Tony Black reviews The Flash #4…
“Lightning Strikes Twice” part four! The leader of the science-terrorist group Black Hole has weaponized the Speed Force, leading to a final confrontation with The Flash and his new league of citizen speedsters.
Joshua Williamson’s excellent run on the continued Rebirth of The Flash continues apace with ‘Teamwork’, an issue which both manages to bring to a close his opening arc and spin new character beats and plot elements off going forward, in a sprightly, accessible and once again highly enjoyable way. What’s nice at the outset of this issue is just how much Barry Allen is enjoying not just being the Flash, but also training a whole new legion of speedsters within S.T.A.R Labs after the unusual lightning storm which created the current problem – how he’s turned a concern for Central City into a positive solution is great and it informs a packed issue which skilfully manages to combine a lot of necessary exposition as the building plot reaches breaking point with solid character work.
And at one point, there is a *lot* of exposition which Williamson has to manage, as Barry and his new burgeoning love interest Dr. Meena Dhawan primarily juggle discussing the quite intricate new rules of the Speed Force the legion of new speedsters have to work with, alongside connecting dots between numerous sources of villainy over the last few issues, such as new evil speedster Godspeed, the Black Hole criminals and former S.T.A.R Labs doctor Carver, and ripples out to give an enjoyable sense of closure while jump starting a whole new arc in terms of where these characters and their investigations go.
It’s very satisfying, as we see Iris West moving further down the rabbit hole in exposing Black Hole, or August Heart beginning to really enjoy being an incumbent Flash–perhaps too much, you sense disaster around the corner where he’s concerned–and even touching in on the other Wally West, the younger black one instead of the guy central to Rebirth‘s origins as a DC event, making a choice about his powers. It’s also nice that Williamson is brave enough not to end on another giant cliffhanger and rather a continuing character beat for Barry, setting up what could be a really fun special issue; only a comic with confidence in its story & characters can do that, and this feels brimming with confidence.
Well earned confidence too, as The Flash has been arguably one of the strongest, most consistent events in the DC Rebirth so far, under the stewardship of Williamson – here supported by artist Neil Googe in really bringing to life the broader speedster world in some expansive panels, before letting rip as Carver plans explode outward. With some great characterisation, and underlying sense of fun, and storylines stacked with plenty of places to go, if you’re not reading The Flash, this is another great point to jump on for the next issue and soak it up.
Rating: 8/10
Tony Black
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published August 15, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
