Review: The Flash Vol. 2- Speed of Darkness
Quick Summary
Pros: The relationships between Barry, Wally, and Iris are awesome to see here and make for some great character development. Plus, the main story in this collection is a fun little adventure too.
Cons: This volume as a whole does not get very deep or touch on nearly as many emotional/world issues as the first one did. A few issues in this collection feature some below average art.
Overall: This book is packed with character development and lighthearted adventure. While this is great to see on its own, it does mean that the story loses some depth and emotion along the way. For some, it may be a welcome reprieve from the darkness in the previous book. However, fans of the previous book may not like this change nearly as much. Readers looking for a fun story about relationships in the Flash family will be delighted here, while readers looking for more should probably look elsewhere.
Story
The Flash Vol. 2: Speed of Darkness is a very different book than The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Review). Instead of being a mystery to discover the identity of a killer while also taking a look at the Flash as a hero, it is a fun adventure book that focuses on building up the new Kid Flash as a hero. This comes as a nice change of pace in terms of storytelling. However, it also loses the depth, complexity, and thrill that the previous volume had. Overall, this is a very different book than the first one that succeeds in some ways while coming up short in others.
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The first two issues of this collection mostly revolve around Kid Flash and building him up as a hero. While it is nice that Wally II is getting some time in the spotlight, these issues are also the weakest point of the collection. Besides a minor battle with a minor villain, very little actually takes place here. Character development takes over from the story and leaves these issues feeling a little bit boring. While decompression is nice every now and then, I would prefer something akin to what happens at the end of the collection rather than this.
From here, the story picks up. Barry, Wally, and Iris are all trapped in The Shadowlands by Shade, a historic villain of the Flash. Yet, not everything is as it seems, because Shade is actually there with a noble cause. His powers have developed a mind of their own and are out committing acts of evil without his involvement. Now it is up to the Flashes to save Iris, Shade, and Hope, Shade’s girlfriend.
It is a fun story that sees our heroes go up against a rather unorthodox villain. It also continues the heavy character development for Wally that was started at the beginning of this collection, but in a good way this time. Wally and Barry connect in a new way, which brings a deeper understanding, trust, and respect between both of them. In addition, despite the shadow-filled and dark environment, this story arc was surprisingly lighthearted and fun, which is a nice contrast from the homicide and betrayal filled contents of the previous volume.
The final issue of this story is a fantastic little bit of decompression and character development that is surprisingly packed into just one issue. It features Barry and Iris on their first “real” date while Wally keeps the city safe in the meantime. Here we get to see Williamson dig into why Barry and Iris belong together and why it hasn’t happened before, something which any fan of their relationship will appreciate. Plus, we get to see Wally take an incredibly wholesome approach to dealing with a villain, electing to help him with his problem rather than just letting him be. It is a holiday issue packed with enough cheer and love to brighten up the entire collection.
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Art
The art in this book experiences a significant drop in quality with the first issue collected. Illustrated by Jorge Corona, this issue simply does not stack up to the rest of the work features in this series. It is overall too cartoonish with the way characters are depicted and doesn’t vibe well with the rest of the established artwork. Perhaps this would have worked better in another series, but right here in this series, it simply does not work at all.
From there though, things pick up. Filipe Watanabe returns to the series to do another good issue. As stated in our previous review, his artwork looks alright and gets the job done but does not measure up well in comparison to other artists working on this series.
After this, things pick up again as Davide Gianfelice steps in for two beautifully drawn issues. These are probably some of the best looking issues in this book as they reach a quality level similar to that of Carmine Di Giandomenico in Volume 1 with a style somewhat reminiscent of what Greg Capullo did in Batman. Gianfelice draws people and places with a very unique style that works perfectly for these few issues, especially since they take place in a different world. Hopefully Gianfelice returns to The Flash soon as he has proven to be one of the best artists in this current run.
The collection ends with a final issue drawn by Neil Googe. Overall this issue is not bad, but it is also pretty forgettable. Similar to Watanabe’s earlier issue, there just is not enough good or bad to really make this issue stand out in this collection.
In addition to the plethora of artists working on these issues, it is worth noting that Ivan Plascencia returns to do colors on all of the issues in this collection. As noted in our previous review, Plascencia’s colors are one of the best parts of this series so far and do a fantastic job in bestowing the series with its own unique style. With the constant changing of artists this series has, a stable colorist is an absolute blessing.
Continuity
The Flash Vol. 2: Speed of Darkness continues the story from The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Review).
The story here continues in The Flash Vol. 3: Rogues Reloaded (Review).
This volume also references and continues the stories from many other comic books, all of which are detailed below.
- Abra Kadabra’s dealing with the Titans (Reading Order) is mentioned at the beginning of this book. This refers to the events of Titans Vol. 1: The Return of Wally West (Review).
- Wally West’s return in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review) is brought up.
- The stolen time, first brought up in this comic, is also talked about.
- Barry Allen (Reading Order) mentions that he knows about Wally West II’s time with the Teen Titans (Reading Order). This can be witnessed in Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best.
- Iris mentions that Barry had plenty of time for other women but not for her. Barry then thinks of three women who are shown on the page.
- The first is Patty Spivot, who Barry started dating in The Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward (Review).
- The second is Meena Dhawan, who Barry dated in The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Review).
- The third is Jessica Cruz (Reading Order), who Barry became close with starting in Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League (Review).