Absolute Flash #8

So, Absolute Flash #7 was far from a great time. Both the sixth and seventh issues represented a series in decline for me, and though I’m determined to keep giving this series a chance, there was a lot riding on Absolute Flash #8 to restore my faith in the adventures of Wally West. Funnily enough, when I began to read this comic, I was almost certain it was time to give up on Absolute Flash. However, as the issue unfolded, it really started to excite me in a way that the series hasn’t in quite a while.

Today, I’m talking all things Absolute Flash #8, and spoilers lie ahead! Consider yourself warned! Without further ado, let’s get into the review!

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Absolute Flash #8 Review

Image by DC Comics

Let’s be honest here – Absolute Flash is kind of a mess. Sure, it’s not a disaster, but in some ways, it would leave more of a mark if it was one. Especially throughout its last couple of issues, the series has become increasingly mundane, and compared to some of the juggernauts that the Absolute Universe has been pumping out, poor old Wally West is really starting to fade into the background. Absolute Flash #8 doesn’t really help Wally in this regard, considering he’s completely absent from the issue (which has been happening a lot in this series). However, my investment in this series’ side characters is still hanging on, albeit by a thread. So, I wasn’t completely distraught to see that this issue of Absolute Flash was yet another departure from chronological storytelling for the series.

Absolute Flash #8 chooses to move away from whatever Wally was doing in the seventh issue, and instead puts the spotlight on Barry Allen, specifically, his backstory. This, I wasn’t too thrilled about. Barry Allen may be The Flash that many of us have come to know and love, but he was killed-off fairly early in this universe, and considering how long ago he died, was it really worth investing time in exploring his backstory at this point? Right now, Absolute Flash is in desperate need of some meaningful spectacle, something to grip us again. A backstory for a character killed-off months ago hardly seems like the direction to go in to achieve this result, and yet, this eighth issue was one of my favourites from the series in a while.

Absolute Flash #8 is extremely dialogue-heavy, with its pages filled to the brim with scientific chatter between Allen and Elenore Thawne. If the Barry Allen focus wasn’t enough to make me concerned, reading the first few pages of Absolute Flash #8 was nearly enough to convince me to drop the comic entirely. If there’s one pet peeve I have when it comes to the superhero genre, it’s overly-bloated sci-fi talk, and Absolute Flash #8 delivered that in bucketloads. However, something about how this dialogue was written gripped me, and actually kept me hooked on all of Allen and Thawne’s back-and-forth science-lingo.

Image by DC Comics

Absolute Flash #8 is slow-paced, exposition-heavy, and not at all exciting, and yet, it was one of the most gripping issues that the series has released in a while. Not only did we get to see more of Barry Allen himself, we got to see his interactions with Wally before everything fell apart, and getting to see Elenore Thawne in action after the comic had already revealed her villainous nature is far more interesting than I could have expected. It’s even more interesting to see how Allen’s relationship with Thawne developed, and eventually soured, in such a short amount of time. As slow as it was, Absolute Flash #8 feels like one of the series’ most well-paced entries.

However, what really makes Absolute Flash #8 stand out is its soft-launch of Eobard Thawne as the potential overarching antagonist of the series. Through his backstory, we see how truly evil Eobard is, and that’s before his inevitable resurrection in future entries. For those unfamiliar with Eobard Thawne, he’s more commonly known as the Reverse-Flash, one of The Flash’s most memorable, and callous, villains. Much like how the last issue of Absolute Green Lantern’s introduction of Sinestro promised its story a true villain, Absolute Flash #8 elevates itself through the potential of its future issues. I hope that Eobard enters this story sooner rather than later, because we’re in desperate need of something to come back to in this comic.

The final pages of Absolute Flash #8 also finally give context to the pursuit of Wally West that has underscored the entirety of the series so far. For some reason or another, Wally needs to be the one to make contact with Eobard Thawne to ‘rescue’ him. Finally, some sort of reason has been given to all of the madness of Absolute Flash‘s earlier issues. I still have no idea why the Rogues suddenly teamed-up with Wally, but hey, baby steps. Considering the next issue is titled ‘Rogues’ Revenge’, maybe we’ll get even more answers to our enduring questions – either that, or we could be in for the worst issue of Absolute Flash yet, considering how the last Rogues-focused issue went…

Image by DC Comics

You know, for a Barry Allen-focused issue, he was easily the least interesting part of Absolute Flash #8. Looking at his past gave context to the present that we have to deal with in future issues of the series, but as for Barry himself? Well, this issue didn’t exactly make me mourn his loss. In fact, he was overshadowed by practically every other character in the issue, proving that perhaps Wally West was the right choice to follow in the Absolute Universe after all.

Ultimately, Absolute Flash #8 was a much stronger issue than I expected, particularly after its opening pages got off to an anxiety-inducing start. Though it was very dialogue-heavy, each discovery was compelling and introduced some very promising elements for the future of the comic. However, the next issue of this comic really needs to kick this series into gear. It’s not enough anymore for me to be simply ‘interested’ in the story of Absolute Flash, not when so many of the other Absolute comics are soaring past it in both story quality and viral discussion. Look at what a conversation Absolute Batman’s depiction of The Joker sparked online – have you heard anyone talk about Absolute Flash in the same capacity? Or even at all? We’ve waited long enough, let’s get moving on this story and let The Flash shine as one of DC’s most renowned heroes.

Absolute Flash #9 is going to be an extremely important comic for this series. Stay tuned for that review down the line! What do you think of Absolute Flash #8? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

See also: Absolute Flash #7 Review

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