Calling All Continuity Geeks
April 1st, 2009 by Esther Inglis-Arkell | Tags: barry allen, DC comics, flashAlong with my regular copy of Superman/Batman, which was worth the three dollars I paid for it the moment I hit the page in which Superman, shrunken down to nanite-size, starts a journal about how alone he is but how he won’t give up hope, and completely subverts his own epic by spelling ‘diary’ as ‘dairy’, I picked up The Flash: Rebirth, on a whim. After some very close reading of the lengthy exposition speech bubbles, I still have a few questions.
Flash fans, this is your chance to shine.
1. When and how did Bart get back? And why is he suddenly acting like a resentful little brat?
2. I thought Barry was Wally’s uncle. Wally is a full-grown adult, and has been for some time, so why is his aunt Iris, Barry’s wife, so young and hot? And are Iris and Barry still together? What’s the protocal for a guy coming back from the dead after years?
3. Are we supposed to know who that guy with an ‘A’ on his head and a grudge against Barry is? He’s not Captain America, is he? Although that would be the best crossover I’ve ever seen.
4. Is it me or is the Powergirl back-up almost comically bad?
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1. Final Crisis Legion of Three Worlds #3. #4-5 have not yet been released.
2. Rolling timeline. The same way Jason Todd and Dick Grayson are both adults while Bruce Wayne is only in his 30’s.
3. Only if you’re a Flash fan.
4. It ain’t you. But then, look who the writing team is.
1. When and how did Bart get back? And why is he suddenly acting like a resentful little brat?
“When” has been answered. How? The Legion used a cosmic treadmill and some unexplained, future-science to yank him out of the Speed Force, apparently. But for some reason, he’s younger than before and just happened to be wearing different clothing. Why is he acting like a brat? For one thing, he apparently is resentful that Max Mercury, his former mentor, didn’t make it out of the ‘Force. He used to act like he gave a damn about Barry, so it’s a bit extreme.
2. I thought Barry was Wally’s uncle. Wally is a full-grown adult, and has been for some time, so why is his aunt Iris, Barry’s wife, so young and hot? And are Iris and Barry still together? What’s the protocal for a guy coming back from the dead after years?
Iris wasn’t young and hot. Since she went into the future, gave birth to and apparently raised a set of twins to adulthood (Barry’s kids), she certainly should be older-looking – and she was before all of this.
Yeah, they’re still “together,” since she’s never been allowed to move on. She’s been defined by her connection to Barry for… ever, I guess.
In comics? Who knows?! I’d expect it to be easier for a superhero to come back than for his alter-ego.
But then, Iris did the same thing. She’s supposed to be dead.
3. Are we supposed to know who that guy with an ‘A’ on his head and a grudge against Barry is? He’s not Captain America, is he? Although that would be the best crossover I’ve ever seen.
It took me a sec to figure out who you meant. It just figured out who that is. Not sure if you wanna know, but no. There’s no reason you ought to know, at this point.
4. Is is me or is the Powergirl back-up almost comically bad?
It’s not moving me much one way or the other – but it was nice to see her use a lil heat vision (ok, a LOT of heat vision).
3. Dr. Alchemy?
Bart’s had worse experiences with the Speed Force, and it seems to be treating Barry with kid gloves, which Bart resents. Also, I had the idea where Bart is acting as a mouthpiece for all the fans that are a little miffed Barry’s back after a 20 year absence.
I actually found the Power Girl backup a bit promising, but wow, are those really the first pages? Things go off the rails that fast? But really, Power Girl finally got the continuity decked cleaned out, and she deserves some time to get better defined. Plus, Amanda Conner draws everything great.
power girl backup? Isn’t her own series coming out in a month or two? How is that working?
It’s a preview of her new series.
1.) Bart’s return from the dead may be explained in Legion of 3 Worlds. His return to the past may be explained later. I’m actually surprised he’s this resentful. Even if Max Mercury is still stuck inside the Speed Force, I thought he’d be ecstatic that his grandpa’s back.
So, yeah, same thought: he’s the mouthpiece (OOC though it may be) for the disgruntled fans… same way Batman was the mouthpiece for GL:Rebirth.
2.) Iris’ hotness and youngness? I blame 30th century plastic surgery. As for whether they’re still married… depends. If Barry Allen was legally declared dead, they’d no longer be married and Iris is a widow. However, love blahblahblah.
3.) It’s Dr. Alchemy… and no, I don’t know what he did to Barry either.
4.) I didn’t read it.
Just thought of something. Maybe Bart is acting so strangely because he’s ALSO bothered that HE returned from the Speed Force, but Max didn’t.
And, actually, his so-called “return” is something else, entirely. I mean, Bart died by brutal assault, not by running into the Speed Force. His body should be in a grave or wherever they put his remains.
And, while we’re at it, what’s up with Barry saying he had no identity or individuality while dead? Not only does he know differently but so does Hal … and so does Ollie. Because they SAW each other in Heaven, as depicted early in the Green Arrow series.
Continuities powers… DEactivate!
Ah, but if you remember the Legion of Super Heroes sucked Bart’s soul into a lightning rod as he died. Then Brainiac did something with science, and now Bart is back. Presumably his new body, much like Wally’s old pants, is made of Goes Fast.
#1 – West pretty much covered this.
#2 – I’m just going with 30th century medical care.
#3 – Yeah, Dr. Alchemy, and no, not sure what he’s referring to in his remark.
#4 – I didn’t read it either.
2 – I’m going with the power of the Lightning Rod bringing him back to life. As to the deaging, the Speed Force probably bounced him back just like Iris (Wally’s daughter) did in Peyer’s run.
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