Review: The Flash Vol. 7- Perfect Storm

Quick Summary

Pros: The main conflict is physically and emotionally intense. The main conflict builds on and gives some resolution to themes running throughout this series. The artwork looks beautiful.

Cons: Some pieces of the read are too melodramatic.

Overall: This volume escalates the intensity of this series to new heights. It combines a suspenseful narrative, some solid character development, and beautiful artwork together in a way that creates a captivating story. At some points, it gets a bit too over-the-top when it comes to emotions but, at other points, these emotions are great. Readers looking for an intense Flash story, particularly those who have already been reading this series, should definitely check out this volume.

Story

The Flash Vol. 7: Perfect Storm, by Joshua Williamson, is an intense and enjoyable installation to an already solid series. This volume details an epic battle between Central City’s speedsters and Gorilla Grodd’s forces. The conflict is tremendously tense and exciting, with plenty of unexpected developments upping the stakes as it progresses. The conflict also serves as the base for some serious character development, all of which fits the progression of this series. The book’s only real downside is that some points feel a little too melodramatic, though some may still enjoy the highly-emotional nature of this book. All in all, this is a fun read that specifically delivers when it comes to physical and emotional intensity.

(spoilers start here)

Perfect Storm centers around an intense narrative that nearly sees the destruction of Central City. Grodd returns to the city and uses his resources to steal the Speed Force from Barry. This instantly gives this collection’s villains an immense level of power and robs the heroes of one of their heaviest hitters. This shift in the status quo is a great way to seed the rest of the book with some serious tension.

The rest of the book then goes on to deliver on this premise. It has Barry launch a desperate plan to retrieve his powers, has Grodd gain a mental hold over Barry’s friends, and, finally, has all of the heroes rally to save the day. All of this is exciting on its own and ends up being fun to watch play out. I particularly enjoyed the twist as Grodd appeared to be defeated but was able to launch a Negative Speed Force storm, as it took the heroes’ near victory and turned it around one final time.

Perfect Storm also works as an extension of the themes that have been present since this series began. Here, it finally looks like Barry is dealing with his personal problems and is choosing to let his friends into his life. This has been built up to for an almost frustrating amount of time so seeing it actually happen is very satisfying. Plus, the volume’s final chapter begins dealing with Wally West I’s situation, which has been withheld for far too long.

My only complaint with the volume as a whole is that, at points, it feels a little too melodramatic. Every piece of the narrative focuses on someone’s loss, someone else’s betrayal, or the general depression surrounding the entire situation. This peaks in the conclusion of the fight against Grodd, which is overlaid with Barry’s final message to Iris. I would have appreciated a moment or two of levity to break up these heavy emotions 

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Perfect Storm looks wonderful and is a big asset for this volume. Carmine Di Giandomenico’s beautiful work comprises the majority of this art. These visuals are amazingly energetic and dynamic in a way that suits the intensity of this book. Characters blister across the pages, blows are swapped between enemies, and lightening crackles with power. All of this helps set the stage for and properly depict the battles that occur throughout this book. In addition to this, other artists provide work that similarly suits the general theme of this volume. Overall, the visuals here are positive and make for a nice reading experience.

Continuity

The Flash Vol. 7: Perfect Storm continues the story from The Flash Vol. 6: Cold Day in Hell (Review).

The story here continues in The Flash Vol. 8: Flash War (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The events of Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order) are mentioned near the beginning of this volume. Specifically, it mentions the confrontation between the Flash and the Red Death, from Batman: The Red Death #1, collected in Dark Nights: Metal: Dark Knights Rising (Review).
• Avery Ho started spending time with the New Super-Man (Reading Order) and the Justice League of China (Reading Order) starting in New Super-Man #9, collected in New Super-Man Vol. 2: Coming to America (Review).
• The Justice League of China (Reading Order) encountered the Justice League (Reading Order) across New Super-Man Vol 1. #17-18, collected in New Super-Man Vol. 3: Equilibrium (Review).
• The Flash #39 references the manipulations done to the time-stream in Flashpoint (Review) (Reading Order) and further elaborated upon in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
• The Flash #44 references Barry’s death in the past. This happened in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
• A conversation between Kid Flash and someone else, in The Flash #45, preludes the events of Teen Titans Special #1, collected in Teen Titans Vol. 1: Full Throttle.