The Flash “One-Minute War” story arc continues this week, and while we’re two months away from the finale, things heat up quite a bit in this issue. The speedsters need to devise a plan now that they’re in hiding and low on options. The team works to make the dream work in part 4, but at what cost?
The Flash #793 opens with Barry and Wally talking to Superman, who can’t keep up with the slowed-down world. If you don’t know, the Fraction has arrived on Earth to steal the energies of superheroes, and for some reason, their being on Earth has slowed things way down. Slowed down so much, speedsters like Flash move only marginally fast, practically normal speeds, which gives them little advantage.
Enter the plan, which takes up most of this issue. That means plotting, preparing, and finally enacting the plan. That makes this issue satisfying on its own, with a problem to resolve and execute outside of the larger story. It’s fun to see the characters work together as well as bond. You can see writer Jeremy Adams is setting up future bonds and connections, further cementing his layered approach to character work we’ve come to expect from the series.
Speed it up, Superman!
Credit: DC Comics
On top of that, Jeremy Adams delivers some answers and rules for the Fraction, which helps establish stakes. It also lays the groundwork for how the heroes might find an edge later while reminding us this alien group is incredibly evil. The long and the short of it is superheroes are nothing but lifeless fuel to the Fraction, and their hunger for more seems unending. The rules and details in this issue further cement that the entire event is clever, making the Flash characters Earth’s only hope.
These rules make the first third of the issue a bit slow. It’s mostly details established via a character talking to a crowded room standing around. Once things pick up, it’s fun to see the team interact and enact their plan, but this issue can also feel like an extension of what could have been a few pages or half a comic, not an entire chapter.
The art continues to look sharp as heck by Roger Cruz. Again, it takes about half the issue to get some action into the book, but it looks good and kinetic all along the way. The standout visuals include a double-page layout montage of the plan being enacted and a cool-looking fast car used in the plan. Inks by Wellington Dias add a sharpness to the muscles of the characters, while Luis Guerrero’s colors are vibrant.
“One-Minute War,” part four, balances new information about the Fraction with a plan to stop them dead in their tracks. The only problem is that plan was always going to b a B-plot, making for an entertaining enough issue but one that slows down an otherwise clever and fast-moving story.
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