Review: The Flash #54

The discovery that the speed force is just one of many forces that can be tapped into has been at the center of the current arc by Joshua Williamson. Barry’s continued exploration of the Strength Force has brought him face to face with its current avatar, Axel Walker aka The Trickster. To make matters worse Barry has had to team up with Commander Cold, a police officer from the future who has modeled his alter-ego on Leonard Snart’s Captain Cold persona. The chemistry between Barry and Commander Cold though strained at best has provided some great dialog. Williamson has crafted an interesting power struggle with The Trickster at the center of battle between Warden Wolfe and the team of the flash and Commander Cold.

Barry is now a hulking mass of muscle courtesy of the Strength Force, leveling the playing field a bit as he continues to battle the Trickster inside Iron Heights in a jacked up no holds barred winner takes all match up that would make any WWE fan salivate. Williamson brings a welcomed touch of Silver Age fun to his Flash run while keeping the dramatic elements of the narrative engrossing especially where Iris West is concerned. His take on vintage Flash rogues has been fun to read in light of his imaginative twists on these villains. The final page revelation promises more of this kind vintage inspired fun. Joshua Williamson continues to keep this series lively with a precise mix of fun and drama. He is so adept at exploring moments that are genuinely human while keeping the pace fast and the action kinetic and entertaining. The only draw back to the introduction of these new “Forces” is we know very little about the “science” behind it all. Of course I know its fiction but, give us a bit of jargon laced exposition, that’s not too much to ask.Â Â

Visually, artist Christian DuceÂ turns in another strong issue, no pun intended. Rippling muscles abound as Strength Force enhanced Flash and Trickster threaten to burst the confines of the panels. The insanely muscled take on these characters call to mind the Masters of the Universe on steroids as drawn by a 90’s Image artist. There is a strange sort of realism to Tricksters mutated muscled arm that adds an air of oddity to the whole thing, which I love. Duce does a fantastic job of staging the fight scenes in this issue as well as keeping pace with Williamson’s speedy script.

Overall, Williamson and company do an extremely solid job of making The Flash one of DC’s most consistent on-going titles. The current arc continues to captivate and entertain as it rolls toward conclusion. As someone who has been reading The Flash since Mike Baron and Jackson Guice kicked off volume 2 way back in 1987, I have found Joshua Williamson to be one of the most exciting and imaginative writers to take on The Flash. If you haven’t been reading The Flash I recommend jumping on and catching up with the Scarlet Speedster. 4/5

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(W) Joshua Williamson (A) Christian Duce (CA) Howard Porter