Why? To the Power of Ten
After drawing out the buildup for this arc for so long, the final conclusion actually feels very rushed. There are a bunch of conflicts that have been in progress for just about this entire arc, not really going anywhere, just happening, and in this issue they all pretty much wrap up with a bizarre efficiency. It just feels like a lot of these battles could've wrapped up at any time to give more room for the final battle, but they're all crammed into here, shortening the scale of each. The Rogues team up with Turbine and suddenly freeing the hostages in the football field is a nearly effortless task, dispelling the force field type thing and allowing the army to storm in and pretty much stop the invasion in its tracks right there.
At the same time, at this point in the battle, The Flash is basically wiping the floor with Grodd. There's no tension left, aside from a few forced moments where Manapul attempts to give Grodd a fighting chance, but don't feel sincere as they last for barely an instant. We needed the more desperate part of the Grodd battle mixed in a bit here, maybe wrap up the invasion a bit before, because The Flash wouldn't know, being in the Speed Force with Grodd, so the battle is still desperate. Not to mention that the previous issue The Flash became aware of a presence in the Speed Force equally as powerful as his own, but he never once reminisces on that point in this issue. He seems to have completely forgotten about such a hugely significant realization he had in the very heart of the source of his powers!
This issue feels more like an aftermath focus than the climax, even though the first few pages are the climax of the arc, as we get to see some of the changes to the status quo can character's relationships in this issue. The Rogues may have bribed a powerful new member into joining with Captain Cold still on the team, but no longer the leader. Dr. Elias, who I'd almost forgotten about, has some other big plan in mind, still confusing me as a character and just... I don't know. He had all these extra tanks of Speed Force.... stuff hidden right under the floor? Grodd wasn't looking for them before, he was sensing them with his connection to the Speed Force, right? And Flash should be able to, so their hiding spot is.... pathetic.
In fact, this issue just creates so many 'Why?' moments. There's all the aforementioned ones, and a handful of others. Why does The Flash act so flirtatiously with Iris while in the Speed Force when his relationship with Patty is both FANTASTIC and lately his the opposite of a rough patch. There's no reason for him to even conceive of straying, he's not shown much of an interest in Iris before in this series anyways, and furthermore, she doesn't even remember it! Which leads into my next point, did this issue explain, in any way, why everyone who was stuck in the Speed Force had no memory of their time there? They just mention that that's a fact, and don't even bother creating any kind of justification for it. And when we saw the spark of someone about to become the new Reverse Flash last issue, why did nobody think to point out, "HEY MR. FLASH WE CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT EVERYONE WE CAME WITH!" Connecting to the aforementioned fact that The Flash completely forgot about this major anomaly he detected, why would nobody think to make sure they didn't forget anyone, AND why did Flash not notice there was someone still there he was missing? THE PERSON WHO HAS SIMILAR LEVEL OF POWER HE NOTICED BEFORE!? I will say, while it could be said it's trying too hard, personally I really like the design of the new Reverse Flash.
In Conclusion: 2.75/5
It's like... this issue's not bad, the pacing has it's problems but it's not awful. The artwork by Manapul is extremely pretty as always... but this issue unintentionally poses a heaping ton of 'why?' questions without bothering to fill in the various plot holes this series is already swimming in. So many things happen in this issue for no reason, and many other things have happened in this arc simply because EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER FORGOT SOMETHING MAJORLY IMPORTANT. And I don't even mean there's one big thing everyone's forgetting, everyone is forgetting different major plot points. This issue does the job decently, but it really just barely ties up this conclusion with a lot of weak and half-assed scotch tape. I mean, end of the day I enjoyed the issue, but it's just riddled with glaring flaws.
