Back in the
Saddle with the Buddies
November 3, 2004
By Avi Green
Flash #210: Reconnected
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Howard Porter
Wally West got in touch with just about everyone he knows in the DC
superhero community to let them know who the Flash really is, and
now, his childhood Nightwing/Dick Grayson pays a visit with him to
Keystone City, where they find that Penguin is trying to move in on
the local underworld, and to take a look at the Flash Museum,
running into none other than Gorilla Grodd, whom Nightwing fought
just recently with the Outsiders.
This was a pretty good buddy issue, with Flash and Nightwing
catching up on their friendship, and a most interesting scientific
“Flash Fact” I learned here, was how the Scarlet Speedster’s got to
avoid running into a bird’s beak, just like an airplane pilot’s got
to be careful not to get his cockpit window shattered by one while
flying in the sky.
The fight involving both Double-Down and Girder, whom Penguin wanted
to hire as part of his attempt to move in on Keystone’s underworld,
was pretty good too, with Nightwing getting to perform the really
cool finishing move on Girder, and Johns does seem to know how to
deal with Nightwing as a character, which is certainly more than can
be said about Devin Grayson over in Nightwing’s own solo book.
Flash #211: Animal House
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Howard Porter
Flash and Nightwing find themselves up against Grodd, who’s out to
destroy Flash and the museum where he cleverly hid himself as well.
And while that’s going on, Heatwave is up to something way at the
other end of town.
Nice to see that the two childhood superhero friends were able to
fight back their adversary as well as they did, without being afraid
of him either, of course. The idea that Wally had here for laying on
the smackdown to Grodd was simply awesome.
As far as Heatwave is concerned, is he returning to crime, after a
decade of having reformed? Well, it’s possible, though, as indicated
in this issue, he and the former Trickster, James Jesse, and the
Pied Piper are apparently going after some of the Flash Rogues
who’re newer to the DCU. It's interesting, and the exact turnout
will be told about in another few months when “Rogue Wars” comes
into focus in storytelling.
2010 update: as of this
writing, I no longer stand by this review. I have since changed my
opinion and written this off as garbage, as explained over
here.
Copyright 2004 Avi Green. All rights reserved.
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