Review: Family Saves The Day In ‘The Flash’ #759

by Tony Thornley

One of the best things about the Flash is his family. It’s a fairly recent addition to the character in an 80ish year history. However, its a fairly recent addition. Thankfully with Barry Allen in a tough spot in The Flash #759 is right there to help…

Barry himself hasn’t been as defined by his family as others who have held the mantle. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be there for him, and that’s one of the things that makes this such an interesting read. It comes to us by Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Scott Kolins, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto, Hi-Fi Color, and Steve Wands.

Eobard Thawne has his ultimate revenge on Barry Allen. He IS Barry Allen. As he tries to be everything Barry was, but better, he runs into a few snags. First of all, his Legion of Zoom is getting bored. And secondly, Barry Allen is not alone…

Williamson has done a great job of building up Barry Allen across this volume, giving the character more depth than he probably has ever had before. That comes back into play perfectly in this issue, as Thawne does his best to be him, but it’s clear to the cast of the book almost immediately that he isn’t the man his family loves. I’m glad that he got his second wind writing the book when an end date was announced, because this arc finally feels like what we got earlier in this volume. Plus, it ends with a final page that will have long time Flash fans screaming!

Sandoval and Tarragona’s main action continues their strong work on the series. Sandoval does a great job of making it clear that “Barry” is a bit of a creep. His smile is too big, his chest is puffed out all the time, his chin is held in a way that he’s always looking down on whoever he’s talking to. It’s fantastic character acting.

Kolins only does four pages, but they’re key pages which makes his contribution important. He channels his style from about fifteen years to help make the connection between Barry and his family. It makes that meeting in the Speed Force much more poignant.

Barry Allen is a lucky guy to have those who care about him so deeply. It makes me excited for the rest of this story.