The Flash: Rebirth #3 ( DC – Johns / Van Sciver )
“At last, the answer to the question that’s plagued DC fans for decades: Who’s faster, Superman or The Flash? Call your bookie and bet the farm, because you’ve never seen a run like this – and if speedsters keep dying at the pace they’re going, you might never see another one again!”
Does DC read their own books? The question of who is the fastest man in the DCU has been answered over and over again. When was the last time you saw Superman run so fast that he was able to break dimensional barriers? It seems like the Flash (as in Barry/Wally/Bart) do that kind of thing on a weekly basis. The Flash is the embodiment of the primal force known as Speed. Superman, for all his high points, is an alien with an enhanced physiology. Is there really a comparison here?
I digress: I found this issue to be muich more enjoyable than the last. Barry is transformed into the Black Flash and it was a huge WTF? moment in comics. Not that Barry was the personification of Death for speeders, but more that he had people clibiming out of his chest to then turn to dust. Here we see Barry is keeping himself isolated, with some help from the old JLA, and deciding that he will need to re-enter the speed force to keep those he loves safe.
While in the speed force, Barry is straining to hold onto the memory of his wife, Iris, because becoming one with a cosmic force of nature makes one lose your sense of self. With some help from the deceased silver age heroes Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, Barry is able to keep his identity. It is here that Barry sees the one responsible for making him an instrument of death, Professor Zoom!
Grade: B+
