“The Flash” #800

Five creative teams from across the Flash’s history come together for a milestone decades in the making!

Cover by Taurin Clarke

Written by Jeremy Adams, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, and Si Spurrier
Illustrated by Fernando Pasarin, Todd Nauck, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Scott Kolins, and Mike Deodato Jr.
Inked by Oclair Albert, Todd Nauck, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Scott Kolins, and Mike Deodato Jr.
Colored by Matt Herms, Ivan Plasciencia, Luis Guerrero, and Trish Mulvihill
Lettered by Rob Leigh and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

An oversize anniversary issue concludes writer Jeremy Adams’s acclaimed tenure, with special guests Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, and Geoff Johns joining the celebration! As the Adams run races to the finish line, get a prelude to the new Dawn of DC chapter of the Fastest Man Alive’s adventures from the dream team of Simon Spurrier (Coda, Detective Comics) and Mike Deodato Jr. (Avengers)!

As a milestone issue, “The Flash” #800 is billed as a celebration of the Flash, mostly of Wally West and his tenure as the main speedster of the primary Earth of DC Comics. A multitude of creators from across the history of the Flash family come together to acknowledge the past and look to the future, with a focus on self-reflection (in more ways that one). With five stories, each with their own creative teams (and some overlap in the case of the artwork), how do the various parts come together into a cohesive whole? Execution depends on which story, so we will go into each of them in turn, with those who worked in multiple stories described only after their last one.

Jeremy Adams closes his run on “The Flash” with a relatively calm, comedic story taking up most of the page length. While Wally West is the focus, Adams develops the character by talking about him, rather than showing him directly. Instead, the apparent protagonists are villains at what seems to be a card game, allowing for a unique perspective on what likely low-level thieves and the like think of living in the DC universe, as well as their opinions on the Flash family as a whole. By focusing on reputation above action, Adams helps to develop how the Flash comes across to the world at large even outside of his own actions or presence, making him and his family all the more legendary and heartwarming despite (or perhaps because) the reputation is described by low-tier villains who are not named on the page.

Fernando Pasarin’s illustrations work hand-in-hand with Oclair Albert’s inks to make that story feel very lively despite being largely sedentary. The Flash and his children feel almost like a force of nature and his semi-divine offspring, their power such that the villains illustrated, though intricately drawn, feel almost pitiable by comparison. Whether he is on the page or not, Wally West’s Flash permeates Pasarin and Albert’s work quite well not only in writing, but also in facial expressions and body language of various characters.

As if in deliberate contrast, Mark Waid’s writing on a brief tale about Impulse (Bart Allen) is extremely fast-paced and hectic, much like the young speedster himself. Similarly to Adams, Waid writes about Impulse by focusing on other characters with longer attention spans, emphasizing the hero’s hyperactivity by having others trying to communicate (with varying levels of success). While the story is described as between two issues of the “Impulse” series from the 1990s, readers in general can easily jump right in without much trouble to understand what is going on.

Todd Nauck’s illustrations really bring home how humorously frustrating and excitable Bart is, particularly through the facial expressions of Barry Allen in contrast to the more calm ones of Max Mercury. While certain elements are pointed out, the art moves fast enough that the story feels almost like a blur, with exception of the seemingly slow (by comparison) nature of the threat at hand.

Matt Herms definitely proves he is right for these tales with his use of color in both the first and second stories. Darker palettes give a calming effect on Pasarin and Albert’s illustrations in the plot from Adams, feeling akin to a denouement to the run itself and time to relax. On the other hand, the brighter, bolder coloring on Nauck’s artwork lets Herms truly lean into how wild Impulse can really be, and how exciting daily life in the cities of the Flash can be as well.

Joshua Williamson returns to “The Flash” with a creative team he once had, delving more into the family as a whole rather than any one member. Primarily using Wally’s perspective, Williamson wonderfully goes into the impact of the family, particularly Barry Allen and Iris West, on those around them, helping to bring together the fact that this is an extended family, not just coworkers together, defined more by love for one another than antagonism toward outside parties.

Much like the earlier parts of the initial DC Rebirth run, Carmine Di Giandomenico’s artwork on the third story is very animated and expressive, as well as thick and detailed. Across time and space, the Flash family feels ever more entertaining, with or without the words on the page. In particular, bursts of power feel ever more potent, nearing the level of a television series or blockbuster film in action scenes.

Complementing Di Giandomenico’s illustrations is the excellent, vibrant color scheme put forth by Ivan Plascencia. From quiet and relatively subdued moments in the homebound framing story to electrifying in the main action, all of it fits the kind of style common to an action series.

With the fourth story, Geoff Johns comes back to Hunter Zolomon, bringing him forward for the first time since the ‘Flash War’ event. While the idea of a villain returning is hardly new, the decision for Zolomon to return as it is, along with the decision to ignore some key parts of his actions in ‘Flash War,’ makes the seemingly imminent reunion with Wally West feel somewhat hollow, the actions of that event almost pointless. Perhaps other writers can do interesting things with the return, but so far that remains to be seen.

Despite the somewhat disappointing premise, Scott Kolins does a good job of making Zolomon come across as a truly disturbing threat. The body language coupled with exaggerated facial expressions and jagged paneling makes for an intriguing view into the mind of a disturbed individual.

Similarly, Luis Guerrero makes effective work if colors. His reds, purples, and yellows almost make Zolomon seem corrupted, with more natural coloring on others and the past.

“The Flash” #800 closes on a sneak peek of sorts into the upcoming run on the series. Writer Si Spurrier uses a very different tone from those of the preceding stories, almost seeming tragic at times with a hint of new, otherworldly threats. Though still based within a loving family, Wally’s story seems to be taking a downturn, one that may entice some who want a new take, but may also exasperate those who might just want Wally to catch a break every now and then.

Mike Deodato Jr. illustrates the tragic events and super science very well, with a lot of pathos in the expressions of both Wally and his wife Linda. Similarly, he illustrates the bizarre, warping nature of the threat at hand in such a way that it seems utterly Eldritch without stretching too far from the wacky strangeness of Flash villains.

Unlike most of the other colorists, Trish Mulvihill focuses in on darker imagery, setting a dourer tone for the upcoming run. Heavier shadows contrast against the brighter light of the preceding four stories, with an impression that if there is fun to be had, it will be hard won.

Final Verdict: 7.5– Five different stories all give different perspectives on the Flash, to varying effectiveness, as another run on the Scarlet Speedster reaches the finish line.