced to use her second-to-last arrow, a stink bomb, saying all she has left is the mysterious blue arrow. Wonder Girl tells her now's the time to use it, but before she does, Raven, Beast Boy and Kid Eternity appear before them. Kid Eternity instantly sends away the deceased Titans, causing Brother Blood to mourn the loss of his latest mother. Kid Eternity says he knows there have been seven generations of Brother Blood before Sebastian, each one having killed his father to take his place. And none of them are too happy right now.

Kid Eternity summons all the previous Brother Bloods, who apparently murder Sebastian in such a gruesome manner that Cassie and Bart can barely watch. Kid Eternity says that Sebastian works for him now, and he causes all the demons to return to Hell, where they belong. Wonder Girl reports that her powers have returned, and Raven says the doorway has been closed. Speedy asks Kid Eternity to bring the good Titans back to life, but he refuses, saying their souls are at rest.

In Smallville, Conner is having dinner with the Kents, discussing the Titans' victory in Los Angeles. Ma says Kid Flash has already rebuilt half the destroyed buildings. Conner quietly says Bart is good like that, then retreats to his bedroom. The other Superboy, watching all this from a realm outside of reality, smashes the crystal wall in front of him and vows to hold Conner responsible for his sin of inaction.




Well, it looks like we're finally done with Brother Blood. And I'm glad. I never really liked him that much. All in all, this was a fairly decent story. The idea of bringing back deceased heroes in an angry, zombie-like state is a pretty good one, but it didn't have much of an effect here. There wasn't much time to explore that aspect, and besides, none of our characters really had much of a connection to those dead Titans. And I think Geoff Johns may have had those problems in mind when he returned to this idea in Blackest Night.

I'm not sure why Tony S. Daniel struggled to complete this issue. Once again, we had a bunch of Captain Carrot pages in this issue, but even that reduced page count was too much for Daniel. However, I am very glad that Todd Nauck was brought in to help complete this issue. If I had my way, he would have been the regular artist on this series right from the get-go.

It was nice that the Kents mentioned Bart rebuilding buildings in Los Angeles. That demonstrates more of Bart's increased responsibility and addresses something often overlooked in superhero comics — collateral damage. However, I was surprised that it was Speedy who had read about the previous Titans and not Bart. Didn't he read an entire library once? Oh well. What really matters is that the Teen Titans are now caught up to Infinite Crisis and are ready for the official crossovers to begin.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at one of those crossovers, Wonder Woman #224.

The Flash #229

The Black Death

Joey Cavalieri -- Writer
Val Semeiks -- Penciller
Livesay -- Inker
Pat Brosseau -- Letterer
James Sinclair -- Colorist
Harvey Richards -- Asst. Editor
Stephen Wacker -- Editor

Our cover by Art Thibert truly puts the "savage" in Vandal Savage. Yeah, his face is a tiny bit goofy-looking, but Wally and Jay do look like they're really struggling against these chains. I am sad that Kid Flash didn't make the cover, after all, Vandal Savage captured him, too. But all in all, this is a good, striking image.

Our story begins with Wally having yet another nightmare, this one of him laying a wreath of roses on his children's grave. Back in the real world, Wally is being placed in restraints next to Jay and Bart. Jay mocks Vandal Savage, who retaliates by punching him and threatening to create clones of Jay that he can keep killing over and over. He then leaves with the Summoner, placing two guards to watch over the speedsters.

Vandal Savage sets up the Summoner outside with the rest of his congregation and activates it. Turns out it's a device that can connect to an asteroid in outer space and draw it, or "summon" it, to Earth. Savage rejoices that this asteroid is large enough to wipe out all life on the planet, and his followers foolishly believe they'll somehow board the asteroid and ride it like a starship to the heavens — a lie Savage has told them to keep them complicit.

Back inside, Bart and Wally follow Jay's lead by vibrating fast enough to become invisible. The guards believe the speedsters somehow escaped their restraints, so they unlock all the manacles to try to figure out what went wrong. Once freed, the speedsters quickly knock out the guards and place them in the restraints. Bart asks Jay which adventure he learned that trick from, and Jay admits he got it from the old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movie, "The Road to Morocco."

Our heroes rush outside and quickly see the Summoner in action — they can actually see the asteroid being pulled toward Earth. Jay recounts how Vandal Savage received his immortality from the radiation of an asteroid eons ago, and he worries what another asteroid will do to him. Wally admits that Savage had tricked him on another previous occasion to give him more pieces of that original asteroid when the radiation was wearing off. Bart finds it odd how casually they're talking about radiation, saying, "Oh, I just passed 'Go.' Give me my $200 and some radiation, please."

Savage's super-powered congregation spots the speedsters and charge at them. Wally says these were just normal people who were hoodwinked by Savage, and he warns his companions not to hurt them. So Jay quickly digs a trench in front of the people, which they all fall into. This gives Wally enough time to come up with a plan. He asks Jay to check on Linda and his twins, Bart is tasked with tending to the panicking crowds in Keystone City, and Wally will take on Vandal Savage.

Bart first tends to the hordes of people evacuating across a bridge. He creates an open lane for emergency vehicles and reunites separated families. He ends fights in supermarkets, brings injured people to the hospital, and does everything he can to keep people calm and patient. Despite his efforts, Bart feels like he's unable to make much of a difference and he secretly worries about what will happen if Wally fails his task.

Jay heads to Wally and Linda's house, but finds it empty. However, Linda arranged some children's blocks to spell out Jay's name — a secret message to indicate she's safe. Jay eventually finds her in a suite owned by her TV station. She faked being sick to convince her parents to evacuate there with her and not run off to join Vandal Savage. Linda's dad is caring for the twins, while her mom is creepily offering prayers to Vandal Savage. Once her parents leave the room, Jay reveals himself and Linda expresses her concern of the hold the super villain has over her parents. Jay hypothesizes that Savage's influence will subside eventually if they move them farther away. He offers to stay with Linda for now, saying that Wally is currently battling Savage. But before Wally can get to Savage, he has to fight through his congregation.




This story is problematic. Vandal Savage ultimately wants to kill everyone on Earth with an asteroid. Makes sense. But why did he set himself up as a preacher of a phony religion with a congregation he gave superpowers to? Why did he set up an elaborate false narrative to trick the Flash into giving him a device he surely could have stolen himself? And how did he capture Bart and Jay? And how did Linda know it was going to be Jay looking for her and not her husband? And ... uh, I could go on, but you get the idea.

There are certainly elements of this story I like. Wally's concern over his children overriding his good judgment. Bart getting a chance to shine by responsibly keeping an entire city from tearing itself apart. But too many things bring this story down — including the lackluster art. It's really sad to see Wally's run end like this.

Next time, we'll get back to the Brother Blood fight in Teen Titans #31.

Teen Titans #30

Lost and Found Part 1 of 2

Writer Geoff Johns
Penciller Tony S. Daniel
Inkers Marlo Alquiza & Richard Bonk
Colorist Jeromy Cox
Letterer Comicraft
Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer
Editor Eddie Berganza

Our cover by Tony S. Daniel shows the dramatic return of Brother Blood, who has more cloaked followers, is surrounded by fire and is looming large over the Titans, who are once again drowning in a vague pool of blood. It is a pretty dramatic cover, even if I don't like the concept of this guy (at least he's not wearing a stupid skull-thing on his head anymore). Robin is missing and Cyborg should be missing, as we'll find out inside. The cover also includes a tease for a Captain Carrot comic, which is essentially a backup story in this issue. It doesn't seem to directly involve Kid Flash, so we won't worry about it.

Our story begins in Burbank at 11:13 a.m. Monday with Eddie Bloomberg reading the Captain Carrot comic (which was also written by Geoff Johns). Eddie was Kid Devil, one of the many heroes who helped Young Justice invade Zandia. But now that his aunt has died, Eddie is lost in life and keeps getting fired from every job he gets. He visits his aunt's grave in Los Angeles, but at 11:48 a.m., the whole cemetery erupts in a fiery explosion and dozens of red, winged demons fly out of the ground.

At 11:49 a.m. in Titans Tower in San Francisco, Brother Blood has somehow ... emerged from Raven. (I don't get how any of this works.) He immediately attacks Raven and starts sucking her blood. Beast Boy is quickly on the scene and transforms into a Tyrannosaurus rex and charges at Brother Blood. But Blood's new mother, the reincarnated Omen, uses her psychic powers to put Beast Boy to sleep. Brother Blood seems satisfied with that, telling Raven he's going to make his own Titans before having Omen teleport all of them to Los Angeles.

They all arrive in Los Angeles at 12:01 p.m., and the city is on fire, with the sky full of the red demons. Brother Blood orders his "congregation" to destroy all the non-believers, and he reaches over to drink Beast Boy's blood. But Raven pushes Gar away and teleports him and herself to a nearby morgue — the only safe place she could reach in her weakened state. Beast Boy pulls out his communicator to call the other Titans, and Raven explains that something has blown open the doorway between life and death and infected her soul self, enabling Brother Blood's escape. Raven isn't sure who is responsible for this, but she does insist on blaming herself, as usual. Beast Boy blames himself, since Cyborg left him in charge to go help Donna Troy on her secret mission. Their misery brings Gar and Raven together, and the two kiss in the morgue.

Sixteen miles outside of Gateway City, at St. Elias Private School, Cassie and Greta are sitting in class at 12:27 p.m. The class is discussing Wonder Woman's murder of Maxwell Lord, a topic that understandably puts Cassie on edge. When one boy accuses Wonder Woman of being a terrorist, Cassie loses her cool and slams the boy up against the ceiling. She quickly drops him, then flies out the window, daring her teacher to expel her, while the reflection of Ares watches on approvingly. Cassie then notices Beast Boy's call.

In Star City at 12:28 p.m., Mia Dearden has finally decided to call Roy Harper and ask him what that mysterious blue arrow does. To her surprise, Roy doesn't know, either. He apparently stole the arrow from the Fortress of Solitude. Mia then receives Beast Boy's summons and wonders if she should answer it since it's a Monday. Suddenly, Kid Flash shows up, talking very fast, saying Beast Boy's in trouble and his signal is coming from Los Angeles. Bart couldn't find Robin, and he figured Wonder Girl can fly herself over there, so here he is, offering Speedy a ride.

Before too long, Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Raven and Beast Boy are all in the morgue. Speedy is understandably creeped out by all this, and Bart wants to wait for Robin and/or Superboy, but Beast Boy says they don't have time. Raven says they need to close the doorway between life and death and send Brother Blood and Omen back to hell, but she confesses she doesn't know how to do that. So Beast Boy suggests they find Brother Blood and ask him. When the demons reach the morgue, Beast Boy turns into a lion and shouts out the always stupid "Titans together!"

Soon our heroes our outside, battling the endless horde of demons in front of all the famous landmarks in Los Angeles. But they're soon surrounded by Brother Blood and his team of six deceased, brainwashed Titans. Our issue ends in Smallville at 4:34 p.m., with the scene of Conner watching the news from Infinite Crisis #1. Despite Ma Kent's encouraging words, Conner can't bring himself to leave the room and ignores his Titans communicator.




DC spent three years preparing for Infinite Crisis, but they still had some publication problems. This Teen Titans story ideally would have come out the same month as Infinite Crisis #1. But for some reason, it got pushed back by a two-part filler Hawk-and-Dove story. And even then, it felt like Tony S. Daniel was rushed on this issue. He didn't have to draw any of the Captain Carrot pages, but still needed two inkers, and a couple of his pages didn't seem to match the same standard as his usual work.

As for the story, even though I'm not a huge fan of Brother Blood, I do like the idea of a short-handed Teen Titans team facing an unending army attacking one of the largest cities in the world. And even though I don't have a connection to the resurrected Titans, I am glad that somebody finally acknowledged the death of Omen — the forgotten casualty from Graduation Day.

Next time, we'll return to our Vandal Savage fight in The Flash #229.

The Flash #228

The Summoner

Joey Cavalieri – Writer
Val Semeiks – Penciller
Livesay – Inker
Pat Brosseau – Letterer
James Sinclair – Colorist
Harvey Richards – Asst. Editor
Stephen Wacker – Editor

Our cover by Art Thibert shows Wally holding his twins, protecting them from some unseen threat, while his good pal Nightwing has his back. Both the twins have red hair, but later in the comics, Wally's son will actually grow black hair. Our heroes are standing in a graveyard that has tombstones for Wally, Barry, Jay and even Linda (who sadly was not buried next to her husband), but no Bart. This is a rather confusing cover that has little to do with the story inside. And I'm not the biggest fan of these facial expressions.

Our story begins with Wally heading to the Flash Museum to retrieve an item called the Summoner to help the critically ill woman he met last time. On the way, Wally has another nightmare, this one about Mirror Master trapping him forever in the Mirror World as he can only helplessly watch his children live a life of abuse and neglect in an orphanage and on the streets. Wally's awaken from this nightmare by the arrival of Flash Museum curator Dexter Myles, who happily leads the Flash to the secret room containing all the most powerful weapons and the Summoner. But to his and Wally's shock, the Summoner is gone.

We then check in with Bart and Jay. Apparently it's been hours since Wally stranded Linda, her parents and the twins at that church, so Linda has called in these speedsters to go find her husband. Jay accuses Wally of not embracing fatherhood, but Bart points out that Jay must have let some dinners go cold while he was battling the Fiddler. As Bart talks, he stops to help a pretty girl pick up her schoolbooks, but Jay drags him away, saying, "Focus, son. Focus."

Wally has another nightmare, this time of his adult son, who has taken the Allen name for some reason, locked in a psychiatric ward, frantically talking about the Thawnes trying to kill him and his sister. After he shakes off that nightmare, Wally brings in Nightwing to investigate the weapons room and try to find out what happened to the Summoner. But Nightwing bluntly tells him the device wasn't stolen, but was confiscated by Cyborg.

Nightwing and Flash meet Cyborg in S.T.A.R. Labs in San Francisco, where Cyborg is trying to figure out what the Summoner does. He said he took it because he learned that somebody did try to steal it and activate it, but failed. Now he and Nightwing agree that Wally's plan to hand over a device with unknown powers to a group of unknown individuals is an incredibly stupid idea. Wally even seems to agree that this is a stupid plan, but he's mad at his friends for not telling him about the attempted theft of the Summoner, and he's certain these people can help his twins, so he takes off with the large, bulbous staff thing.

When Wally gives the Summoner to the church's congregation, he quickly learns that there was no dying woman or utopian society for super-powered individuals. Just a bunch of illusions. And the reverend of this congregation is Vandal Savage, who has discovered that giving others a transfusion of his own blood grants them superpowers. And, long story short, Savage is building an army for one last holy war to cleanse the Earth. He holds Wally in place with a threat of a bomb and the reveal that he has already captured Jay and Bart.

This is a weird story. We're watching Wally very slowly walk into an obvious trap, and it's a very frustrating experience. His nightmares are interesting, but perhaps Wally's motivations would have been better explained if those nightmares were balanced out with visions of his children living in that utopia he thought he was taking them to. Besides that, I want to know why Cyborg and Nightwing knew about an attempted theft at the Flash Museum, but didn't tell Wally about it. And how did Vandal Savage capture Jay and Bart so quickly off page? Hopefully some of these issues will be resolved by the end of this filler story.

Next time, we'll find out what the Titans were fighting at the start of Infinite Crisis in Teen Titans #30.

Year in Review: 2005

I graduated from high school in 2005 and began my first year of college at Weber State University. I still wasn't officially reading comics yet, but I was very close to beginning that journey. A Barnes & Noble gift card prompted me to pull a DC Comics Encyclopedia off the shelf.

I was drawn in by the beautiful Alex Ross cover. But what really made me buy the book was the entry on Beast Boy. I had mistakingly believed that all the characters on the Teen Titans show had been created exclusively for that cartoon — a new, wacky team to support Robin. But this book proved to me that Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire had all existed long before in the world of comics. I realized I had much to learn, and joyfully devoured this encyclopedia. It was also where I first learned about Bart Allen, filed under Kid Flash (he also appeared under Teen Titans and Young Justice).

The year 2005 was dominated by sequels, remakes and reboots (which is pretty much how the world of film works in the 21st century). Harry Potter and the Goblet Fire almost earned $900 million, followed closely by Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I certainly liked Harry Potter, but Star Wars was very special for me. Believing this to be the final Star Wars movie that would ever be made, I camped out in line for hours on end with my brothers. People had lightsaber battles, others wore costumes, we all swapped around our theories. It was quite the event. Nowadays, it seems most movie theaters have assigned seating, essentially killing that type of experience.

As for superhero movies, Marvel gave us the family-friendly Fantastic Four and the not-so-family-friendly Elektra. Neither would go down in history as particularly good movies. Fantastic Four did do just enough to inspire a sequel, whereas Elektra essentially killed that Daredevil universe, opening the door for Marvel to reacquire the rights to those characters years later in their Netflix series. But the biggest superhero movie of 2005 was DC's Batman Begins. It earned $374 million, making it the ninth-highest grossing film of the year, although that figure does seem rather low by today's standards. Perhaps the crowds were a bit wary of a new Batman film, just as I was. My friend had to practically drag me out to it. However, I am pleased to admit I was wrong. Batman Begins was breathtakingly wonderful, launching an incredible trilogy that still reigns over the superhero movie world.

Bart Allen had another quiet, uneventful year as Kid Flash. He is firmly a minor character now, barely able to get some lines in Teen Titans, let alone a story arc. And he's super lucky just to make a cameo in The Flash. In 2005, Bart and the Titans wrapped up their adventure in the near future, followed by a big fight with Doctor Light before dealing with a brainwashed Superboy and traveling to another planet to rescue Donna Troy. Bart also helped Flash a little bit with the Rogue War and battle with Zoom, then inched into Infinite Crisis with the rest of the DC Universe. But in all those stories, Kid Flash was just ... there. In the background. Helping out a little bit, but not really doing anything, or learning or growing. All in all, 2005 was a very "blah" year for Bart.

Best Issue: Teen Titans #19

The biggest, most important issue that Bart appeared in was Infinite Crisis #1. But he was only seen on a tiny shard of glass in the whole issue. So I needed to pick something he was more involved in. And that's the final issue of the Titans of Tomorrow storyline. It was one of the most exciting stories of the year, complete with lots of teases of Infinite Crisis and interesting future versions of all our heroes. And as far as Bart is concerned, his future self turned out as good as possible.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns

Johns wins this award by default for the second consecutive year. That's what happens when he writes Teen Titans, The Flash and even Green Lantern: Rebirth — almost everything Kid Flash appeared in. I do credit Johns for easing away from the obnoxious smart-alec Bart that spewed off a stream of useless facts every time he opened his mouth. But I am sad that Bart didn't have any character development this year, and that Johns still only used Bart in The Flash when he absolutely had to. But we did have some good times with Johns this year. Mostly with the preparation to and execution of Infinite Crisis.

Best Artist: Mike McKone

Last year's winner, Tom Grummet, sadly only drew one issue in 2005, so I couldn't give him this award. And I couldn't give it to the new guy, Tony S. Daniel, for the same reason. Quantity is an important consideration in this award, and when the quantity is at such a large discrepancy, it can sometimes override quality. Kid Flash almost always looked better in a different book, but McKone did draw him more than anyone else this year. And, to be honest, he did get better as time went on. He wasn't my favorite, his action scenes always left me confused, but McKone wasn't unbearable.

Best Supporting Character: Bart Allen (Titans of Tomorrow)

Since Bart's already a supporting character, it's practically impossible to find another character that actually supports him. Robin and Superboy used to be his best friends, but Bart hardly did anything with them this year — even after they went through traumatic events, Robin losing his dad and Superboy being brainwashed. Bart sadly wasn't there for them. And no one else on the Titans had particularly strong bonding moments with Bart. Not even last year's winner, Beast Boy. Bart's guardian, Jay Garrick, was practically nonexistent. And his involvement with Wally West was minimal, at best. So that brings me to Bart from 10 years in the future. Living in a world torn apart by Infinite Crisis, this Bart managed to retain his hope and optimism as his friends around him lost their way and became the very villains they once opposed. And maybe that's why Bart subconsciously started distancing himself from his teammates this year. He saw firsthand that no matter what happened, he will always be heroic. But the others — Superboy, Robin, Beast Boy and Raven — will not.

Best Villain: Doctor Light

Only two people have seriously injured Bart. Deathstroke (co-winner of this award the past two years) and Doctor Light, who managed to pierce that same injured knee. And for that reason alone, Doctor Light wins this award. Yes, he was involved in Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis, but not to any extent that directly involved Bart. It's just that nobody else really bothered Bart that much. Zoom came close, but that was all just to torment Wally. Lex Luthor also seemed to constantly be present with everything going on, and Bart was certainly bothered by the Titans of Myth attacking those defenseless aliens. But the award goes to the second guy in history who actually caused real, physical damage to Bart.

Bart's been Kid Flash for a solid two years now. But Infinite Crisis will change that. In 2006, we're going to see Bart receive another "promotion," and I'm going to say it right now: It's not going to be pretty.

Next time: The Flash #228.