The Flash #84 // Review
The Flash #84, written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Christian Duce, and colors by Luis Guerrero, is the third part of the Rogues’ Reign arc, which finally gets around to spotlighting someone from that group other than their leader Captain Cold. Still, it may be too little too late. Previously, Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom started some cosmic-level trouble over in Scott Snyder’s Justice League, and yada yada yada, a bunch of villains have been souped up, including the Rogues. This lead to Captain Cold and his crew taking over Central City, imprisoning the Flash, and generally making everybody’s life a frozen hell. Now, the Flash has been released by Cold’s sister, Glider, and they must work together to end his reign of terror. The plan? Convince the rest of the Rogues to turn against their Captain, and help destroy his ultimate weapon.
As mentioned above, this leg of the arc fixes what the first two issues lacked, by bringing in at least a couple more Rogues. Unfortunately, it still barely feels worthy of the “Rogues’ Reign” title, considering this has mostly been a Captain Cold story. If only Williamson actually had any interesting plans for this arc. Instead, it feels as if the powers-that-be mandated a “villains get one over on the hero” story to tie into Snyder’s Justice League, and got this uninspired tale as a result.
The one interesting thing going for Rogues’ Reign is the supercharged Speed Force angle. With Barry, Wallace, and Avery shackled by power inhibitors, to hold their overactive powers in check, Williamson provides a mystery to be solved: what’s wrong with the Speed Force? Furthermore, there is a unique problem presented in that the Flash must re-learn to use his powers, which he has been an unrivaled master of for years. This offers a rare vulnerability, and lack of confidence from Barry that is seldom seen, and opens up a treasure trove of potential stories for the immediate future of the book.
Duce’s art shines in the scenes where the speedsters cut loose with their powers, but much like Guerrero, his work is muted by the icy and dull environment of Captain Cold’s kingdom. Normally, these two artists are a delight for the eyes when they work on this book, but this particular story is doing no favors for any of the creative team.
All in all, this story arc has been a bit of a slog, and that’s unfortunate because Williamson is normally one of the best Flash writers since Geoff Johns. The good news is, this issue has provided some hope for Rogues’ Reign to turn around. If Williamson can keep his upward momentum steady through the end of the story, he might just be able to save it in the end.
