| The Flash: Rebirth | |
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Variant incentive cover art for The Flash: Rebirth #1. Art by Ethan Van Sciver and Alex Sinclair. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly/Irregular |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | April 2009 – February 2010 |
| Number of issues | 6 |
| Main character(s) | Barry Allen[1][2] Wally West[1] Jay Garrick[1] Bart Allen[1] Professor Zoom |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Geoff Johns[1] |
| Artist(s) | Ethan Van Sciver[1][2] |
| Penciller(s) | Fabian |
| Inker(s) | Fabian |
| Editor(s) | Fabian |
The Flash: Rebirth is a six issue[3] monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver. Published by DC Comics, the series features characters from throughout the nearly seventy year history of Flash comics. This is the creative team's second "rebirth" limited series, preceded by 2005's Green Lantern: Rebirth. The first issue was released on April 1, 2009. The series was first solicited to last five issues, but was extended to six issues in May 2009.[3]
The storyline follows the "rebirth" of the Silver Age Flash Barry Allen, after an initial return in the pages of DC's 2008 crossover event Final Crisis. The creative team, when asked which Flashes would appear in the series at Comic Con International 2008, replied, "All of them."[1]
Contents |
In Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #3, the Rogues are informed by Libra that "the Flash the Rogues first battled" has come back to the land of the living. Regrouping in the basement of the Flash Museum, the Rogues lament the possibility of Barry Allen having returned to life, saying, "He ain't like the kid who took it up after him. He never gave us a break."
Captain Cold ended the limited series by reflecting on and re-preparing for Barry Allen. "The Rogues can't outrun him. Once the skies are back to blue, the game's back on... and if the Flash is really back, there's no more rules in this universe to follow." The issue ends with a shot of Barry Allen in his Flash uniform running extremely fast, with the last line of the series being: "Coming next year: The Flash: Rebirth."[4]
Ethan Van Sciver redesigned Wally West's costume for this series. This was done so that Wally and Barry can be visually distinct, with Barry once again becoming the primary Flash in the mini-series' pages.[2]
Bart Allen, the second Kid Flash and fourth Flash, was resurrected in the 31st Century in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 by Brainiac 5 to combat Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Super-Villains. Geoff Johns confirmed that Bart would return to the past and play a large role in The Flash: Rebirth.[5]
Two forensics scientists in Central City are killed by a mysterious man wielding a spear with a lightning bolt-shaped tip. He rearranges several containers of chemicals on the shelves and, using the spear as a lightning rod, recreates the accident that first gave Barry Allen his powers. He escapes from arriving police officers with a dash of super-speed, his thoughts indicating he is somehow responsible for Barry Allen's return.
In Central City and Keystone City, Linda Park-West announces that a celebration will be held for the return of the Flash. Different members of the Flash family react to Barry's return: at Justice Society headquarters, Jay Garrick recounts how Barry inspired him to return to superheroics; at Titans Tower East, Wally West remembers Barry with fondness and respect; at Titans Tower West, a newly returned Bart Allen views his grandfather's return with skepticism, admitting a desire for things to "go back to the way it used to be", as well as feeling angry that Barry is the only one to escape the Speed Force (referencing Max Mercury); and Iris West Allen waits happily for her husband to come home. However, Iris receives a phone call from police Captain Frye, who asks for Barry's help.
Barry Allen is visiting the Flash Museum, where he meets with Hal Jordan. Barry is studying the exhibits to catch up on everything that has occurred in his absence. He admits that his memory from his time spent in the Speed Force is fading. Barry also reveals that he feels he was not supposed to come back, and that the Speed Force is trying to draw him back in.
Barry tells Hal that he won't be attending the festivities in his honor, and runs off. In a flashback, it is revealed that when Barry was a child, his mother was murdered and his father was arrested for the crime, despite claiming innocence. Barry's thoughts are interrupted when the evil super-speedster Savitar materializes out of the lightning symbol on his chest. As soon as Barry catches Savitar, he receives some sort of feedback from Savitar's energy and the villain crumbles into dust. At the same moment, all of the heroes connected to the Speed Force experience a sudden, painful discharge of energy.[6]
After Green Lantern quarantines Savitar's remains, Barry hurries home to talk to Wally about the deceased villain. He sees a police car outside of Iris' house and remembers the day they first met (revealed to be the same day on which he would gain his powers) after the trial of Sam Scudder. It is also revealed that, even after his father's death in prison, Barry never stopped investigating the murder of his mother in the hopes of proving his father's innocence.
Barry arrives and meets with police captain Frye. Thanks to Wonder Woman and her government connections, the outside world believes that Barry has been in witness protection during the years he was missing. It is then that Barry receives a phone call from Wally and learns of the "speed seizures" the other super-speedsters experienced.
Barry and Wally investigate a mysterious lightning storm taking place in Fallville, Iowa, and discover the remains of the Black Flash. The pair are attacked by Lady Flash, but as soon as Barry touches her, she disintegrates in the same fashion as Savitar. After Lady Flash dies, Barry's costume begins to transform into that of the Black Flash.[7]
At the Justice Society's headquarters, Jesse Chambers is contemplating a statue of her parents, Johnny Quick and the original Liberty Belle. While being comforted by her husband Rick Tyler, an explosion occurs in front of the pair. An image of Johnny Quick materializes and begs Barry Allen not to hurt Jesse before vanishing.
Back in Fallville, the Justice League, the Justice Society, and other heroes have built a containment chamber for Barry, whose personal energy field has become tainted with a black aura that burns through speed energy. The heroes plan to disconnect Barry from the Speed Force to save his life. Iris is brought in order to act as Barry's "lightning rod" to help keep him from being reabsorbed into the Speed Force. However, after remembering their first date, Barry's energy field overloads and destroys the chamber. Green Lantern creates a new chamber with his ring and carries Barry away from the other Flashes. Barry breaks out after achieving a safe distance from the other speedsters and begins to run. He reveals that he plans to run back into the Speed Force to spare his friends and family. Despite Superman attempting to stop him, Barry achieves the speed he needs to escape the material plane.
As he begins to reenter the Speed Force, Barry witnesses past events of his life in reverse, but begins to lose his memories and his individuality. With help from a mysterious voice, Barry regains his memories and fully enters the Speed Force. Barry discovers Max Mercury and Johnny Quick, both imprisoned within the Speed Force. Johnny grabs Barry's wrist and pleads with him not to "let it" hurt Jesse (the full version of the message Jesse witnessed) before Barry's energy kills him in the same way as Savitar and Lady Flash. Before the two are pulled even deeper into a red area of the Speed Force, Max manages to tell Barry that he is not responsible for the deaths of the speedsters. The true villain reveals himself: Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash, boasting that he's "shifted [Barry] into reverse."[8]
When Barry questions Zoom's return, the villain acknowledges that he will be resurrected soon, thanks to a "good friend" of Barry's, as his corpse is still buried in the present. As Zoom beats Barry and Max, he reveals that the red energy field is a "negative Speed Force" created by Thawne's kinetic energy. Zoom's negative Speed Force is poisoning the normal Speed Force like a cancer. Zoom goes on to reveal his plan: after Barry briefly returned to aid Kid Flash against Superboy-Prime during the Infinite Crisis, Zoom was able to send a subliminal pulse into the Speed Force to draw back what was left of Barry's self-awareness. This led to the hero's reappearance during the Final Crisis. Afterward, Zoom transformed himself into "a new kind of speedster", (revealing himself to be the mysterious murderer from the beginning of the story), and created his negative Speed Force to contaminate Barry and the other heroic speedsters. Before Barry can fight any further, Zoom fades away.
In Fallville, Wally decides to enter the Speed Force and retrieve his uncle. When cautioned by Jay and Bart, Wally cites his previous escapes from the Speed Force and maintains he will be fine as long as he has Linda. At the Wests' home, Wally's daughter Irey wants to help in the effort to save Barry. After an argument with her brother Jai, she runs downstairs and encounters the reappearing Zoom.
At the Justice Society's headquarters, Hourman is tending to Jesse, who (since seeing her father) has begun repeating her father's Speed Formula over and over.
As Wally ventures deeper into the Speed Force, Max reveals to Barry that it was Allen himself who created the speedsters' source of power. Just as Zoom created his negative Speed Force with his kinetic energy, Barry unknowingly did the same throughout his career to create the normal Speed Force.
Back at the Wests' home, Zoom seizes Jai and Iris and begins to mainline the pair's distorted connections to the Speed Force. Linda manages to call for help, and Zoom is swiftly attacked by Jay Garrick and Bart Allen. Despite being caught by surprise, Zoom quickly overpowers the two speedsters. Meanwhile, in the Speed Force, Wally manages to reach Barry and Max. Max is unconvinced he can escape due to his lack of a "lightning rod". Barry manages to convince Max that he is family to them for acting as a father towards Bart, and the three begin their escape.
Jesse Chambers, now crackling with Speed Force energy, stops repeating the Speed Formula. She reveals that she has finally solved the equation: "Jesse Quick. Max Mercury. Jay Garrick. Wally West. Bart Allen. Barry Allen. The Speed Force". As the heroic speedsters are recharged with energy, Barry, Wally, Jay, Max, and Bart charge towards Thawne.[9]
As the five speedsters battle Zoom, Irey and Jai West are painfully wracked with speed energy. Irey realizes that their powers are unstable because they have been sharing the same connection to the Speed Force. She manages to absorb all of her brother's speed energy into herself before passing out. Jesse Chambers arrives and revives Irey by reciting her Speed Formula. The two then join the battle against Zoom, Irey now displaying traditional super-speed.
Wally uses his connection to the Speed Force to rejuvenate the speedsters and, in the process, repair their suits: Barry, Jay, Max, and Bart retain their normal costumes, Wally gains a new version of the Flash uniform, Jesse wears a costume based on her father's, and Irey becomes the new Impulse.
Despite being outnumbered, Zoom remains confident. He notes how the Speed Force affects the aging of the Flash family and hints that the Force "isn't simply fuel to amplify acceleration". He then boasts of having been responsible for all the tragedies of Barry's life, including the murder of Barry's mother Nora and then framing his father Henry of the deed. The villain mockingly reveals that Barry's parents had been happily together in the original timeline, causing him further agony. Thawne claims that his negative Speed Force gave him the ability to go back and change the past. Zoom begins to travel through time again, announcing his intention to kill Barry's wife Iris before her first date with Barry. By doing so, he hopes to wipe all memory of Iris from Barry's history.[10]
As Barry chases after Thawne, he is joined by Wally, who tells Barry to push as hard as he can to break the time barrier. Doing so, they reach Thawne, becoming the lightning bolt that turns Barry into the Flash and stopping the madman from killing Iris. As the two Flashes chase Thawne, he attempts to dissuade Wally by saying that one of his kids will make his life miserable in the future. Barry and Wally push Thawne back through time. Returning to the present, the two Flashes see that the other superheroes have built a device specifically for Thawne. Barry tosses him in and Jay activates the device, severing his connection to the negative Speed Force. As the Flashes tie him up to stop him from running in the present, Iris discovers Thawne's weapon in the past and keeps it. With the threat ended, everyone celebrates by welcoming Barry back and the speedsters in general, though Jai seems despondent over the loss of powers.
In Iron Heights, as Dr. Alchemy escapes, Hunter Zolomon talks to Thawne, hoping for the two to work together. In Gorilla City, one of the apes warns that Thawne has done something horrible to their jungles, something even they don't know. Hidden elsewhere, another figure ominously says that Thawne should have made sure the person was dead. In Central City Police Precinct, Barry closes the case on his mother's death and opts to take all the other cold cases they had after his death. Elsewhere, the Rogues prepare to deal with Barry, Captain Cold saying "In case the Flash returns: "break glass". Barry spends some time with Iris before racing to Washington to celebrate his return with the Justice League, telling them sorry he was late.[11]
The first printing of The Flash: Rebirth #1 sold out completely at Diamond Comic Distributors the first day of its release. A second printing with a variant cover was immediately commissioned to be released on April 29.[12] A 3rd printing has also been announced,[13] followed again by a 4th printing.[14] The second issue has also had a second printing commissioned as well.[15]
The first issue, and series as a whole to date, have received positive reviews. Newsarama, in a positive review, pointed out Johns' take on Barry Allen as particularly interesting, saying, "Johns' main strength in Flash is the same he had with Green Lantern: he knows what makes Barry Allen tick. While Hal is a study in recklessness and charismatic defiance, Barry is a little more down to earth. 'This man refused to believe the line between good and evil blurred like the scarlet and gold he wore.' Methinks this might be a theme, one that may even be as resonant as overcoming fear."[16]
The series has not been without controversy from some fans, however. Some feel that the return of Barry Allen threatens the status of the current Flash (Wally West) who still maintains a dedicated following, and do not want him to be displaced (or replaced) by the elder Flash. Another complaint some fans have made is that they believe the return of Barry Allen negates the significance of his death during Crisis on Infinite Earths.[17] In a partial acknowledgment of this common sentiment, Zoom openly claims, storywise, that his actions are intended to cheapen the martyr qualities the denizens of Earth have given to "their" hero in time.
The series has also been subject to criticism due to several extreme delays.[18] While issues 1, 2 and 3 all came out on time as scheduled, issue #4 was subject to nearly a month of delays and was eventually released nearly 2 and a half months after issue #3.[19] The fifth issue experienced similar delays, finally being released in late November.[20] The final sixth issue was then re-scheduled for release in late December,[21] then was pushed back to late January[22] before again being delayed to March 24.[23] Issue 6 was moved up in release, with a new scheduled release date of February 24.[24]
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