The Flash: Blitz
July 26, 2004 | Trades
The Flash: Blitz
Geoff Johns, Scott Kollins, Doug Hazlewood, Phil Winslade
DC Comics
$30.95/$19.95 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
It has been said that a hero is only as good as his enemies and if that’s the case then The Flash has just hit the big time.
Blitz, the fourth collection of writer Geoff Johns’ and artists Scott Kollins’ and Doug Hazlewood’s work on the Scarlet Speedster, features the return of the character’s most fearsome nemeses and the creation of a new one — perhaps the worst yet.
First up, Flash — AKA Wally West — faces Grodd, a ferocious, yet highly intelligent giant ape, bent on getting revenge on Wally for locking him in prison after their last conflict.
Their sprawling battle across Iron Heights prison frees dozens of the Flash’s worst enemies and leaves one of his best friends, super-villain profiler Hunter Zolomon, paralyzed from the waist down.
After eventually besting Grodd, Wally is confronted by Hunter, who wants the hero’s help to travel back in time to prevent the worst day of his life from taking place. When spurned by Wally, Hunter takes matters into his own hands and ends up in an explosion that transforms him into Zoom, the reverse Flash.
In a haze of psychosis, Zoom believes it is his duty as Flash’s opposite to make him a better hero. To toughen Flash up, Zoom believes he must know sacrifice.
The three-issue battle of the titans spans the globe as Zoom goes after Flash’s wife, Linda, in a tragic twist that will shock readers and change Wally forever.
Flash is easily one of the most identifiable heroes in the DC Universe. He lives in the blue-collar heart of America, has a wife, a loving family and unlike most super-heroes, keeps his feet firmly on the ground. He’s a hero for the everyman.
To watch him suffer so deeply that you can’t help but empathize with his pain is a testament to the great characterization and storytelling of Johns, who by making Zoom a most methodical and brutal villain has made the Flash seem a better hero.
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