Ricky Church reviews The Flash: Rebirth Deluxe Edition – Book 2…
The Flash is back and facing some of his toughest and most classic enemies in The Flash: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2. Writer Joshua Williamson’s depiction of The Flash and his world is entertaining and cuts to the core of the character as he balances his life as Barry Allen with that of Flash and tries coming to terms with several aspects from his past.
This is a fairly hefty collection of stories that include The Flash #14 – 27, making it a nice book for Flash fans to add due to the amount of stories included. Thankfully all the stories are well-written and entertaining with some nice consistency from Williamson in Barry’s character development throughout the issues as well as continuing threads from the Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1. Williamson displays a great understanding of what makes Flash tick and utilizes his powers in some interesting ways, but it is Flash’s relationship with the supporting characters and rogues gallery that Williamson shines the most.
The first story of the book is ‘Rogues Reloaded’ and features the return of Flash’s infamous group of villains, The Rogues. Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, The Trickster and Golden Glider come back to Central City for one last score, hoping to outwit Flash before they run off into the sunset. It’s a pretty fun caper that highlights how nobody knows The Flash better than The Rogues and use his own powers against him in a limited window to rob Central City blind. Captain Cold’s characterization is particularly well-written as Williamson shows how calculated he can be as well as highlighting his relationship with Flash that’s built on a mutual respect and frustration.
The next big story of the book is ‘Running Scared’ which builds off the recent return of Reverse Flash to the DC Universe. The book does include the Flash centric chapters of The Button in which Thawne made his return (and ultimately died at the hands of Dr. Manhattan), but some readers might feel a bit lost since parts 1 and 3 are left out. This isn’t really anything new, however, as previous Rebirth Deluxe Editions, such as Action Comics and Superman, have left out chapters unrelated to that specific title in a crossover.
‘Running Scared’ is a nice deconstruction of just how powerful and deadly Reverse Flash is, not to mention how obsessed he is with Barry Allen. Williamson really makes Thawne a big threat, but he also explores the ramifications of Thawne remembering the old DC universe before the New 52 reboot. Iris West is made an integral part of this story and even the new Wally West gets some time with Thawne here, but it goes to some nice lengths into exploring how Barry and Iris’ relationship has changed thanks to The New 52 and their dating relationship in this book. However, the ultimate reason that’s given here for why Thawne turned against Barry is a little weak and could have been explored a bit more.
On the note of Iris, she gets a fair bit to do throughout the book, both in her relationship with Barry and job as a reporter. One story is seen from her perspective as she investigates Black Hole and shows she can look out for herself just as well. Wally is also given some prominence as he trains with Barry and Williamson takes the opportunity to show some friction between the two as more is discovered about his father and what Flash kept secret. There is a good amount of characterization for the pair and their arcs pay off towards the end of the book after Reverse Flash’s rampage is over.
The art is also one of the best aspects throughout the book. Carmine Di Giandomenico is the primary artist for the majority of the stories, illustrating ‘Rogues Reloaded’ and ‘Running Scared’. He captures the kinetic power of both Flash and Reverse Flash and does a good job showcasing multiple characters in a battle, such as when Flash takes on the Rogues or he and Green Lantern fight Multiplex. Howard Parter, meanwhile, looks after The Button and captures the crazy adventure through time and worlds Flash and Batman go on, including the brief return of a classic and fan-favourite speedster.
The Flash: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2 is a collection that showcases Flash at his best against many of his renowned foes. Williamson’s deconstruction of Flash’s character and prominent inclusion of Iris West help the stories stand out and his characterization of all the characters, including the villains, are well-thought out and intriguing. Flash fans should not be disappointed with what Williamson presents throughout this book.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church
