Flash #54

Reviewed by: Robbie Rowe

Rating: 7 out of 8

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Christian Duce

Last issue, Barry Allen went from one of the Fastest Men Alive to the Strongest!

He and one of his younger enemies, the 2 nd Trickster, became imbued with the Strength Force, one of two Forces of the universe unleashed because of Zoom’s deception and Barry and Wally’s race around the world. Honestly, they’re one of my many favourite parts of Williamson’s run on The Flash.

I feel through a lot of his run, especially in Flash War, he’s introduced a lot of

interesting new elements to The Flash, brought in a lot of excitement and,

particularly in Perfect Storm and #50, reintroduced some very tantalizing ones

that I can hardly wait to be touched on. Here, Barry learns some awesome and

surprising things about the Strength Force, which really excited me.

I’d be absolutely delighted to see more of it in future – hopefully that wouldn’t

cause too much a headache for Flash, or Commander Cold! This arc isn’t just

about tapping into the Strength Force, but also on Trickster trying to either get

justice, or revenge, for the wrong that was done to him. When it comes to this

and Trickster getting imbued with the Strength Force, Commander Cold and Flash don’t see eye to eye.

Cold wants to take a more lethal approach, believing Trickster’s too powerful, too dangerous and needs to be killed, whereas Flash wants to save Trickster from the new, overwhelming strength he’s now faced with, as well as a life of crime Barry believes he can still escape. It remains to be seen just how well they’ll get on in future arcs, like the next one, which promises to, excitingly, explore the Sage Force.

The issue ends with the return of a character the young Trickster is likely very

familiar with, along with someone I don’t recognize. It also reveals something I

didn’t expect about something that happened in the start of the arc and hopefully this particular plot will be expanded on next issue. I eagerly await it and heartily recommend this issue, as well as any of Williamson’s run – you won’t regret it.