Ryan North and Gavin Guidry’s run on The Flash has been a breezy, yet enthralling delight. The duo gets Wally West on a level that few creators do: they showcase how truly in tune he is with the Speed Force, they expertly balance his heroic life with his family life, and they’ve introduced a new element into the Flash mythos with Wally’s “Flashes of Insight,” which allows him to briefly see into the future. How do you top that? The Flash #33 provides an answer in the form of a nuclear warhead, which is set to go off and destroy Central City unless Wally can find and disarm it.
This leads to some of the best depictions of Wally’s super speed that I’ve ever seen in a comic. I’m not exaggerating: Guidry draws pages at different angles to showcase how fast the Flash is racing through the city, and how Wally’s reaction time is far, far different from ours. The standout is a two-page spread that features a skyward view of Central City, with circular panels showcasing Wally dashing into various buildings — including a science lab, where he picks up a Geiger counter to try to track the bomb. Eagle-eyed readers will also spot a streak of red and yellow criss-crossing throughout the streets.
Adriano Lucas doesn’t stop with the red and yellow color motifs, depicting the background turning into pure gold whenever Wally accelerates, and showcasing a beautiful reddish-gold sunset toward the end of the issue. Even Buddy Beaudoin gets in on the action: when Wally vibrates into a building to scare the billionaire who planted the bomb, he shatters the windows behind him with a thunderous “KRAKOOM”; the size of this sound effect, combined with the Flash vibrating menacingly, is a terrifying image.
DC
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention North’s scripting, which oscillates between humorous (a brief conversation between Wally and Linda about his chances of stopping the bomb had me cackling) and heartfelt (just any scene with Wally and his family in particular). The true standout are the moments between Wally and Captain Cold, as the Fastest Man Alive has no choice but to turn to his icy archenemy for help. North perfectly captures their butting heads; when Wally protests that Superman likes him, Cold scoffs, “Superman likes everybody.” There’s also the fact that the duo has to break into Fort Knox to save the day, which Cold leaps at, and Wally has to clarify is breaking the law for world-saving purposes only.
Finally, The Flash #33 resolves the mystery behind the Flashes of Insight, promising that they’ll play a role in future issues. How those issues will play out remains to be seen: I don’t mind updates to a character’s power, as long as they don’t give them too much of an edge or lead to a great story (or both). In any case, The Flash #33 closes out Ryan North and Gavin Guidry’s opening arc with a high-tension chase story, bringing plenty of the wit and wonder that defines the Fastest Man Alive.
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