Plot: On the advice of his wife, Iris, Barry Allen (The Flash) takes a vacation in time. When he gets back he collapses, falling into a coma and is rushed to hospital.
Meanwhile, in the future, Eobard Thawne (Professor Zoom / Reverse Flash) is still in prison. He hears the disembodied voice of Sargon the sorcerer offering to break him out and bring him to the 20th century. Prof. Zoom agrees and finds himself in Sargon’s lair. Sargon wants to travel to the future to learn more about the occult. However, Prof. Zoom isn’t interest in helping him and runs off to kill the Flash.
Via an elaborate plan, Sargon fakes the Flash’s death to get Prof. Zoom to help him again. It works but Prof. Zoom tricks Sargon into being banished to another dimension. He then goes on a crime spree with a shrink ray.
Sargon is annoyed by all this so calls on the Flash. The Flash frees him, leaving him unconscious as he goes to deal with Prof. Zoom.
Plot: It is the day before Barry Allen (The Flash) and Iris West’s wedding. The Flash is fighting crime wondering if he should tell her he is the Flash. That night he feels strange/ominous when he goes to sleep.
Meanwhile in the year 2466 Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom/ Reverse Flash is being held in a radiation prison. Using the radiation he makes himself smarter, enhancing his mind powers. He deduces that Barry is the Flash and decides to switch bodies with him. He absorbs Barry’s memories as they trade physical places in space-time. Once in Barry’s house he modifies an electric shaver into a matter distributor to make his face look like Barry’s.
Finding Barry’s Flash ring he goes out for some crime fighting but can’t bring himself to return the stolen goods. Getting back he is roped into the wedding, not minding and seeing it as a perk.
Meanwhile, Barry breaks out of the future prison, gets back to 1966 and stops the wedding. He races the fake Barry out of there. Barry and Prof. Zoom fight but Barry wins due to Prof. Zoom not being able to walk on water. Prof. Zoom is taken away by the future police and Barry marries Iris.
Plot: In 2465, Professor Zoom (who is revealed to be named Eobard Thawne and also refereed to as the Reverse Flash) has been released from prison having fooled the cerebral scanner.
Whilst inside, he invented the science of ‘ultra-speed’. He creates a laser that can turn a person evil. It can also project to any time period so he tries it on Al Desmond (Mr Element). But the area Al is in is protected so the beam causes random people to become evil, creating chaos for the Flash.
Not getting the result he wants, Prof. Zoom builds his own cosmic treadmill for time travel. Much chaos ensues as he enters the present and uses his hypnosis and mind powers to cause chaos, commit crimes and corrupt Mr Element further.
In the end the Flash punches Prof. Zoom so hard that it sends him back to 2465.
Plot: In 2464, Professor Zoom has been freed from prison. Whilst incarcerated, he was looking for a way to get more permanent speed powers. He creates a speed element but it is unstable so needs Mr Element alchemist abilities to fix it.
Mr Element (Al Desmond) is currently (1964) an ex-convict, now reformed and living a happy life. Prof. Zoom astral projects himself through time and uses hypnosis to try and bring out Al’s villainous side.
Al doesn’t really understand what is going on, but finds himself back in his old lair, mixing chemicals. He doesn’t want to help Prof. Zoom and fights the hypnotism, leading to failed thefts of key ingredients.
The Flash intervenes, but is taken out by Prof. Zoom’s mind powers. The element gets completed. Prof. Zoom is fast again, going back to 2463 for crime. The Flash follows, they fight, but he gets the element away from Prof. Zoom, leaving him powerless and in jail yet again.
Plot: Dr Drake has created a time capsule that will instantly appear in the future. The Flash (Barry Allen) wants to contribute and so donates one of his suits.
In the future, year 2463, a wannabe criminal finds the suit. He’s bored of his day job and would rather commit crimes but just hasn’t had the means to do it. So he sets out to use the suit to recreate the Flash’s powers. He always thought the Flash had the best powers, but was wasting them using them for good. Using his mastermind level intellect and future science he modifies the suit so that when he is wearing it he has super speed. He also swaps the colour around, because he stands for the opposite of everything the Flash stands. Naming himself Professor Zoom, he starts a crime spree, going after fine art.
The Flash soon turns up in 2463 due to one of the capsule objects having become a bomb. But before he can defuse it he has to deal with Prof. Zoom.
A fight ensues, but experience wins out and the Flash strips Prof. Zoom of his outfit/powers and then saves the day, diffusing the bomb.
So, Wally West is Flash Mk2 (previously Kid Flash) and was
enjoying Christmas with his other half Linda Parks and the Garricks, Joan and
Jay (Grandpa Flash) when the original Flash, Barry Allen appeared at his door.
This wouldn’t seem strange except for the fact that he’s been disappeared for
years. So this comic starts with Hal Jordan (Green Lantern and Barry’s previous
BFF) turning up to grill the returned speedster on where he has been.
Apparently he remembers nothing but one of Wally’s battles with Doctor Alchemy
drew his spirit out of the speedforce and made him whole again. Yeah, cause
that makes sense…. Anyway, Hal believes him as his ring also acts as a lie
detector and everyone is relieved. Though they are keeping the return under
wraps for the moment.
As they are all waving off Hal, Barry spots Pied Piper
walking down the street. He is appalled by his being free and taking a daytime
stroll and so attacks him. Turns out it is all a misunderstanding as since
Barry’s disappearance Piper has gone legit, though Barry seems rather pissed
about this. Not to mention that Wally has taken on the Flash mantle.
Anyway there is no time for arguing as Piper brings news of
trouble in town and the two Flashes suit up. They invite Jay to join them but
his wife drags him off, not letting him skip out on new year’s. Wally is now deferring
to Barry, still obviously idolising him despite having done the job of the
Flash for a while now. Barry however is blowing hot and cold, judging Wally one
moment and then complimenting him the next.
Eventually they get to the crime boss ‘Handsome Jack’ Giacomo,
apparently the vainest man in crime. Turns out that he rents out the same
amusement park every year and wanted the Flash there are protection because he
believes that someone has put a hit on him. Wally wants to slap him but Barry
lecturers him on the law and they end up trying to find the assassins instead,
much to Wally’s annoyance. Wally apprehends the first one, Barry finds the
second and then they end up in a hall of mirrors. They do manage to find the
last assassin, Barry saving Jack and Wally punching the killer.
But once they are done, Jack saved, Barry takes off leaving
Wally to clear up and wondering why. Turns out that Barry is suddenly reminded
of Iris and goes to her grave, leaving flowers and crying. Now this contradicts
with the previous series in which Barry ends up living in the future with a
resurrected Iris. So either he has forgotten about her resurrection of it has
been retconned???
Anyway, Wally fiinds him at the grave and decides that he
really is Barry, having been suspicious all week. Barry says he can still feel
Iris’s presence and tbh the whole thing is canonically screwy all things
considered. Like doesn’t he remember that before Crisis and his death he also
had 2 kids?? And that is all for this issue. Don’t worry I am sure Eobard will
turn up soon.
Taken from ComicVine – A preview page from Flash Rebirth. So it seems that Eobard’s plot from the N52 (check out HERE if you missed it) is being upheld. The image shows Eo (I presume and not Hunter) with Black Flash which I don’t quite … Continue reading
This is the beginning of the end of Eobard’s run in the classic comics (1963 – 1983). The next part is here PART 4 and the previous 2 parts can be found here; PART 1 & PART 2.
The Flash issue 323 – Run Flash, run for your wife
This issue starts with Firestorm bitching to Wonder Woman about Barry Allen (aka the Flash) having not confided in him about getting married. I guess someone was sore that they didn’t get an invite. Wonder Woman reminds him that their civilian lives are private and that they should just be happy for Barry. That it is a good thing as it means he has moved on from Iris’s tragic death. And so he apparently has the Justice Leagues blessing, though I doubt he needs it.
Barry himself just about makes it in time to get ready for the wedding having nearly forgotten the rings. His dad is happy for him but his mom still prefers Iris. Barry is unaware of all this and is busily admiring his reflection when suddenly one of the Guardians appears in his mirror. The Guardian waffles on about stuff but basically he’s here to confirm that Zoomy (Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash) has indeed returned. Barry starts lamenting that his first wife’s murderer is free and decides to go after him. The Guardian offers to send a Green Lantern to help but Barry makes him swear not to interfere, wanting to settle this score himself. And so he runs out on his wedding to track down Zoomy, rather than sensibly wait for him to turn up.
Barry goes to the Flash museum to look for clues as to Zoomy’s whereabouts. He is so angry that he can’t bear to look at Zoomy’s statue and thus smashes it. This reveals a recoded voice message. Seems that from his dimensional trap, Zoomy has been watching everything that Barry has been up to these last four years. Ironically he is a little pissed that Barry has gotten over Iris’s death, claiming that although Fiona is nice she doesn’t do it for him like Iris did. A furious Barry goes rushing off to find Zoomy, swearing revenge etc.
Meanwhile, everyone both superhero and not, is turning up for Barry’s wedding. Everyone except Barry it seems.
Barry works out that Zoomy is at his and Iris’s first house. As they fight in the house the new owners turn up only to see the house pretty much explode. I kinda feel sorry for them. Anyway, Zoomy bemoans the state that they’ve left the house in, claiming Iris would be upset and that he did offer for them to fight outside. Barry is pretty much just a ball of red anger at this point and the more Zoomy mentions Iris, the worse he gets.
In fact it is so bad that he is now over an hour late for his wedding, leaving a sobbing Fiona at the altar.
The second part of the last of Eobard’s arcs in the classic comics. Previous review is HERE, and the other parts are here; PART 3 and PART 4
The Flash issue 322 – Burning a speedster at both ends.
A few hundred miles outside of Central City, Green Lantern; Tomar-Re has been sent to warn Barry Allen (aka the Flash) about something. Unfortunately he crash landed on a farm and his ring is out of power. Fortunately the family on the farm are super happy and friendly to aliens, giving him pancakes and allowing him to modify their tractor into a rocket. He bids the family farewell and speeds off to find Barry Allen.
Barry Allen is out with his new love Fiona Webb. Having only been dating a few days, he decides to pop the question. She agrees, shockingly, and Barry suggests a June wedding. She suggests the day after tomorrow. Wow! I can understand the Flash being fast but Fiona is probably on the rebound and still not over her dead husband. Anyway, there is someone sinister watching them from the disguise of being a dog walker. It is Sabre-Tooth, the assassin who failed to kill Barry last issue and is trying to remedy that.
Meanwhile Tomar-Re has landed in Central City, in the bushes near Barry’s apartment. But he isn’t the only one there. Zoomy (Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash) who has finally broken free from the hell dimension is back to stalking Barry Allen, looking for revenge for his captivity. He spots Tomar-Re and realises that the Guardians must know of his escape. So he knocks out the alien and then gets to work on the ship. Using his superior intelligence and history as a criminal scientist from the 25th century (so says the author’s box) he manages to convert the rocket to a proper UFO style spacecraft. He puts Tomar-Re in it, and sends him off into space, stating that “only a demented madman or a hapless fool would even think about killing a Lantern and risk going on the wanted list of the entire Green Lantern Corps”.
Barry is oblivious to all this and is busy arranging his wedding with people. His boss and parents are shocked but go with it. He takes Fiona out rowing but this goes badly as the bridge collapses as they go under it, capsizing their little boat. This is no accident but another assassination attempt. Barry saves the day thanks to being the Flash and all is good again. But it turns out that this wasn’t Sabre-Tooth at all but their protégé using their name. To be honest this doesn’t marry up with the last comic at all and is a bit strange.
Later that night he calls the curator of the Flash museum, Dexter Miles to tell him about the wedding. Dexter is delighted but says that something has come up and he would like to see him in person. Turns out that it isn’t Dexter at all but Sabre-Tooth mk2 who has set a trap for Barry and has the real Dexter tied up.
Meanwhile in far outer space another Green Lantern has found Tomar-Re’s ship and revives him with his ring. He basically states that he might be too late and how much danger the Flash is in.
Sabre-Tooth mk2 is explaining how they love to kill people in super violent, destructive ways, having now rigged a triple barrelled rocket canon to kill Barry this time. They just finish explaining their plan when Zoomy appears from the shadows. After establishing that rumours of his demise are greatly exaggerated Sabre-Tooth mk2 tries to kill Zoomy instead. Funnily enough it doesn’t work. Zoomy gets the upper hand, takes off their disguise, revealing something that makes killing them more “distasteful” but does it anyway, wanting the honour of destroying Barry for himself.
Speaking of Barry, he has just turned up and immediately identifies the corpse hanging upside-down in front of him as Lorretta Nordan, a known criminal. He frees Dexter Miles who reveals that Barry is short for Barrence!! Fucking Barrence! WTF? Who calls their child Barrence! It’s worse than Eobard, that at least has the excuse of being a sci-fi future name.
Anyway, he finds a note on the body and turns white, knowing exactly who just saved him from the assassin.
This is the begining of the end of Eobard’s run in the classic comics (1963 – 1983). The following parts are here; is PART 2and PART 3 and PART 4
The Flash issue 321 – Hell in the fast lane
This is yet another issue that isn’t Zoomy (Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash) centric BUT it does set up a load of plot for the next lot of comics that he is in. So it’s going to be a quick review, but it will help understand future issues.
It’s been 4 years since Zoomy murdered Iris, wife of Barry Allen aka the Flash. The fight that ensued left Zoomy hurtling back in time to the point of creation whilst Barry escaped, leaving him for dead. Barry however isn’t sleeping well, his nights plagued by nightmares. But this isn’t guilt over Zoomy, no, this is guilt over Iris because Barry has fallen in love again. In a previous comic Barry helped a woman called Fiona Webb whose husband turned out to be a villain and ended up dead. Now he finds himself drawn to and falling for Fiona, but he feels like he is betraying Iris.
The plot of this comic is that an assassin called Sabre-Tooth has broken out from jail. He is instantly hired by a man who wants to take out a hit against Barry Allen. Barry was the scientist who presented the forensic evidence that got the man’s brother put away for life.
So Barry is with Fiona at the cemetery, each visiting their dead exes, when Sabre-tooth catches up with him. Barry goes to get something from his car and is nearly killed by heat seeking missiles. Due to being the Flash Barry escapes and goes to hunt down the assassin. He doesn’t find him though. Fiona thinks that Barry was dead and is very relieved when he returns. This whole incident puts things into prospective for them and they confess their feelings for each other.
Meanwhile a Green Lantern, Tomar-Re, has turned up with a message for the Flash but he crashed at a farm outside central. He is busy having pancakes with the family instead of delivering the message. Turns out that his ring got broken and so he’s going to have to try and engineer something by hand and find Barry the old fashioned way.
Far away in space and time in some hellish colourful dimension a very familiar speedster is trying to escape. Having cycled through millions of vibrational frequencies, he might finally be close to finding the one that will get him out of there and back to reality.
Next we get a quick mini story about thieves stealing from a graveyard only to be stopped by the Flash. They wonder why he was there but he was visiting Iris. He needed to clear his conscience as he has decided to ask Fiona to marry him. I know he is the Flash but that is fast!
Sabre-tooth finds out that Barry is alive and thus swears to kill him the next day. And finally Zoomy has found the right frequency and manages to escape the hell dimension, vowing revenge on Barry.
Everything Eobard 