At long last, Wally West and Barry Allen are reunited! But don’t worry—Wally isn’t dead. And for what it’s worth, Barry isn’t exactly alive, either. So what’s going on? Well, you’ve heard of the Speed Force, I assume. Since this is the Absolute Universe, things are a bit topsy-turvy, and what you expect isn’t always what you get. Welcome to the Still Point. Is it meant to be an inverse of the Speed Force? I’m not entirely sure, but it’s the closest comparison I can make.
That said, this issue brings Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles closer to delivering an exciting showdown between Wally and Thawne. But the real question remains: is the issue any good?
DC
The issue has a lot going on in it. Barry is explaining to Wally how he’s still around, despite his death. Through this, we also get a better understanding of how Wally’s powers came to be in the Absolute Universe. Yes, we saw him get his powers, and we’ve started seeing how they work, but we don’t really have a grasp of them yet. We’re all kind of just assuming it’s relatively similar to the main DCU. But if Absolute Martian Manhunter or Absolute Superman were an indicator of anything, it’d be that we’d be foolish to only assume the Absolute Universe to change these character’s origins.
I found this issue to be a little slow insofar as progressing the story along at a real pace, but it does do a lot of heavy lifting to contextualizing Wally’s powers while also providing a little context to Eobard Thawne as well. While the plot with Rudy and The Rogues continues to chug along, it feels a bit more like a reminder that their paths are about to cross again with Wally as he faces off against Eleanor Thawne.
DC
Does Nick Robles know how to draw a sci-fi book or what? I have to say, at first I wasn’t sure he was coming back to the title just given the duration of a gap for when he was away and little clarification as to whether there was a reason behind this, but his return has helped reinforce why readers do not want to miss out on this series. Robles’ swift yet fluid linework continues to be one of his strongest suits. Seeing Wally and Barry explore the Still Point feels more surreal thanks to how Robles reinforces the idea of it almost being a wasteland.
Naturally, moments like these are only illuminated through the vibrance of Adriano Lucas’ colors. Specifically, near the end of the issue Wally and Barry are investigating a new form of matter, and I’m not really sure how to describe it – not because of spoilers but because it’s described in metaphor in the book itself – but its mysterious nature is only reinforced through how Lucas colors it in contrast to the hues in the rest of the Still Point. Altogether, I feel this issue’s greatest strength is its stunning art.
As a whole, Absolute Flash #11 is a decent issue. The things that work well here, understanding what Barry’s discovered, getting a better idea of how things work differently than what we expect, and building up towards a good fight between Wally and Eleanor, work quite well. But the things that don’t work end up reminding me that 11 issues have passed, and I feel like we’ve both covered a lot of ground and are still no closer to understanding Wally’s place in the greater Absolute Universe.
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