In this new run of The Flash from the creative team of writer Ryan North of Fantastic Four and One World Under Doom fame and artist Gavin Guidry, we find our titular hero, Wally West, running in circles trying to stop as many people as possible from getting hurt. After an anonymous internet posting promises to pay $10,000 every 24 hours to whoever can get the best shot of them being saved by The Flash, Wally finds himself working overtime to rescue those trying to cash in on that sweet payout. Despite being the fastest man alive, this proves to be challenging for Wally, as he cannot be in multiple places at once. After all, he is a speedster, not a teleporter.
At the end of The Flash #31, Wally discovered that a man named Robby Eves was behind the website “easymoneyina.flash”. When Wally confronted Robby and demanded that he take down the website, Robby refused, claiming that he wasn’t doing anything illegal. The issue concludes with Wally rushing off to make another save as an unidentified individual, whose face is obscured, tells Robby that they are moving on to phase two. This ending suggests that something sinister is afoot and that there may be more to the website than meets the eye.
SPOILERS AHEAD for The Flash #32!
When we pick back up with Wally in The Flash #32, he is running himself thin as he continues the dauntless task of coming to the rescue of a countless number of civilians who are throwing themselves in harm’s way, hoping to receive the $10,000 reward. In the issue, we see the physical and emotional toll that having to make so many saves is having on Wally. It is also putting a strain on his relationship with his family, as he cannot even make it through one dinner without having to rush off to prevent someone from splattering themselves all over the pavement after leaping off a tall building.
Poor Wally can’t even have dinner in peace without having to rush off to be a superhero. (Credit: DC Comics)
While Flash is out saving people, he notices one of his most notorious rogues, Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, standing on the edge of a rooftop. When Captain Cold suddenly leaps off the building, The Flash is forced to save him. After successfully averting Captain Cold’s certain death, the rogue reveals that he purposefully jumped in order to force a meeting between the two foes. Captain Cold shares with the Flash that he believes the recent video craze is a distraction in order to keep the Flash busy.
Snart tells Wally that he has heard through underworld rumors that someone is planning a deadly attack that could kill everyone in Central City, and only Captain Cold and Flash teaming up can prevent it from happening. Captain Cold’s suspicions are proven correct when Wally’s wife, Linda, does some investigative journalism and discovers a strange pattern of thefts that all indicate that someone is building a thermonuclear bomb in Central City. Later, Snart and Wally manage to uncover the location where the bomb is being stored; however, when they arrive, the bomb is missing. A timer left behind confirms that the bomb has been activated, with a countdown of twenty minutes until detonation, giving Wally less than twenty minutes to find the nuke and disarm it before the bomb explodes.
The Flash #32 is a quintessential superhero story with daring heroics, high stakes, and a protagonist who will stop at nothing to defend the innocent. While the story might be simplistic in nature, it boils down the essence of Wally West as a hero in a digestible way that is easy to follow for readers who may be new to Wally West or Flash comics in general. It is clear from both this issue and the one before it that Ryan North understands the appeal of Wally West and has a keen knack for balancing heartwarming superhero stories with action and humor, much like how he did for Fantastic Four. North and Guidry may only be two issues in, but already I can foresee this run becoming a beloved favorite amongst Flash fans at large.
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