The Good
The Flash takes on a corrupt cop who is using some weapons from old villains. Barry takes Wally to the prison to show him what happens if you keep breaking the law. Future Flash makes his way to the present.
The last scene of this issue is awesome. Future Flash starts to make his way back to the present and he gets to five and a half years into the future, which will turn into a solid Futures End issue and a non-awkward or jumpy transition. This Flash is a bit ore brutal and willing to go to farther to accomplish his goals.
This is really a bookend to the opening scene with modern day Flash taking down Seborn, an ex-cop with a slew of weapons. The Flash, here, won't kill and wants to deliver justice without hurting someone. Plus, the fight scene was pretty cool, and we get to know a little more about what's going on with the Speed Force, but not too much. We learn just enough to keep us hooked in for another issue.
The star of the show here is the art team. Brett Booth (pencils), Norm Rapmund (inks), and Andrew Dalhouse (colors) do a stunning job here. Artistically, this book is an A++++. Booth really puts his stamp on this book, but not just with the art. He does so with the page layouts as well. The guy kills it when it comes to panel to panel storytelling here.
The Bad
The best parts of the issue, story wise, don't happen until the end. There are some poignant moments halfway through the issue but it's slow and the side story with Wally and his uncle feels almost pointless in the grand scheme of things and just for a way to transition into seeing Seborn's first few moments in prison.
I've been a big supporting of the Wally West reboot because I liked seeing a different twist on a character. I wanted to see a character come from some not-so-great beginnings and rise to the occasion. However, the scenes with Wally, in this issue read more as an after-school special than anything else. Wally comes off as completely clueless and a bit dumb. Hopefully things change soon.
The Verdict
While there's a lot to like with this issue, there's also a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way. The overall story with future Flash is phenomenal, but the Wally West scenes here were a tad aggravating and make it seem like Wally is a bit of a idiot. This book is still worth reading though. The art is great and Van Jansen and Robert Venditti are both great writers, especially in the long-term sense, so overall, I'd give this a mild recommendation.