The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive (2022) #1-3

by Kenny Porter, Ricardo López Ortiz (Illustrator), Juan Ferreyra (Illustrator)

A lead up to The Flash feature film! This collection of the 3-issue series follows the Barry Allen from the DC Universe films teaming up with Batman to stop a brand-new threat to central city!

Barry Allen’s world-saving adventure with the Justice League has driven Central City’s favorite son to become a truly skilled and inspirational Superhero. But when a new threat by the name of Girder emerges in Central City, Barry turns to Batman for advice on training to master his powers. Under the Dark Knight’s tutelage, The Fastest Man Alive will have to find a way to defeat this metallic menace or be crushed by Girder’s strength! Collects The The Fastest Man Alive #1-3
 

Genres: Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comics, Batman

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one maybe one of my flash stories I have read like even though its a movie tie in comic but its so well written!

The stories are one off and like shows Barry learning to be the hero and we see him making mistakes like how in the first issue its vs Girder whose a strong man and how he defeats him by learning from Bruce and then even helping him even after sending him to prison as he knows what its like to have a father in there and wrongly accused and all that and this one makes it so deep!

Then the 2nd one vs Tarpit and I like the twist here and making it more of a mob family stuff and like showing how Barry is messing things up and that life-superhero balance is bad but over the course of the issue well him learning all that and by the end it will bring a smile to your face its so well written and how he defeats Tarpit is awesome!

And finally the last issue vs "The top" and he is like one of the lamest Flash villains but the way the writer was able to make me care about him just shows how well its written and he gives Dillon the proper motivation of being the villain and going after the Flash ad like omg seeing the relation of Central city with flash.. that was perfect!

This is one of the best Flash stuff easily like even though its set in DCEU, it just shows like how Barry is learning stuff and his new powers and all that and learning to control them and those moments with his Dad each issue brought a tear to my eye, like ugh so well done and showing how expansive his rogues gallery is and like their motivations are so well defined too.. Usually comics like these are filler stuff but this here omg just captures that epic feeling of being a flash fan!

Yes I know I might be gushing about it but my god its so worth it.. trust me give it a shot, you will not regret reading this awesome story!

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depois que Injustiça quebrou o estigma que havia em adaptações de videogames para os quadrinhos, deveria chegar uma história em quadrinhos que quebrasse o estigma de que todo prelúdio de filmes baseados em quadrinhos são ruins. Mas calma, Flash: O Homem Mais Rápido Do Mundo, não foi esse trabalho quebrador de barreiras, não. Na verdade me pareceu aqueles trabalhos em que o carro está com freio de mão puxado e é a inércia que faz ele se movimentar. Como não bastassem os roteiros bem qualquer coisa, os desenhos não colaboram, embora, junto com os roteiros, vão melhorando da parte um até a parte três. Ainda assim, não recomendo a compra da HQ nem para aqueles que estejam extremamente curiosos com o filme, porque ela não adiciona nenhuma camada à película, diferente do que foi feita no prelúdio do filme do Adão Negro, por exemplo, cujos capítulos pregressos são de uma qualidade maior.

[♡*WithLove, Reesie*♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐
The Flash is my favorite DC superhero. Batman is nostalgia; my childhood superhero. So I enjoyed The Button comic book crossover run with them but this duo...? 

No. This media tie-in felt rushed. The storyline felt rushed in some panels, the action in panels felt rushed or skipped. Like I would have to go back few panels to really see what happened, what maneuver or fight sequence did Barry do, because I missed it from the art or story not pointing it out or it was skipped all together.

Different artist for different stories, and the difference in art styles are obvious. It kind of threw me out the stories. however, I did enjoyed the art!

I didn't like this version of Batman. He was way to nice, giving, and not brooding enough. It didn't feel like Batman's stereotypical character, nor the Movie version (maybe this is Keaton's Batman and not Afleck..*shrug* We haven't seen Keaton partner up with other supers until this movie, so maybe this is in character *again, shrug*)

I did like that Barry's dad was brought into the story. It gave heart, hope, and wisdom.

I wouldn't read again and only recommend if you're a Flash fan and to say you've read it.

[Brody · Rating 2 out of 5]

How much do you want to bet none of this is going to be in the movie? Probably as much as Batman was in this book.

[Dude. Beard. Comics. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon diving into this book, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed. While the stories themselves aren't necessarily bad, they do follow a classic superhero trope that's been done before. I was hoping for something a little more unique and captivating.

Regarding the tie-in aspect to the movie, I have to say it's a bit disappointing. The characters' appearances don't match their movie counterparts at all, which can be a real letdown for fans of the films. However, there is an interesting tidbit about how Barry got his ring that I'm curious to see if the movie explores.

In terms of the artwork, it's decent but not groundbreaking. One of the stories adopts an anime/manga style, which some readers may find refreshing while others might not. Personally, I found it to be a welcome change of pace.

All in all, I'm left wondering who this book is really intended for. It doesn't feel like a true movie tie-in, and it's unlikely that reading it will enhance your movie experience. Die-hard Flash fans may still enjoy it, but for others, it may fall a bit short. Here's hoping the movie itself will be a thrilling ride that makes up for this lackluster tie-in.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si en su momento debió de suponer una frustración total con la primera impresión del estreno de la película asociada, en 2025 esto ya queda como una constatación de lo errado que estuvo todo el plan de Universo Cinematográfico de DC auspiciado por Zack Snyder tras Man of Steel. La presentación de Flash junto a otros pilares troncales de la Liga de la Justicia en cameos "multipantalla" en BvS, su participación ciertamente accidentada en los dos cortes de la JL (con más presencia en el Snyder Cut), un cameo en la serie de CW que podía haberse correspondido en cine (e incluso este cómic replica la dinámica "supervillano de la semana" de la misma), y el sinfín de problemas en la producción de la película individual. Llegando a la misma para darnos de bruces con una emburullada adaptación de Flashpoint que ni siquiera valía en su sentido de "fin de ciclo" cinematográfico, apareciendo entre medias de ciertas secuelas descuidadas por el estudio o la sorpresilla de Blue Beetle. Pero ademas, ¿la propia película de Flash correspondía a verle en su propio perfil superheroíco? Desde luego la lectura de esta miniserie deja claro que no. Y no es que estemos ante un caso en el que el medio comiquero tenga más capacidad de hacer increíble y maravilloso estos personajes y dinámicas de ficción. Las historias propuestas por Kenny Porter e ilustradas por este trío de dibujantes no se desligan tanto como podría parecer de lo planteado en las películas del DCEU. Solo que pensando más en una escala más reducida que ayude a definir la personalidad y tramas de este personaje en particular, estas historias ayudan a ver con más facilidad un Flash cinematográfico realmente propositivo (aún no pudiendo salvar la conflictiva personalidad y situación real del actor Ezra Miller en la vida real). Y mucho de lo que presenta esta miniserie en cuanto a idiosincrasia particular y personajes secundarios, se llega a ver en la cinta de Andy Muschietti aunque sea de forma terciaria. Por supuesto, los villanos que aquí presentan amenazas al punto de motivar el mayor dominio y descubrimiento de las capacidades de supervelocista de Barry Allen, sí que no llegan a recordarse en el film. Donde previo al descalabro espacio temporal, lo que tenemos son enfrentamientos con mafiosos corrientes sin más. No siendo consecuente con la intención de este comic de cimentar el desarrollo superheroíco del personaje como héroe por pleno derecho. Dejando totalmente en evidencia esta publicación transmedia que bien podría haberse intercambiado por una maxiserie que tratase de condensar el planning de continuaciones de JL de Zack Snyder que pudiese acallar un tercio de sus fans más tóxicamente agresivos.

Los tres estilos de los tres artistas asignados a cada número realmente logran cohesionarse en el dinamismo asociado al personaje y sus poderes aunque difieran en mucho de sus diseños y trazos. Y los guiones son suficientemente contenidos y enlazados a un mismo arco argumental como para ofrecer una lectura que aunque no entre de lleno en el canon del personaje. Supone algo realmente digno de recordar y asociar al DCEU.

[James Lawner · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5*

After seeing The Flash movie (which I liked), I remembered there was a comic tie-in, and after reading it, I think this comic won’t change how you see the movie very much, if at all.

This is a 3-part anthology miniseries which has 3 standalone stories and they’re all supposed to take place before the events of The Flash movie, and only the first issue has some substantial tie-in to the movie in that we learn how Barry got his new suit and the Flash ring. The 2nd issue was the weirdest as it features Tarpit as the villain, and his design looked so odd and weird, he looked like an alien symbiote! I swear, he looked just like the villain from the first Venom movie! 😂 And the 3rd issue has a villain named, “The Top”, and no, that’s not a euphemism (altho, I think some people will take it as such). The stories were fine overall, but nothing too remarkable. There’s no backstory in showcasing how Barry Allen became The Flash (however, the movie does touch upon it briefly, but this miniseries could’ve done the same anyway in order to familiarize readers before they see the movie), Iris West isn’t featured here at all, and the supporting characters that were featured in the movie don’t get much of a backstory here either. The artwork was mid overall, but the first issue’s artwork made it look like something out of an anime or manga, and I didn’t like how the characters looked like stretched out bubble gum, which might be fitting considering how everything is meant to look super fast, and I think that’s the problem I had with this miniseries’ artwork, it was meant to look like everything is going at Mach 5 or something. Also, each issue was illustrated by different artists, and I think Issue 3 by Jason Howard was the better one out of the three.

Overall, it was slightly better than Black Adam: The Justice Society Files and way better than the Shazam 2 one-shot, but I wouldn’t consider this required reading before or after seeing The Flash movie. I guess you could say, it was all Flash and no substance! 😂

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I've never actually read a Flash comic before (surprising, I know, given how much the TV show made me love the character) so this was a new experience for me, and I really liked it! I liked how it served as a prequel for the film, showing Barry learning about new aspects of his powers that he wasn't aware of before. And it let us see more of his relationship with Bruce Wayne (Affleck's Bruce, that is, not Keaton's) and his father, which the film kind of lacked, honestly.

As a companion to the film, it's a great read. If there's anything I didn't like, I guess the art style felt a little off at times and the villains weren't super compelling - one of them is literally just like a Venom rip-off. But I read comics for the heroes, not the villains, so at least it was a good Barry comic. I'm gonna miss Miller's Flash so much, their version in particular really became a comfort character for me. ❤

[Christian Just · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preparation for the newly released “The Flash”
movie, I read the tie in comics to the live action film. There are three issues & they all have different themes about confidence, selflessness & responsibility which really highlights the superheroic duality, we’ve seen/read plenty of times, but it works really well.
There are of course a special guest appearance of The Batman himself & both characters are modelled after their Live action counterparts.
The artwork is fantastic & the 3 artists did a wonderful job, each with their own style.
The writing is also fairly good, not the greatest, but it definitely works well for the kind of comic book-dialogue, you’d expect.
Even though the stories have themes they’re not too inventive or groundbreaking but it’s all right.
All in all a good set of comics
I Can’t wait for The Flash movie! ⚡️⚡️⚡️

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did you make it through the Justice League movie?
Hyped and hated, the DC movie spawned movies about all of the Justice League members (except Flash)

Have you been waiting for a Flash movie....forever?
The film this comic prequel is based on has been 'in production' since 2018. Long delayed, it's supposed to his theaters in July 2023. We'll see.

Is Ezra Miller a real piece of work?
Definitely.
------------
This trilogy of issues sets up the keypoints of the film. We get a confidence boost (and Flash ring) from Affleck's Batman. They use some of the lesser known Rogues to show how Barry is learning the ropes. Presumably, getting it out of the way before you have a Flash movie that doesn't deal with an origin story.

Could be bad. Could be good. We'll see...

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trzy krótkie opowiadania mające ukazać Ezrę Millera jako Flasha i nieco skorzystać z światła, jakie rzuca film The Flash. Tylko, że tę pozycję trapi to co zazwyczaj dotyka dodatki wypuszczane z okazji wypuszczenia jakiegoś filmu. Jest mianowicie zbędny. Ma sporo akcji, na plus zaliczam udział Batmana oraz ojca Flasha, który motywuje go mocno do działania. I tyle.

Za to cała reszta jest schematyczna i mamy te opowiadania, które różnią się tylko przeciwnikami. W dodatku nie jest to za nadto angażujące. Miejscami wręcz nudnawe. Polecałbym raczej tylko fanom Flasha, reszta ma na rynku znacznie lepsze tytuły.

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and lighthearted. It kinda reminded me of an episode of the Flash TV series with Grant Gustin. The art style took a little bit to get used to though. My only complaint is that there weren’t enough Batman/Flash interactions. Based on the cover I thought Batman was going to be in it more.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent assortment of Flash stories. The first with Batman was the best. I wish they’d taken the opportunity to do some things they couldn’t do in the movie, maybe include Cyborg and/or Superman. Or even give us a little more of Barry and Iris. Still, I had a good time.

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fastest Man Alive is a passable look at The Flash honing his powers that functions better as a general "early Flash" story than it does as backstory for the DCEU Flash movie.

Within these three issues, we see The Flash learn about fighting from Batman and his imprisoned dad while taking on low-tier supervillains that would never make it into the movies (Girder, Tarpit, and Top). It's your typical "hero loses battle, regroups, tries new move, beats villain" arc that is very standard comic fare, with very little relevance or reference to the wider DC movies continuity. It also doesn't give much insight on the Flash movie directly beyond emhpasizing the Flash-Batman and Flash-dad dynamics, since the character already seemed capable enough in his appearances throughout the franchise (wet behind the ears, sure -- but we've seen him enough that this sort of arc didn't seem all that necessary). I guess the argument would be that he hasn't been much of a solo hero up until now, but it still didn't seem that important to see him go through these trials and tribulations here.

The art varies throughout the issues, with the latter two being a bit more of a typical comic look and the first looking almost a bit like an anime style. It's a little off-putting, since that sort of style feels strongly at odds with the overall tone of the DCEU, but it's executed well.

You also get a cover gallery and a couple sketches, but they aren't particularly remarkable. Overall the package seems a little slim since there are only three issues here.

If you're a big Flash fan, you get some simple Flash action here as he figures out how to be a solo hero. But there's nothing particularly riveting story-wise or important for DCEU fans.

[Rafael Alexandre · Rating 2 out of 5]

eu daria um 2,5
é uma história bem qualquer coisa, uma arte bem meh, e tratou o Barry como um abestalhado qualquer(mesmo erro do filme)
enfim, a hq é melhor que o filme(não é coisa muito difícil), mas continua não sendo grande coisa

[Duncan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories, for what they were, were okay. JUST okay. The art?
Since when does Barry Allen have BLACX hair? I know it's a movie tie-in, but be true to the CHARACTER, people, NOT the pedophile actor.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fun little tie-in book. I enjoyed the villain of the week aspect to it. My favorite part was how "fast" the art felt in different ways with each different artist.

[Nagic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neat little story that makes the film even better!

[Michael Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion to The Flash(2023) movie with some good artwork and an enjoyable three issue arc, read on a coach trip to Whitby and back and was very good at breaking up the trip.

[Paco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible, un sinsentido, literalmente el mismo tono sin chiste que maneja la película. Mira como masacraron a mi muchacho.

[Rachel Youngpeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[JestersRaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish we got more of this Flash in the DCEU instead of what we got

some of the panels are bery clearly rushed

[Michela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually quite enjoyed reading this comic. I liked seeing all the different art styles and seeing how Barry gets his ring and learning how to phase through walls. I liked how it explained things that were in the film.

[Nathan Boleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's worth all the fun for the final couple pages where he speaks to his father. =)