The Flash #6

Summary

A new story arc has begun, plunging The Flash into combat with an old foe – Captain Cold. Yet this time things couldn’t be more different. Captain Cold has changed in more ways than one: using lethal force, gunning for The Flash directly and… not using his Cold Guns? This is a monumental recreation of a classic DC villain.

What I liked

· Credibility: Before the New 52 The Flash’s villains, especially The Rogues, always seemed a bit childish and, for want of a better word, “lame”. Of course, once they were incorporated into a story it was easy to overlook their immature designs because they were interesting and fully realised characters – just with goofy costumes and weaponry. This issue attempts to do away such notions by revitalising Captain Cold (within the context of the story) as a meta-human with a bit more of a darker edge. Whether this will eventually lead to the Rogues becoming a more feared and respected group of villains or simply just make them more average and archetypal is yet to be seen. As it stands, I appreciate the fact that the New 52 is beginning to take big risks and fundamentally change certain characters.

· Dramatic Pacing: This issue, to me at least, seemed incredibly well crafted. From the sense of foreboding on the plane at the start – the two children play fighting as The Flash and Captain Cold- to the fight scene progressively making more and more sense as the gaps were filled in through the issues many flashbacks. The story is told out of order and by doing so puts the rise of dramatic tension out of order as well, making the issue’s pace feel unfamiliar yet thrilling. Yes, this issue could have been made linier and it would have got the same information across, however Manapul’s decision to reorganise the scenes is an example of some of the finer and more intelligent points of storytelling.

· Cliff-hanger: I know that most issues have them; however this cliff-hanger really stood out to me. This issue has a lot going on at the same time: Barry Allen is fighting Captain Cold, The Speed Force is building up and Iris West and Patty Spivot are on a boat that is collapsing; by the end of the issue all of these plot points, which could easily have been used as cliff-hangers on their own, come to one massive crescendo. Again, the story telling in this issue is phenomenal.

What I didn’t like

· Editor’s comments: I wish certain issues would stop doing it. It takes the reader out of the story and never improves my enjoyment of the reading experience. To be fair, sometimes it even seems like cheap advertising for other issues.

· Maybe too fast?: I have given this issue a lot of praise on its dramatic tension and exciting pacing, however I do wonder if we were given too much in too little time. We are informed of things in this issue which could have dire effects if mishandled – and by the end of the issue these things have either happened or are on the verge of happening. I am sure all these story beats will be given the appropriate time and attention in the months to come but I do feel like I was thrown in at the deep end a bit.

Verdict

This is a very dense issue with a lot happening in various different time periods. We have at least three storylines all moving incredibly quickly towards one explosive cliff-hanger. On top of this, we also have the beginnings of a reimaging of a popular Flash villain. Yet, somehow the issue manages to flow incredibly well, albeit a bit quickly. This issue feels less like the first issue of a story arc, and more like the first three issues of an arc all crammed into one book but in an incredibly comprehensive way.

8/10