Flash Rebirth #2, Will He Save Everyone Of Us?

ill be honest i dont know much about  the flash or barry allen  but i will read this  to see  what happens with the black flash.... could be tie in to blackest night?

I'll say this, the art is AMAZING!

I wonder where G-Man drives to when doing video reviews...

I haven't read old Barry Allen comics, but I liked how in the first issue everybody was exited about his return and Bart Allen pointed out what a lot of Wally's fans may have been thinking as well, we allready have a Flash, Wally West.

I do thing there's room for everybody in the DCU, but I also don't think I like where this is going at the moment.....


Also I have to shave my beard everyday to work, damn!! (just a little envy.....)

"I'll say this, the art is AMAZING!I wonder where G-Man drives to when doing video reviews..."

lol... singing Flash rules... you get extra kudos points for that lol

i do agree that the issue was awesome... i'm still really hesitant about trusting Geoff Johns here, he's ruined so much of the GL mythos that i loved so much... i'd just seriously hate to see him do it to Flash as well...

the way i see it going, is that Geoff is going to turn the Black Flash thingue into some sort of symbiote entity, much like he did to Parallax and Ion... basically retconning everything we know about the speed force and the Flash mythology... but wait, he's already done this and completely shafted god knows how many years of Flash storylines.

Yes, i'll admit, i absolutely hate Geoff Johns... but come on, it's not without reason... the guy seriously hasn't written one issue in 2 years that doesn't involve a retcon... to me, that isn't a valid writing style, he's basically going into an established universe, where hundreds of writers have worked endlessly to create a flowing and living mythos for the backstory of the characters and such, and then he rewrites it to suit his own ends...

to me, that is not only disrespectful to the fans who grew up loving the characters and universe, but it's disrespectful to the writers who went before him and created such a rich and diverse universe

M

Still, I am wondering, if this whole situation with Barry and how he has come about being what he is now, is the story going to tie into the over all theme of Johns' BLACKEST NIGHT?  Hal's been around in both issues.  Then again, it could be its own story going on outside of DC's big Summer event.

EVS is the man.  Despite us all knowing the basics of Barry becoming the Flash, it's cool to see how Johns and EVS depicted it.  I guess for the Flash purists, they got a kick out of seeing how Barry put on his first bowtie.  I agree, I could've took it or left it.  Mainstream comic book readers should not pass this series up while you can still pick up the first two issues fairly easily.

I knew about Barry Allen when I started reading comics, as I am a little bit older, but I was actually "introduced" to the Barry Allen Flash during Crisis--where he apparently died.  Thus, it's been Wally West as the Flash for me, and honestly, feel that is how it should remain.  

By comparison, I never cared much for Kyle Rayner, but I know that character has his fan base, and I was happy when Hal was resurrected from the whole Parallax debacle, so I'd have to disagree with Methos concering Johns.  Also while I've not picked up any of the new "reading rainbow"  color spectrum Lanterns and the changes to the concept and mythos, I am 75% towards liking the idea even though I've not delved into it. IDK, maybe I will change my mind when I read it.   A lot of readers DO like the changes, so Johns has been doing something right. 

Honestly, a lot of the backstories and concepts behind a lot of the DC characters have gotten a bit muddled, to say the least, due to so many other writers making changes throughout the years.  However, I think Johns is making a heartfelt effort to straighten some things out with all these loose ends and to make DC more accessible to new readers.  At least, I'd like to think along those lines. 

I agree with mattydee007--isn't it possible Barry really isn't who he seems to be?  Wasn't there a line where Barry says " I don't have to be here?"  That really isn't something Barry would willingly say to anyone, plus the look on his face--makes me wonder.  There is more I'd like to speculate, but this has gotten me thinking, which should be credit given to Johns, even if you don't care for his writing, he's managed to attract a lot of readers, and the reviews have thus far been positive.

O.K.---I KNOW G-Man probably knows he was "singing" to Queen's soundtrack song to the craptastic Flash Gordon movie--which has nothing to do with DC's Flash.  O.K., please forgive me, had to be the nerd and state the obvious, but I say it for the benefit of anyone who may think that song is about the speedster Flash, which it isn't.  

I want it to be perminant and not retconned.  Course, for that to happen, Rebirth would have to be a pretty short series (no more than 8 issues) and I haven't looked into it to see if that's true.

A scary Black Flash chasing you is well and good, but a friend to take you into the speed force would definately be acceptable as well, a new take on speedster death.

Of course, he's gonna have to learn to do it without skeletizing you to make it really work that way but there's potential for him to be similar to Hal as the Spectre.  He'd be this very powerful and ominus being but at the same time still a friend.

Definately better than the first issue.  Still hoping the guy who killed the lab techs was Zolomon.  No speedster could combat a Black Flash save one that was fueled by time.

I don't think the Black Flash is permanent I think we are either going to see him back as The Flash (possibly the only flash) or he will die again.

I probably shouldn't be putting my opinion here. I know little about the original Barry Allen or the mythology of the speed force.
Honestly what I do know all comes from "Impulse" comics, a very small amount of newer Flash and fanfiction.
I've only ever known this Flash as "Saint Barry", and for me it's really nice to see the guy behind the legend and to find out he is indeed human, with flaws, feelings and regrets. I actually really appropriated the Barry flash-backs myself, since I knew so little about him. It helps me understand him better and draws me in to actually caring about what happens to him. Since I tend to be more compelled by character depth then story, I really liked those little moments like his first bow tie. I've found you tend to learn more about a character from things like that and it's little moments that so often tend to be pushed aside for the sake of story in comics. It's nice to see such detail and care put in to a character while still keeping a good compelling story going. And it's really refreshing compared to a lot of the other comics I've been reading lately where it's all just action and little to no substance. I'm actually bouncing on my heals waiting for the next issue, which is something I haven't done in the longest time. 

I'm really enjoying the ride this story's taking me on and the way the character is going in this.
But then I suppose that holds as much weight as some one saying they really liked Bart in the "Flash Fastest Man Alive" who never knew him as Impulse. I hated that version of Bart with a passion. I hated the little flash-backs he had that matched up very little or not at all with the Bart from Impulse. I hated how he seemed to look down on the way he use to be, and how much they had changed him (so much so that there were rumors that he wasn't Bart at all). And while I like how this story is coming along I'm a little afraid that for true Barry Allen Fan's this is the same torture that "FFMA" was for me. I wish I knew more about the old Barry so I could make a good comparison, but since I don't I just hope that this comic doesn't end in the same way "FFMA" did.

So this is definately gonna be me rambling, mostly b/c this has proved itself the best online community i'm a part of, and hopefully yall will understand or have some positive feedback. Ok..this is how it breaks down for me honestly.. I don't know Barry Allen. I'm only 20..so as far as i'm concerned. Wally West is Flash. Now i kind of had similiar feelings with the OMD for Spidey and Rebirth as far as Kyle is concerned. Now i'm bringing these up b/c both are valid points on how this could go. As far as GL went, Kyle was treated w/ allot of respect and i love how Geoff made it clear that each Earth Lantern was unique and brought something diff to the Corps and the mythos, and gave us different views to be able to connect with.  Part of it is due to the fact that the GL mythos is based on multiple hero's who wield the same weapon, it was done in a way that enhanced and made the stories even better. An i w/o a doubt love where GL is right now. Then you have Spidey, which is a great example of where one set of fans was placated, and the other irrevocably pissed off. Spidey has been married as long as i've known him, and while it could have been handled any # of ways that would have at least added to the story..the avenue chosen was just pathetic. An it honestly ruined my ability to not only enjoy the charachter..but his stories. (Haven't bought an issue since, and that comment to Luke about respecting Marriage?? lol, yep respect it so much he'll even sell it to satan..just sad)  While Geoff has earned my trust based on the kind of stories he's told, and the way he vindicated himself w/ Titans and Rebirth (and his subsequent run on GL), so i'm willing to watch it. Yet Flash is a mantle of Fastest Man Alive. Not 1 of, THE Fastest Man ALIVE. Wally surpassed Barry a long time ago, and the journey along which he did that was central to his charachter arc and growth. I don't wanna see Barry come back in and just automatically reclaim his role, Wally did things w/ the speedforce Barry nvr did. (Like the whole, steal..grant speed thing. Suddenly i've got people on message boards arguing that Barry can do it too, since when??) That's something i wanna see dealt w/ and Geoff managed to worry me, and kind of allay those fears all at once in this issue. When Wally got wasted, and Barry stepped in and just took over, i didn't like that. It made Wally look allot like a bumbling sidekick, while Barry just stepped in no problem. Yet then we have that last paige twist (and since G-Man didn't speak it, neither will I) i feel like it can be used as a way to explain it. No speedster can outrun the speed force, and this recent development would place Barry squarely at the top of the food-chain again. So i'll hold out hope that it's done well. Though for the most part i'm still w/ Bart, until something shows me otherwise.