The Good
How do you defeat someone that can travel back in time? Barry Allen has had his hands full. Faced against someone with speed powers and he now finds himself in the past, trying to prevent yet another murder. To make things worse, this Reverse Flash also managed to syphon off Barry's powers leaving him a bit powerless.
As the final full issue for Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, it's hard to not think about what we could have had after this. The two will return next issue in the Zero Year issue but this is pretty much their big send off to Barry. We get a glorious final battle but of course, this isn't the end for Barry. Seeds are planted for what Barry will do next. We do get some closure and a look at how the survivors will carry on.
The Bad
Even though the Reverse Flash story feels like it's been going for a few issues (and with Villains Month making it feel longer), the final battle between the two feels like it ended suddenly (that's not a Flash/Speed Force joke). In some ways, Reverse Flash felt like a whiney spoiled brat. That's part of what we can walk away with, you don't let the bad things bring you down. You become stronger because of them.
Also, it's understandable that Barry might not comprehend the full extent of his powers but for him to say he's not sure how he managed to use the Speed Force to defeat his foe felt like something was missing.
Also, while completely understandable, it felt weird not having any mention or nod to Barry's decision to try to change time which lead to Flashpoint.
The Verdict
All good things must come to an end. Not only is this the end of the story arc but pretty much the end of Buccellato and Manapul's run on the series. We will see them back in the next issue but this is pretty much their farewell. We get some gorgeous art and colors and it's cool to see the aftermath with the characters dealing with everything. The battle itself between Barry and Reverse Flash felt a little rushed. Manapul and Buccellato do set up Barry's next mission and hopefully we'll see it addressed in future issues.