This Week: The Absolute Universe wins the Scarlet Speedster with Absolute Flash #1.
Note: The review below contains spoilers. If you need quick spoiler purchase/pass recommendations for the manga in question, please see the bottom of the article for the final verdict.
Absolute Flash #1
Author: Jeff Lemia
Artist: Nick Robles
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letter: Tom Napolitano
Cover Artist: Nick Robles
In many ways, absolute flash is the first real test of absolute concepts. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are all relatively simple sales, with no characters or powers of innate abilities (unless you count them as super-rich people). However, there are more moving parts in the flash, as well as how normal people get super speed. Even Barry Allen and Jay Garrick might have expected DC’s absolute flash, but the decision to bring Wally West into that role felt like a bold move. What happens to the ultimate legacy hero in a heritage-free universe? In this week’s Absolute Flash #1, Jeff Remia, Nick Robles, Adriano Lucas and Tom Napolitano have tried to answer or at least get started on the question of their debut, which raises a lot of mystery and bullying for what’s to come.
The origin story can sometimes be a kind of slow, but Remia, Roble, co. Take Wally’s smart approach and spends time leaping around two days ago, as he already has his abilities. By jumping time, the story can include current action, providing important backstory in flashbacks. It also means that time jumping can be related to Wally’s abilities as well as storytelling tricks. So it will be interesting to see how it works.
As for Wally himself, a teenager, at a glance outside the red-haired mop, he is barely recognisable compared to his mainline DCU counterpart. A introverted army, Wally struggles to form relationships and he is unable to connect with his military father, who is trying to raise him on his own, especially after Wally’s mother’s death. Wally finds friendship at Barry Allen, a young scientist at a military base, and with a bit of symmetry, he discovers the apparent catalyst of Wally’s future superheroes. It’s not the ground of unfamiliar storytelling, and all the characters fit the familiar archetypes – rebellious teenagers, overwhelming fathers, cool adult figures – but it acts as a stepping stone for the story to rise up.
If there is one characteristic that absolute Wally has in common with the original Wally, it is both that make them very familiar as well. He is lonely and he is searching for his place in the world. For the original Wally, it was the sole member of the Flash Fan Club in Blue Valley, Nebraska. For the absolute Wally, it is forced to move around frequently as an uneasy child. The traps are different, but the essence of Wally before Speed is the same, and we can imagine that his power will ultimately give him his purpose.
Absolute Flash #1 has a lot of dialogue and a lot of emotions, and it’s a problem that Robble and Lucas handle it very well and has a lot of characterization. Robles’ characters are emotional and have a distinctive physicality. Wally’s father attacks an impressive figure, but Barry’s attitude is laid back and open. Wally herself is quiet and closed, hiding in his hoodie, tucking his hands into her pockets and leaning forward. Lucas’s colours during the Pripowers scene are rather muted, spectacularly highlighting the bright red and yellow of Wally’s burgeoning forces in the current sequence.
Unlike the absolute titles that came before that, Absolute Flash doesn’t hit much on unrunning ground (Pun is absolutely intended). This first issue lays a lot of foundations for what’s going forward, not seedling relationships and mysteries. It’s not the most thrilling debut, but it certainly intriguing, and this version of Wally is an instantly fascinating lead. If the series moves forward and can build more of its relationships with the characters, this could still be the best absolute title.
Final Verdict: Buy.
round up
It was a really strong week for the DC release, so I’ll hit some of the highlights. Batman & Robin: Year #6 tells the early days of Mark Waid, Chris Samney, Mateus Lopez and Clayton Cowles the dynamic duo, to the midpoint as the boy wonders on its cover, as the team finds some balance. It’s action packed and character-driven, and it’s the best issue in the series. This week there are triple shots of the nest and the book I wrote, with the other two intersecting in unexpected ways. Batman/Superman: The world’s best #37 with Adrian Gutiels, Matt Harms and Steve Wans envelops the current Aquaman-centric arc of the series. Superman sees him continuing his search for Rex’s mystery disease cures on his trips to Atlantis elsewhere. Lori Lemaris fans there eat well. Mainline DCU and win #5 adjacent to the #5 of Christopher Cantwell, Sean Isaacs, Amankayna Fuerpan, Romulofajard Jr., Hassan Osmaneerhau. Another pair of series works in conjunction with their penultimate issues. Each of these books features powerful, character-driven stories that excel in all current situations, adding new elements and new mysteries to a Darkseid-free world. I hope there are more of these that have come after these books are wrapped up next month. And speaking of a world without dark seeds, The New Gods #4 of Lamb V, Evan Cagle, guest artists Bernard Chang, Francesco Segara and Tom Napolitano see how the remaining residents of Apokolips and the New Genesis react to the imbalance of power left behind by Darkseid’s absence. The team will introduce new concepts and characters that you will feel at home in Jack Kirby’s original series. Just as the fourth world is about to end, this time it actually means that. Something really amazing.
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