I had this one sitting around before the comicon, even scanned some panels, but hadn't gotten around to blogging it yet since it seemed to be filled with things that were never coming to the DC Universe again. From 1999, Flash 80-Page Giant #2, featuring stories by Brian Augustyn, Tom Peyer, Christopher Priest, William Messner-Loebs, and more; with art by Norm Breyfogle, Kieron Dwyer, Jackson Guice, Ron Lim, and more.
The lead story, "Riddle of the Retro Robberies!" stars the Golden Age Flash and Kid Flash/Wally, and ties into Secret Origins #50 "Flash of Two Worlds!" The recently restored Keystone City, missing for twenty years or more, is besieged by robbers stealing seemingly worthless, outdated crap. But after seeing a kid roll up a thousand-dollars worth of comic and put it in his back pocket, Wally realizes the city is a time capsule for collectors! The speedsters wrap up the thieves, and the collectibles are used to bankroll updating Keystone--and Barry manages to fill some holes in his collection. (I kept thinking the Secret Origins story featured a young Wally as the narrator, but I mis-remembered that!)
After a Teen Titans story, Priest tells one from Wally's days in the Justice League Europe, the days when he was a bit of a cad. Spreading himself a bit thin between the JLE, the Titans, and two dates; Wally gets himself beat by a baddie calling himself the Rogue, who puts him down as Kid Flash. Although it momentarily appears that the Rogue kills dozens in a nightclub (and Hal coldly tells Wally he's supposed to be at a meeting instead and to "stop thinking like a sidekick") Wally eventually figures the Rogue is really...Donna Troy? Who, with the Titans, staged the deaths of dozens of people to try and teach Wally he belongs with their team? Kind of messed up...this story wasn't as good as some of Priest's others that we've seen in these 80-pagers.
William Messner-Loebs returns with a tale from when Captain Cold and Golden Glider were plying their trade as bounty hunters--they'd be villains again soon enough. Then Wally agonizes over marrying Linda in "The Answer."
The rest of the issue features future Flashes, mainly the Kingdom Come Kid Flash and XS from the Legion of Super-Heroes. Still, there's a strong sense of legacy here that's noticeably missing in the New 52, which is why this issue felt so much older than it really was for me. It felt like something that's gone now, which undermined it a bit.
That's what is missing from the new 52 Universe! Legacies!
ReplyDeleteDammit I miss my continuity.
Shhhhh Sally! You don't want DC to hear you use that dirty word. They might swoop by and retcon this whole blog, let alone the comments;)
ReplyDeleteI gotta' say, though that was a pretty uncharacteristically dickish move by Donna and the Titans, making Wally think he got those "people" killed just to convince him to re-join their team? Seriously, this sounds like it was written in the NU52 era. Crazy.