The Flash #16 Review – Blaze of Glory
The Flash was duped in the worst way imaginable. First he went and looked for trouble, was surprised he found trouble, and then was even more surprised that trouble planned it all as a distraction. Flash may have super speed, but it wasn’t fast enough to stop all of the Rogues as they made separate heists all over Central City. Yes, he has failed this city. And yet, he’s not completely out just yet.
The dastardly deeds may be done, but he also happens to be the world’s best crime scene investigator. It doesn’t have to be a scene of murder for Barry Allen to piece the puzzle together. Could you imagine if he and Batman ever lived in the same city? The police force would almost be unnecessary.
After Flash gets a kick in the pants to stop being mopey from Iris, he rushes out to find a connection in the heists each individual rogue committed. They don’t have much in common other than they were rather over the top and extremely thorough. Golden Glider didn’t grab a handful of jewelry; she swiped every diamond in the Lexcorp Diamond Exchange. Heatwave cleared out the Central City’s vault and the contents of all the safety deposit boxes. These weren’t regular Rogue robberies; they were final felonies in Central City.
Once Flash figured that one out, all he has to do is find one Rogue before he escapes Central City. If he doesn’t find one, he won’t find them any time soon. These heists were their last hurrah in Central City, and possibly in the US. They have no plans to return.
Flash is pretty darn smart (when he’s not acting like an idiot), and he’s able to find one Rogue. That’s all he needed to tag behind and find where the group is meeting up. Captain Cold is also pretty darn smart, and it doesn’t take him long to figure out that one Rogue led Flash to them. He’s prepared, however, with one last cold shoulder trick in his arsenal.
(Cue the “dun dun dunnnn!” here.)
So happy to see clever writing return to The Flash. I understand that arcs need their setup, but this wasn’t the smoothest I’ve ever read. It wasn’t bad, but it was awkward. Everything felt extremely out of the blue. It really needed more lead time and better transitions at the very least. At least now it’s sailing like a champ.
The art didn’t falter once this entire time, and this issue really kicked it up a notch. I adore this art style and colors, especially how Giandomenico and Plascencia draw Flash’s lightning. Any one of these panels could be blown up and framed beautifully.
Well, maybe not the flashback panel of Heat Wave torching his family’s house as a child. That’s rather creepy.
Our Rating: Yep
Author: Joshua Williamson
Artists: Carmine Di Giandomenico and Ivan Plascencia
Publisher: DC Comics
Publish Date: 02/08/2017
Acquired via Purchase
