Tag: max mercury

Chain Lightning pt 1

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I’m going to be reviewing the next arc of Wally West’s Flash in which Eobard appears. It’s called Chain Lightning but its six issues long and Eobard is only in three of them. So I’m only going to review in depth the three that he is in and I’m going to summarise the others just for completion.

So here is a summary of part 1;

Issue 145: The gathering storm.

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Malcolm Thawne (villain Cobalt Blue) is the currently disappeared Barry Allen’s (original Flash) twin brother, separated at birth and adopted by the Thawne family. He has sworn vengeance against all Flashes, both past and present. Using sorcery he created a gem full of a frightening and unpredictable power to aid him in this. He tried to use it to kill Wally West (Mk2 Flash) but failed. However there is a prophecy that the gem’s magic will span the next thousand years and doom the entire Allen legacy, giving way to a Thawne legacy full of serial killers and villains. Two Flashes will die before Barry Allen, when he was still alive in the 30th Century, is slain (Though wouldn’t that fuck with him being able to save everyone in infinite crisis and thus stop that from happening and thus the world would end???)

So anyway, to prevent all this Wally, aided by Jay Garrick (Grandpa Flash), Max Mercury, Bart Allen (Impulse, also Barry’s grandson and half Thawne) and Jesse Chambers (Jesse Quick) travel through time to save all future Flashes and stop the Thawne-Allen feud. Jesse stopped in 2764 but ran into trouble in the form of that times Cobalt Blue, a female with green skin and blue hair. She is aided by Jace Allen who is in a Jay-esque outfit. This Cobalt Blue’s power is that her blue fire doesn’t burn but breaks things down at a molecular level. Jesse gets engulfed by the fire and it leaves this comic on a dramatic ending.

Eobard’s return pt 6 – 1993 Flash Issue 78

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This is a full length review detailing the plot of the below comic, many spoilers!

Issue78: Blitzkrieg

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  This issue starts 2 days after the last one with Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick) trying to teach Wally West (Mk2 Flash) the speed formula he uses to go fast. Turns out that he and Jay Garrick (grandpa Flash) were saved from that explosion in the last issue by Max Mercury as he is really fast. All three of them are trying to teach Wally how to be faster as he is still slower than Barry Allen (Flash). And they need to be as fast as Barry because he has gone all super villain and is destroying the city.

Anyway, Max tries to teach Wally the Zen of speed but he isn’t buying it. So he tries psychology instead, pointing out that Wally isn’t as fast as Barry because he is holding back, cause if he was then he’d have truly taken his hero’s mantle as the new Flash, something that Wally already felt guilty about it. Jay calls Wally the Flash, rather than his usual Junior, saying he has put his faith in him and it is feel good all round. Until Wally shares what he has learnt about Barry from the book he found. It causes Jay to go white and the others too once Wally explains. However Wally has a plan.

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  Barry is at the State Penitentiary in Central City freeing all the criminals and stealing all the guard’s guns. Barry gives all the prisoners a weapon and rallies them to join him in taking over the city. Must admit that the art is a little peculiar/dodgy here. Suddenly the speedster heroes turn up, disarming the criminal. Jay punches Barry, inviting him for a rematch.

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  Meanwhile Wally is at the Flash museum or what is left of it after Barry and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) had a massive fight there. So Wally is busy setting up his plan all the while doubting himself and wondering if he sent the other speedsters off to die. But he finds what he is looking for. I notice at this point he is calling Barry ‘The renegade Flash’ and that is very telling of where this is going.

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  Back at the prison Max and Johnny are taking care of all the criminals, turning the tear gas against them and giving the guards back their weapons. Jay is battling Barry and this is where it gets confusing because he beats Barry this time, and Barry says that Jay is faster but just lacking endurance. And so they fight some more, Jay telling him he doesn’t deserve to be the Flash but this just enrages Barry to the point where he breaks Jay’s leg. Then he takes out Max and Johnny, swearing that when he takes over it won’t be as Barry Allen but as the one true Flash.

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 So he rushes off to the Flash museum where he is confronted by Wally who is holding a ring. Wally throws it to him and for a moment Barry looks pained before smiling and admitting that it is his. Wally has finally worked it all out. This isn’t Barry and this imposter has had everyone fooled, even himself. Obviously confused from materialising he dropped the book, the Barry Allen biography, that Wally found. A book that wasn’t written yet, a book that must have been from the future, much likes it’s owner; Eobard Thawne, Professor Zoom / the Reverse Flash (Woot, yay, finally!!!)

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Eobard’s return pt 5 – 1993 Flash Issue 77

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Issue 77: Suicide Run

So it’s 5 issues in and still no Eobard. However I’m pretty sure by this point that I know where this plot is going and he is going to turn up next issue. Having to read all 5 parts just to get there has been variable. Some issues, like 4, were quite good, but others have been a bit meh.

 

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  This issue starts with Wally West (Mk2 Flash) watching Barry Allen (Flash) on tv fighting Hal Jordan (Green Lantern). Wally is currently a scruffy mess as he wallows in angst cause Barry left him for dead in the last comic and has since become a villain. He’s really emotionally fucked up over how he used to worship Barry and tried to live up to his legend but now he feels betrayed, wants to die and doesn’t believe he is fast enough to stop Barry either. So he goes out for a walk.

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  Meanwhile on a building site a bunch of builders are discussing current events. Amusingly they call Wally the shiny flash and Jay the old Flash with the hat. Barry is now dubbed evil Flash. Speaking of which they are suddenly thrown from their scaffolding by evil Flash and saved by Jay Garrick, Max Mercury and Johnny Quick. A huge fight ensues. Johnny is basically not fast enough to take on Barry.

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  Next up is Max. He is faster than Johnny but not as fast as Barry. However he is smart and uses the scaffolding to his advantage. Max is also an agile gymnast, having an advantage over Barry who his trying to balance as he chases him up the scaffolding. But Barry uses the typical hero weakness and endangers civilians.

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  So whilst Wally is out on his walk he wanders to the place where Barry rematerialized. He realises where he is and has a look for clues. Some homeless guy is reading a suspiciously Flash themed book and so Wally buys it off him. Turns out it is Barry’s journal. But something about it spooks Wally. Whatever it is gives him back his confidence and he claims the title of the Flash again, vowing to take Barry down now that he knows his secret.

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  Still on the building site Jay tells Barry it is his last chance to surrender but Barry just boots him in the face. Helicopters turn up but Barry is busy beating the crap out of Jay. He eventually spots the news crew and tries to take down the helicopter. Jay, Max and Johnny try to rescue the film crew but the helicopter explodes seemingly killing the three speedsters.

Eobard’s return pt 4 – 1993 Flash Issue 76

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This is a full length review detailing the plot of the below comic, many spoilers!

Issue 76: Identity Crisis

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This issue starts with Wally (Mk2 Flash) reminiscing about
how he became Kid Flash when he was 10. So he talks
about how happy he was until Barry (Flash) disappeared whilst saving the world.
Now he is conflicted due to Barry’s return.  Wally is worried that he is now redundant as
he isn’t as fast or experienced as Barry. But Barry seems to be becoming more
erratic and protective of his own identity and that has got Wally worried as
well. Barry is currently staying with Jay Garrick (Grandpa Flash) but he hasn’t
raised any concerns. So Wally gets suited up and goes to fight crime to take
his mind off of things.

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Meanwhile Jay, who is just wearing a huge coat over his
costume, goes to talk to Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick). Now Johnny is
apparently the head of a self-help empire and self-styled superstar. He already
knows Jay’s fears and agrees to help him. He offers to get Jesse, his daughter
(Jesse Quick) in on the action but Jay says it’s a job for the experienced speedsters
and so they go off to find Max Mercury instead.

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Wally has called Barry in on fighting Combine, leader of the
tech commandos. Wally is taking in the girls at the beach as they go past,
basically the artist wanted to draw sexy women in bikinis. So they get to the
hideout, find a scale model of the city and the bad guy gloating about taking
over. They try to attack him but he’s a hologram and they fall into a trap. It’s
an ever shrinking force field!

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Down in the subway Jay and Johnny are talking to a clerk
that they are sure is Max, even though he is denying it. Apparently he used to
be called Lightning, Blue streak and Quicksilver at various points before
settling on Max Mercury. The clerk keeps denying it but Jay knocks over his
token pile when they go to leave and Max has to use his speed to catch them
all. He bitches about being caught out but Jay calls in a favour from1949
claiming it’s a matter of life or death. Jay gives Max his costume, having kept
it for all these years, apparently he’s Jay’s hero.

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So trapped in the shrinking force field, Wally is freaking
out whilst Barry tries to use logic to get out. They can’t just vibrate through
the walls as it keeps adapting to their frequency. They need to both vibrate at
different frequencies to confuse it but Wally isn’t fast enough to vibrate on
his own. Barry gives him a kickstart and it works. Barry jumps to freedom but
Wally only gets his arm out. He yells for Barry to help him, to save him, but
Barry hesitates. Barry then goes off on one about how he is the only Flash,
about how Wally stole his life from him and that the town is ungrateful and he’s
going to destroy it all. He leaves Wally to die.

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Wally pulls himself together and manages to vibrate himself
through the force field, though he is left wondering what the point of
honouring Barry’s legacy is now if he has gone evil/corrupt/crazy. When Wally
gets home and turns on the TV he finds Barry giving an interview to the press.
He is saying how much he loved Kid Flash and was grateful for him taking up the
mantle. But then he says how he wasn’t up to the challenge and has been killed
by Combine. Wally breaks down and there the comic ends.