The Flash #43 Comic Book Recap/Review

The Flash #43 Recap/Review – Getting the Drop

The Flash #43 Comic Book Recap

Professor Zoom has been busy.  He’s travelled all throughout time to put together a team specifically to take down the Flash.  They are eager to kill Eobard’s old enemy, but Thawne knows that the Flash isn’t just a man.  He’s an image… an icon.  Before they take his life, they must reveal to the rest of the world that Barry Allen is the greatest evil this world has ever known.

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Over in Aspen Valley, Harry Allen and his gang break into a warehouse.  They quickly realize that Anthony, also known as Girder, is missing, and Barry Allen says that their friend won’t be joining them today.  Harry is shocked to see his son, but the others are quick to attack.  So Harry fires a gun into the air and orders his former cellmates to back off.  The two criminals comply, figuring that Iron Heights has truly changed the man they once thought of as a mild-mannered doctor.

Harry begins berating his son with questions, but Barry just embraces his father.  This is the first time they’ve seen each other in decades outside of prison, and the two men take a moment to enjoy that fact.  Barry confirms that he hasn’t told anybody about Harry’s location, while his father explains how the security guard was killed by accident.  When Barry mentions seeing Zoom, his father tells him to back off.  He says that man is dangerous and he should be avoided at all costs, and then asks that his son leave the matter be.  Harry is his father, and he knows what he is doing.

Barry leaves, but vows to help his father anyway.  Now by themselves, Harry tells his gang they have one more thing to do, and offers his former cellmates payment – enough to buy their way out of the country if they do this one final task.  Meanwhile, Barry comes home, where he is greeted by his new roommate Hartley.  The man is surprised Barry is up so late, and suspects that Allen is taking the law into his own hands.  After all, Hartley was once a vigilante called the Pied Piper, so he is very familiar with the need to act when the police cannot.  Barry brushes off his roommate’s concern, and says he needs to go to bed, as he has an early morning appointment at Wally West’s school.  Hartley replies that Iris West must be really special for Allen to spend so much time with her nephew, but Barry says he just knows how hard it is to grow up without a dad.

At school, Wally is trying out a new homemade race car.  The test goes well, and the car goes fast enough to easily earn him an A in his shop class.  While Iris and Barry are blown away by the boy’s excellent work, the football team’s coach is furious, as the car tore up the school’s field.  As the coach grabs Wally, Barry springs into action and easily knocks the man to the ground.  He tells the coach to back off – football season doesn’t start for months, and the yard will grow back just fine.  The coach leaves, furious, but knowing he can’t do anything without risking a lawsuit.

Wally is impressed but says that Barry doesn’t need to fight his battles for him, but Barry says he just doesn’t like bullies.  Wally is grateful, and mentions how working in the auto shop class helps distract him from all the stuff his father did as the Reverse Flash.  Iris offers to take Barry out to lunch, but things are pretty hectic right now for Allen, who needs to run.  Barry goes out on patrol and hears about a hostage situation on the police radio.  When he rushes in, he ties up the criminals, and rescues the hostages, only to discover the civilians are actually mannequins in disguise.  Suddenly, Barry feels a gun on the back of his head.

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Luckily, he’s the Flash, and easily outmanoeuvres his attacker.  He unmasks the criminal, and is shocked to see it is none other than Harry Allen.  Barry’s father apologizes and says that he needs the hero to help his son.  Everybody says the Flash is a hero, and he’s filled enough beds at Iron Heights for Harry to believe it.  Harry explains how his wife, Barry’s mom Nora, was murdered, and that the real murderer was Eobard Thawne.  Harry doesn’t know much about this man, other than the fact that he’s insane, dangerous, and very, very fast.  Allen is afraid that his son will get hurt, so he begs The Flash to help stop Thawne, even if it means killing the villain.

Barry is shocked at these words, and asks Harry why he wants a stranger’s help as opposed to his son.  Harry says that Barry can’t handle something like this, but he thinks that the Flash can.  The police then arrive and take Harry and his accomplices to prison.  As he is taken away, Harry begs the Flash to remember what he said, while Barry looks on, speechless.  In the police van, Darryl joins Harry, and asks what the hell he was thinking.  Harry only replies that the man who killed his wife is back.  Darryl is shocked that Thawne has returned, while Harry says that Darryl needs to protect Barry.  He admits that he always resented the police captain for getting to raise Barry, but he says that while Barry is his son, Darryl is his dad – the man who took care of him for so many years when Harry couldn’t.  He asks his old friend to protect his son, and be there for him, so Darryl affirms that he will do so.  Suddenly, the police van stops as a woman walks in front of the vehicle.  They try to avoid hitting her, but she easily stops the van with her bare hands.  Professor Zoom’s team appears, and they tear into the vehicle without difficulty.  They grab Harry Allen, saying that an old friend wants to see him.

The Flash is on the scene in an instant, and tries to stop the villains, but he is stopped by a man who goes by the code name of the Folded Man.  The new opponent taunts Barry and easily envelops him within his strange body.  Barry finds himself pulled into a mysterious void within the man, and finds himself underwater… and drowning.

The Flash #43 Comic Book Review

 

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of The Flash #43.

Now this one is interesting.  Last month, the Flash Annual came out.  Now, the last couple of month have been really hectic for both me and Joey, so I skipped the annual.  The comic isn’t bad, as it goes over who these people are, what they stand for, and why they are working for Eobard.  You can check that one out for yourself if you are curious, but I went ahead and ignored it because it did feel like a bit of a side story to the main action going on between Professor Zoom and the Flash.

Still, I can’t help but feel like it only adds to the confusion in a story that’s rapidly unravelling.  The art, which last issue I complained didn’t service the story of issue 42 very well, does work a lot better here.  Overall I like the imagery and the design and I really have no concerns regarding this comic’s art.  Now it’s the writing that starting to feel disappointing as I feel it has too much going on at once.  We have all the stuff with Wally, which is pretty cool, actually, but coupled with all the stuff with Harry, Barry, Eobard, and all the other side characters, there’s a lot going on and I’m not sure what the focus is supposed to be on concerning the central story.

I suppose the point of this story is to focus on Professor Zoom, but we spend so much time on other characters and stories it hardly feels like that is the main thrust of this story anymore.  Between the new team of bad guys, Barry’s roommate, Wally West, and Harry Allen, it feels like Eobard is small part in a greater tale.

It’s all a lot for one story arc and it is starting to feel bloated and unfocused.  I’m starting to wonder how long is this story supposed to last, because with so much is going on I’m worried that this story is going to drag out and lacks a lot of substance.  Perhaps I got spoiled by the TV show, where Eobard feels focused and always on top of what’s happening.  Here, he doesn’t feel like the same menace as he does in the TV show or the older comics.  He’s just there… messing around with Barry without Allen really knowing about it, and I’m just not enjoying myself like I was with the start of this story.  It’s starting to wear me down, and while I enjoy parts of this comic, it’s too much at once.  I’m not sure I’d recommend this issue.

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We’ll have to see, going forward, where this story is heading.  Hopefully, things will pick up, the writing will converge a bit more and the focus will increase.  With that, the story could, with luck, improve.  But for now, I’d say you are better off checking out some of DC’s other fun titles, as this one felt a bit disappointing.  You can let me know if you think I’m being to hard on this comic in the comments section below, but from what I’ve heard from you guys, The Flash as a comic series really has been in a downward trajectory for some time now.  Which is a real shame because he’s a great character and right now is really popular thanks to that TV show, which you should really check out if you haven’t done so yet.