“Flash Rebirth” #1: Just what the heck is going on?
A lot of folks know that I’ve been a comic book reader since I was five years old, so if you’re not remotely interested in comics then stop reading this short post and click to some other shiny object on the web.
Background: Last week saw the return of a version of the DC Comics superhero called The Flash, who can run at superspeed. Known as the Silver Age Flash, this character’s secret identity is police scientist Barry Allen and he died in a big event more than 20 years ago called Crisis on Infinite Earths. Death is like the common cold in comics (there’s no known cure but you usually get over it), and while I wasn’t holding my breath for the return of this version of the character he was my childhood favorite, so I bought the comic.
What a disappointment!
You can see a preview of the first few pages here at IGN, which seems to set up a big, splashy “He’s Back!” Flash emerges from a lightning storm or chrysalis with SOME sort of, “Golly, it’s good to be here, folks.” Instead, all you see is a bolt of lightning in the lab and then the very next page the celebrations of the Silver Age Flash’s return have begun.
I spent at least a minute gently using my thumbnail to see if I’d somehow missed a page– answer, no.
Sure, it’s an old trick to defer introducing the star of the show until a few scenes in (think Hamlet, Cyrano), but usually you GET the big explanation eventually.
Fellow comic book readers, have I missed something? Was there a special issue somewhere and I just didn’t get the memo? Please consider this a cry for help.
One Response to ““Flash Rebirth” #1: Just what the heck is going on?”
1 Kelson 6 April 2009 @ 11:34 am
Barry’s actual return was handled in the pages of Final Crisis. So technically, he’s been back since last June (or April, if you include the very strong hints in DC Universe #0).
As for the opening scene, it seems to be setting up the main villain for the rest of the miniseries.