The Flash #37 Review

So much noise.

A new villain is introduced even as Patty gets uncomfortably close to one of Future Flash’s victims.

Meanwhile, things go to hell inside the Speed Force.

The main issue is that the cover is totally misleading! There is no Overlord in this issue. Infact ‘Flash’ doesn’t even appear in this segment, and it is a transition issue catching us up with the diverse cast of Central City.

Vendetti slows things down as we see how events are shaping up in Central City even as Barry struggles to find a way home.

SPOILERS FOLLOW……….

The Present Flash is trapped inside the Speed Force, where he learns from his new friend Selkirk that a human community has been set up.

Following an attack by some Indians with mysterious looking ‘pets’ where Flash saves Selkirk, the latter tells him that a way to recover his abilities may be to recreate the Lightning event.

Meanwhile, Iris West uncovers that the town council had disposed of most of the victims of the Crime Syndicate and rises up the ladder at her newspaper. Barry takes this reveal hard as he volunteers to trace each victim back to their family.

Patty’s investigation into the killing of a college student receives the cold shoulder given it was Barry who killed his last issue due to his future actions as a mass murderer. This, and the discovery that his death mimicked one of the Reverse Flash’s victims, makes Patty suspect a new speedster has arrived.

Barry though tries to make up for it by taking her out for dinner, while on the road, an annoying salesman’s incessant talk brings his head to a disagreeable end. We learn that the carriage driver has some explosive abilities – seems like his name’s Naphalm.

Vendetti has a tough job to do, balancing future Barry’s corrupted mentality and his inherent goodness. You understand his frustration at Patty forcing him to investigate the case of a murdering anti-social, but again this means a Flash who’s willing to kill to achieve his ends.

I still don’t know what to make of Selkirk. He seems like he may be an important character but whether he is of the helping or hindering kind is still in the air.

SPOILERS END…………..

Vendetti balances the new Barry’s personality well but the plot slows down to a crawl. We catch up with most of the Central City cast, but that renders the pacing incoherent and disruptive.

This is not one of Brett’s finer moments, given he is more comfortable with action scenes than expressive moments. Still he proves to be on par.

So, I give it 6.5 out of 10.

+Nice balancing of the New Flash

+Some good character moments

-Booth suffers from some badly drawn emotional scenes

-The plot slows down to a crawl

-Pacing is all over the place

-A REALLY misleading cover