The Flash by Geoff Johns, Book Five

The Flash by Geoff Johns

by Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins (Illustrator)

Writer Geoff Johns took over The Flash in the early 2000s and redefined the comic book icon for a new generation. Now continuing the unforgettable experience that Johns created during his tenure in these amazing tales of the Flash--The Scarlet Speedster!

In the wake of Sue Dibny's murder and Doctor Light's escape, Wally West wants answers. When Barry Allen confesses one of his greatest regrets from beyond the grave, the fastest man alive must decide to fix a deadly mistake or lose everyone he loves most.

This fifth volume in The Flash by Geoff Johns series collects The Flash #214-#225 and #1/2 and Wonder Woman #214, featuring art by Howard Porter ( JLA, DC Universe Online Legends ) and John Livesay ( Superman Beyond, Doom Patrol ).

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2018

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoff Johns ties the first half of this book into Identity Crisis, having Wally deal with finding out Barry and the rest of the Justice League lobotomized Dr. Light years ago, then also discovering Barry did something similar to one of his Rogues. After that Wally teams up with Wonder Woman before dealing with the Rogue War. Johns brings back most of the villains to appear during his run. This whole run is great. Howard Porter makes this book shine.

This ends John's run with Wally West and DC's determination to keep torturing Wally West will soon begin. I know Dan Didio has always had a hard on to kill off Wally, but what he never got is that he's a fan favorite. I still find him to be a better and more interesting Flash than Barry Allen.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bonkers volume and has so much stuff!

Like first tying into Identity crisis and what Wally discovers there and then what Barry did with the top and he has to clean that mess up and then a team up with Wonder Woman which was fun taking on the cheetah and finally fighting Heatwave and we get his origins and Johns does such a good job with it and finally the big Rogue war storyline which he does and like shows how dangerous these rogues are and its amazingly done! Plus the big fight with Zoom through time and the birth of his children maybe?! And crazy, secret revelations and it all comes together!

I loved every second of this volume and yes its a lot to take in but Johns does it so well that you will love it and he pays off every storyline and shows Rogues and what happens when they go to war, plus bringing all of Flash's villains for one final fight and how he deals with it! Its amazing the way Johns fleshes out every villain almost and gives them a unique personality and all! Plus the way he sort of gives Wally a happy ending was awesome! Just loved this whole ride!! One of the greatest comic runs ever!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this technically the final book of the series, really enjoyed this!

It started off with an identity crisis tie-in which was good at first but ended up being a big part of the over arching story which was really cool. The rest of the book was the rogues war which was a big bang to finish this series off.

Overall this was a great read and I’m really glad I finally got around to reading this series.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Johns final volume on the Flash series, and to bid farewell to Wally, he brings back a lot of what made the book great.

We get the full spectrum of Rogues fighting in the Rogue War, we get the ultimate villain of Johns run - Reverse Flash, and we get Linda back with Wally ready to meet the future with her husband. And in theory, this should be a great volume as we know these characters and stories based on the characters have worked wonderfully in Johns hands. But I think that's part of the problem with the volume. It feels a bit redundant and somewhat uninspired.

I understand what Johns is going for, on his way out, he wanted to play with all the "toys" in the Flash toybox again in one big story. But instead of feeling like an homage, this feels like retreaded ground. And to bring back Reverse Flash to literally play out a past event over and over is a great metaphor for how I feel about this volume.

That's not to say that there aren't some good moments and surprises in here. Its still Johns after all. And the art is top notch thanks to Porter coming over from the JLA.

I don't think this volume should take away from Johns overall run on the Flash. Its really a blast reading this book and overall, I would say Johns is a fantastic comic book writer, and this run showcases how great he is when he really digs in and has something to say with a character. I highly recommend to anyone who likes the Flash, but hasn't read Johns run on the book, to pick up from the first Johns Volume and enjoy the ride.

In my opinion, Johns surpasses what Waid did with the character, or at least maintains the level of greatness that was reached when Waid was at the helm. Check this out if you havent already.

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

So endeth Geoff Johns first run on The Flash.

Oh, I know eventually Johns basically got full control of DC editorial and brought back the Barry Allen version of the Flash twenty five years after Marv Wolfman killed him off in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but this run is all about Wally West, and this is the end of his 50-plus issue run on the book. As swan songs go, I think this volume just leaves me feeling "meh" about the whole thing. For the entire run of John's Flash his focus on the Flash Rogues Gallery (probably the most impressive set of character specific villains outside of the Batman's in the DC Universe) has been the primary driving force of the narrative. Some of the stories have been decent, but it becomes repetitive--the twin cities of Central and Keystone City have a special superhuman prison that appears to have a revolving door policy when it comes to the Rogues. Thus they appear time and again in stories that sometimes undermine earlier stories (there is a multi-part Grodd story in an earlier volume that is then diminished by the fact that a later Grodd re-match lasts basically an issue.) There is also the fact that Johns created a new Reverse-Flash called Zoom who makes it his goal in life to screw with Wally to make him "a better hero." This leads to Wally's wife Linda suffering a miscarriage at Zoom's hands in Volume 3 and leads Wally asking the Hal Jordan version of the Spectre to restore his "secret" identity. The shitshow that follows is the primary narrative of Volume 4, which leads us here.

Johns has some "surprises" in store for us in Volume 5 and in the interest of not spoiling it, I won't tell you what they are. Given Johns' affinity for the Rogues of both the Barry Allen and Wally West versions of the Flash however, you might be able to guess what happens. And of course, he wants to leave The Flash on a positive note. I just think the implementation is a little convoluted, and since real life doesn't work this way, he may have just left well enough alone (instead of leaving a mess for the next writer, which I guess didn't matter as this title was cancelled not six issues later.)

After this, Johns was assigned to fix the Spectre/Hal Jordan mess and while I am going to reread his take on Green Lantern in the neat future (because I remember it being good) I think that maybe working on The Flash for five years probably lead to some burnout on his part, making the end seem like bog standard comic book fare. So this is probably good reading for fans of the Flash, but in the end, you might enjoy Mark Waid's run on the book more.

[Nate]

A fine conclusion to Johns’ run. The last arc, “Rogue War,” is a bit overstuffed but otherwise exciting. It builds on all the character work Johns put forth for Wally and the Rogues, and has some surprising moments. I don’t have much else to say. This has been a consistent run with strong characters and fun action. While it’s predictable at times with tropes here and there, it’s very enjoyable on the whole. About on par with Waid’s work, even if it doesn’t quite have the highs of that run.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't as spectacular as the last few volumes, but I was happy with how Wally/Linda got resolved and looking forward to meeting the speedster twins!

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah - Geoff Johns does not do it for me as a writer. I appreciate the love for history and character development he brings - I just find his plots and story ideas a bundle of action with no clear direction. In general - we have a lot of Flash's villains fighting and ones that have reformed and been good turning evil again because of a stupid premise that Barry Allen made a horrible decision to use magic to try to reform them and make them good (not sure why this is a bad idea) so Wally West let's them all go bad again (and THIS is the GOOD idea? wha?). You know, so they can kill innocent people again like they want to.

I guess this is a moral debate I don't understand - take away the free will of villains so they do not kill or let them have free will so they kill. Morally - to me - the choice is obvious "no murdering!". I guess Geoff finds it obvious in the other direction - "let people murder if they want to, you don't have the right to change them if they don't want to change".

So I hated Geoff's decision as a writer so pretty much the whole collection was a thumbs down for me.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically I read out of order. Recently I read the omnibus containing Geoff Johns’ complete Barry Allen material, which follows this collection, his final Wally West stories. I read this in reverse. This is appropriate in a number of ways. One of which is that Barry represented Johns reaching his next phase. This is Johns realizing the direction it would take.

Johns started out not really sure of his way forward. The Flash was his first big assignment. Soon enough he got Teen Titans, JSA. He stuck closest to Flash, a grand vision he tied around his new Reverse Flash, Hunter Zolomon and his notion of making Wally better through tragedy. Brad Meltzer altered DC’s landscape with Identity Crisis, and this collection opens with Johns being smart enough to fold that into his own storytelling (I don’t trust a writer who can’t). In the process, it led Johns to “Rogue War,” and then Infinite Crisis, and then Flashpoint, and even Doomsday Clock. His vision just kept getting bigger.

Wally West’s final regular adventures (a lot of fans still lament what Tom King did in the pages of Heroes in Crisis, which even the recent Jeremy Adams run was dedicated to undoing, but you can see here how Johns made such storytelling a part of his tradition, and if a writer like Johns had taken up Wally’s adventures from that point, it would have made more sense without trying to just make it as if it never happened) are about how Wally isn’t what Johns would do with Barry. He can be hurt by tragedy but not warped by it. Barry murdered his own Reverse Flash. That got him to Flashpoint, too. What Johns did with Barry lines up with his tradition, too. Johns even kept the Mark Waid legend alive while he could. No writer since has bothered. All he really did was bring back the rich tradition of the Rogues, and define them for a new generation.

“Rogue War” doesn’t offer a resolution for them. They kind of become an afterthought. But that’s the Rogues. There’s never any real resolution with them. They’re not as villainous as they think they are, especially not when there’re worse villains around. Wally takes care of this mess by ensuring it. Same as the Flash always does. And he gets his happy ending. He gets a family. He got there first. It took years for writers (even Waid didn’t quite know what to do with it, which is why his last run with Wally tends to be glossed over) to know how to handle it, but his kids are now a permanent part of the tradition. They didn’t age up. They didn’t join some team. They already have a team. They have a family.

So this conclusion is really about how Wally keeps his ideals alive. And wins because of them.

[Christian Oliverio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y'all. The last half of Geoff Johns' run is so intertwined, I'm going to just combine my thoughts on books 3, 4, and 6 as they are essentially a larger story with two interludes that tie into the main story and greatly impact the main story. That's right. NO Filler (the Hawkman team up doesn't count as that was just tying up a loose end). Now what is the larger meta story? The Rogue War.

Johns does a great job balancing multiple plots, somehow tying the main DC crossover stories into his own Flash narrative and making Identity Crisis essential reading to this arc, and the volumes are conveniently broken up in a way where you can read Identity Crisis right between books 4 and 5 and not feel like this story is interrupted (and yes, you definitely need to read Identity Crisis to understand the final volume). It even ties in perfectly as a next step in the narrative after the "Ignition" interlude. The way the story naturally built up to this already great cross over, both through characters and themes, was nothing short of amazing. The art in the Ignition section was also phenomenal. Wally and Linda go through a lot in this collection as does their supporting cast.

Zolomon becomes a very interesting character with some pretty cool [spoilers], leading to a great [spoilers]. Similarly, the Rogues are great, especially Captain Cold and the original Trickster, who begin hunting each other. You see, due to the events of Identity Crisis, some of the Rogues are now good. Thus the reformed group begins hunting down their old team. Flash and his family end up getting caught in the middle. The dynamic between the Flash and all of the Rogues, including their relationship to each other, were all great. The long nature of this story really allowed us to connect to them and make the climax of endless action feel earned. It took awhile for the true Rogue War to start, but the buildup made it all the more satisfying.

In short, this is a LONG story, especially for a comic. But this allowed it to overcome a lot of the shortcomings of comics, namely rushing through stories and sacrificing character development. By slowing down the actions, we were able to connect with every single character in this story, including the villains. Thus when we finally get our typical comic story of balls-to-the-walls action, it feels earned. Is this the best Flash story? No. But it is certainly the best written.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, a great way to end a super hero run like The Flash. And Geoff Johns, did this better than any guy could do at DC, back then.

In this volume, we see some tie ins with the Identity Crisis mini series (which is awesome), with Wally trying to fix one of Barry's mistakes (meh), and, to finish it all, an all out war with the Rogues, the "reformed" rogues that were working with the FBI and Hunter Zolomon being back, as well.

Again, great super hero book. Just love this viilains, even being all colored and really nothing terrifying at all. Really, Captain Cold is one of my favorite villains of all time. Just being a bad guy, a criminal, but understanding his sense of moral and what line he can or cannot cross. It's was a decent way to end this run (i say "end the run", 'cause on volume six of it, it's just a collection of the Flash Rebirth and Blackiest Night).

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johns and collaborators impressed me on initial publication and in this reread, thanks to my public library for the loan.
This volume starts with a few continuing plot threads: Wally West identity a secret again, but the (classic 1970s) JLA on the hook, first for this deception, then their own mind manipulation of Dr. Light (explaining his 1980s Teen Titans character) and then, fatefully, Flash villain (wait for it) The Top.
And this is what Johns achieved particularly well in this - um - run. The Rogues Galley rebooted, reinvigorated, and repopulated: here, the only rogues who don't appear are Vandal Savage and The Fiddler; leaving aside Rainbow Raider and Golden Glider, creations of our man Cary Bates who are left for dead...
Recommended.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff Johns ends his historic run on The Flash with a bang! In this volume we get a very good Identity Crisis tie-in, a crossover with Woman Woman, and the epic Rogue War. Johns still does an amazing job juggling all the pieces involved here. His work involving the Rogues is pitch perfect. He breathed life into some stale characters marvelously. The ending chapter involved a little too much. The mcguffin involving Linda was too easily done. The ending wrapped up much too easily but I understand why Johns wanted to do it that way. Howard Porter's art throughout was excellent. Overall, a very good read showcasing the dichotomy between heroes and villains.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best Johns FLASH collection to this point. The book starts off with its IDENTITY CRISIS tie-in issues--and whatever your feelings on that story, these issues do a fine job developing and expanding on the themes and ideas that event introduced. This is followed up by a stellar Rogue Spotlight issue, focused on Heat Wave, and is capped off by Rogue War, which is just a blast of action and excitement to top off the volume. It's kind of perfect, and a wonderful note to go out on.

[Brad Loeffler · Rating 5 out of 5]

With god as my witness, I’ve never cried while reading a comic book until today. But after the journey that Johns takes you on on through the saga of Wally West, you can’t help but feel so strongly after going on such a long journey with these characters. This run is proof of the very best that can come from giving a writer and creative team years of space to craft a long-running story. The Flash, and more specifically Wally, is one of my favorite superheroes without a doubt now.

[José Ignacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hell of an ending

This book is amazing, it suffers a tiny bit of a bump towards the middle in terms of pacing, but once it gets going it never lets go and it leads to an amazing conclusion to not just Johns' 5-year run on the character, but also the 13 years of development that had been building up since Waid took over in 1992.

Just an amazing and satisfying conclusion, this is what comic books are all about.

[Gabriel Llagostera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomo raro. Casi la mitad está tomado por Identity Crisis, y por más que Johns intenta meter algo propio con Barry Allen, no aporta demasiado a lo que se venía contando. Después hay un cruce con Wonder Woman al que le pasa lo mismo, para luego sí encarar el tramo final, presentando a los rogues para la batalla final.
Lo mejor es el regreso de Hunter Zolomon y un cierre de etapa emotivo con un par de sorpresas. En definitiva ha sido un run muy recomendable para todo fan de los superhéroes.

[Chris W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crazy high-paced volume. Literally every enemy Wally has faced under Geoff John's writing makes an appearance here, few get a good amount of attention but definitely action packed with constant stuff happening. I wouldn't consider this the best volume at all but it's definitely enjoyable

[Allen Setzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off real strong but the Rogues War got overly complicated and crowded. This has been building up before this collection and should have been wrapped up in a cleaner manner. It felt like everything John’s had moving towards had to be wrapped up ahead of schedule.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rogue War is such a great story.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

No wonder this run gets a volume of its own. This is good stuff. My first real exposure to The Flash. Excited to read Rebirth now and know what is actually going on.

[Malena · Rating 4 out of 5]

so good!!

[Robbie Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this volume, really loved the closing stories called Rogue War, good 2000s era Wally West