Old Flash comics were somewhat bloodless affairs sometimes; but today's book has buckets of blood! Almost literally! From 2017, Flash #31, "Bloodwork! Finale" Written by Joshua Williamson, art by Neil Googe and Gus Vazquez. (I don't usually scan the covers, but I had to load this Howard Porter variant to the GCD!)
Bloodwork had a very quick turnaround from his first appearances to the Flash TV show, but he's hardly a major baddie in both: on the show, he was the villain for the sixth season but wrapped up before the big Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. A hemophiliac who experimented with stolen meta-human blood in an attempt to cure himself, Bloodwork was now on a bloody rampage all over Central City. Well, it's bloody in the sense he's shooting tendrils of blood everywhere--it looks more like Carnage than liquid--and bloodless in the sense that he gets wrapped up with nobody killed. In fact, that nearly gets him off, as he claims to be an innocent party, with no evidence.
Luckily, Barry's partner Kristen comes up with the proof, but it's a pyrrhic victory for both of them: Barry's repeated absences and Flash-related disappearances finally catch up to him, as he and Kristen are transferred from the crime lab to Iron Heights crime scene preservation unit. (I have no idea what such a thing would do, or why it's out of a prison.) Kristen is furious, and Barry feels like his failures are catching up to him: his relationship with Iris was gone, things had gone badly with the Reverse-Flash in the future, and he was forced to use the "negative speed force" Thawne had stuck him with. When Wally confronts him watching Iris, Barry offers him the Flash ring, saying if he couldn't control his powers, he couldn't be the Flash anymore. Wally considers that he's been just as messed up, and decides he's going to train Barry to use his new powers, just as Barry trained him. That would kind of make sense if it was the other Wally, this one wouldn't have that level of experience...then again, I guess Flashes would learn quick, huh?
It strikes me that Barry usually seemed--especially in guest-spots or Justice League--like one of the most together, competent, professional heroes out there. Yet his current book ever since the New 52, has it felt like he's a bit of a stumblebum, just careening from one disaster to the next? And I just realized while the TV show got Bloodwork, sure; have they ever had more then three of the Rogues' Gallery at once? The show burned through a lot of them, killing them off here and there, possibly because they didn't want to blow the budget on six or seven guest-stars at once.
Holy shit man, Bloodwork now, in today's current climate, would be Public Enemy#1 passed off his powers and gimmick if he were still active. I mean with social distancing and wearing masks and shit, this guy would DEFINITELY get a shitload of heat for spraying blood on everybody. DC should fucking do it.
ReplyDeleteYeah I guessing the reasoning on the writer's end is that there's more "drama" or potential for drama and character conflict if they write Barry as an incompetent 20-something...or his buddy Hal (oooh burn) rather than the bland but totally competent and upstanding citizen he usually is. I don't think even Geoff Johns mis-wrote Barry that bad.