Warning Spoilers abound!

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (DC – Guggenheim / Daniel / Thibert)- For a series that started out slow (namely The Fastest Man Alive – the first couple issues were at a very un-Flash like pace), this run ended with incredible adrenaline. Bart is still trying to prove to his enemies and to himself that he can take up the Flash’s mantle. Marc Guggenheim does a believable job of laying it on and having Bart up against odds he couldn’t possibly handle; Bart has to take on Inertia and almost the entire Rogue gallery without being able to tap the Speedforce. All the while in the background Bart sees the Black Flash (the death-like figure only those in tune with the Speedforce can see) which only spurs him on to be the hero that he wants to be. With a sacrificial victory, Bart dies saving most of the East Coast from an explosion that would be from a trapped build up of the Speedforce. Bart dies a hero without his powers, finally moving out of Wally West’s shadow and becoming the hero that long time Impulse and Young Justice fans knew he could be. But given the nature of the new 52 alternate realities, I can’t imagine it won’t be much time at all before we see an alternate version of Bart. Tony Daniel’s art shows both drama and action and once again comes through without issues. Watch for something called All Flash #1 next month, and then after that Mark Waid returns to the Flash as the series goes back to the original numbering. But wait?!? With Bart dead… will the series be about Jay Garrick? I had doubts until read JLA #10 this month… check it out!

Series Grade: B

Issue Grade: A

Justice League of America #10 (DC – Meltzer / Benes / Hope)- This issue concluded the Lightning Saga, the JSA / JLA crossover the explains Starman’s condition and brought six other members of the Legion into the modern era. Accomplished author Brad Meltzer continues his magic by weaving the last chapter onto this tale in a direction that we didn’t see coming, or at least I didn’t see it coming. We know that there is some sort of conspiracy between the members of the Legion (as also seen in Countdown) as to why they are here, the readers are given a glimpse back in time when the Legion had brought Lightning Lad back from the dead by sacrificing one of their own through cosmic lightning rods (nope, not lying) and seems to be where it is all heading… with the Legion looking to bring back the Lad again. And just as the JSA, the JLA and DC’s loyal readers have figured out Brainiac 5′s plan… the rug is pulled out from under us and the DC universe is on it’s ear. It is not Lighting Lad, but rather Wally West (and wife and two sons) who are brought back into existence… so it would seem that Mark Waid’s new Flash series is not about Jay Garrick at all. The issue ends with Wally being brought back into the JLA and farewells between the two heroic teams. One of the last things we see is the Legion in the future and Brainiac telling his team that they have gotten who they wanted… with the art work showing someone trapped in one of the lighting rods.

Series Grade: A

Issue Grade: A

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