THE FLASH:  THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #10

Full Throttle, Part 2:  Cold Case

May 2007

Written by March Guggenheim

Pencils by Paco Diaz

Inks by Art Thibert

Cover by Ethan Van Sciver

Synopsis

At the police academy, Bart Allen and the rest of the cadets are given a cold case to solve:  a murder victim with no head.  Based on the pools of water at the crime scene, Bart guesses the murderer was Captain Cold.  In Keystone City, Jay Garrick captures and arrests Heat Wave.  While waiting for the police to take him to jail, Heat Wave gets an offer from Inertia.  Meanwhile, when the Flash confronts Captain Cold about the murder, he is suddenly attacked by Zoom.  The two fight each other, with the Flash gaining the upper hand.  When the Flash demands to know who sent Zoom, the mysterious person reveals herself to be Bart’s grandmother.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was another solid issue and definitely shows that Guggenheim is the right person to handle the Flash.  To me, this Flash seems like Bart, perhaps a little bit more mature, but still the same impulsive wise cracking kid.  I like the fact that the mystery person out to get Bart was introduced and then revealed all in the same issue.  Too many times the mystery person is left in the dark for several issues, giving the reader plenty of time to make guesses, creating rumors and ideas that rarely live up to what the writer had in mind.  Now, we know she wants him and next issue we’ll learn why. 

Does Zoom realize that the Flash he is sent to find is not Wally?  It wasn’t really addressed one way or the other and it kinda bothers me.  Given who hired him, it might make sense that Zoom knows it is Bart, but if he knew it was Bart, why would he care about the new Flash.  Remember, Zoom became who he was to make Wally a better hero. 

I am a little confused about Captain Cold.  Granted, beyond Geoff Johns’ fantastic run in the early parts of this decade, I don’t know much about Wally West as the Flash.  But I do know that Captain Cold was definitely part of the rogues gallery before Wally’s series ended.  When exactly did Snart go straight?  His appearance in this issue was also a little strange.  Was he supposed to be reformed still?  If not, it seemed awfully easy for Bart to find him.  You would think a wanted criminal would be better at being able to hide from the authorities, super powered or not. 

I am really enjoying the funny little asides that Guggenheim has given to Bart, especially the comment about the Keystone Cops.  And I liked the double meaning given to the term "Cold Case."

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