The Flash #23.2 The Reverse Flash

If you've been reading The Flash in the New 52, a few retcons have been going on:
1. Iris West never married Barry Allen.
2. Wally West hasn't met become Flash yet (and seems non-existent in the New 52).
3. Edoard Thawne doesn't seem to exist.

All three points were addressed in this issue and I'm not sure whether the reveals were in any way pleasant.


SPOILERS follow.

As readers of Flash #23 know, the 'Speed Force Killer' or 'Reverse Flash' (one of the worst names for the main villain of an A-lister hero) has been revealed to be Daniel West, estrangled brother of Iris West.

Cue alarm bells for longtime Flash followers. Wally West was the nephew of Iris West and the son of her brother. So, obviously it seems Wally is down the line.....

Sorry guys, that doesn't seem to be the case here. Daniel is a loner and a crook so a relationship and an offspring seems to be remote at best. And with him being the Reverse Flash (and Thawne or Zoom seem to be out of the picture for some time now), any future possibilities may be stark.

This issue follows the story of Daniel West. When both Daniel and Iris were young and living with their abusive father, one violent outburst by their father made Daniel push him down the stairs. Unable to take the reaction from Iris, he left home. Becoming a crook, he was caught by Barry on one of his first runs. Serving jail for many years, he was released during the 'Gorilla Warfare' arc and 'saved' by the Rogues.

But an attempt to steal from him led to him stepping into the path of the Speed Force Battery and this led to his becoming connected to the Speed Force. To be able to change his past (by killing his father when his younger self pushed him down the steps and removing Iris's resentment towards him for leaving her alone with their father), he needed the Flash's energy.

But it seems time has become fluid and changed. In this new timeline, Iris brought Daniel back from the woods (while in the older one, it seems Iris never found Daniel) and just as they are about to enter, the older Speed Force infused Daniel arrives to kill their father with a withered Flash by his side.

Thawne's history was a better version of this (most of the origin stories of the villains this month seem to veer to this side). But making another guy the victim of an abusive parent is pretty weak. Also, by almost conclusively doing away with Wally (unless, and I hope this is true, Daniel was involved with someone before being caught by the Flash), this has been a letdown for me.

I'll still read the Flash comic but this version of the Reverse Flash doesn't impress me. And I don't understand why DC are doing away with Wally (but kept Bart, not that there's anything I don't like about him. It's just that Wally was the Kid Flash and Bart was Impulse).

So, I give this 6 out of 10.