Comic Book Review: The Flash #21 - DC Comics (2017)

"The Button" part 2
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Howard Porter
Colors by Hi-Fi

The Flash is investigating the Bat-Cave, the scene where his nemesis, The Reverse Flash aka Eobard Thawne, met his demise(see Batman #21).  Upon his investigations, The Flash decides he must look for clues in a way only The Flash is able to do.

"The Button" story line is blowing me away.  I am thoroughly enjoying what this cross-over event is bringing to the table.  Flash and Batman teaming up to travel through time and universes to find out who or what killed the man who murdered Barry Allen's(The Flash) mother is a recipe for a whole lot of awesome.  The scenes from the time stream were absolutely incredible.  For the DC fans who did not love the "New 52" as much as I did will be happy to see many of the scenes from this comic book.  For those that liked the characters from the Flashpoint series, there is a really cool appearance from someone very familiar to Bruce Wayne(Batman).

Howard Porter's artwork is spectacular in this comic book.  There is so much going on in each panel as he has a full background in just about all of them.  Pairing this art with Joshua Williamson's brilliant storytelling is absolutely extraordinary.  Get to your local comic shop and buy these books before they are gone.

What are your thoughts on "The Button" story?  Which comic book event are you most excited for?  Let us know through social media.

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Comic Book Review: The Flash #6 - DC Comics (2016)

"Revenge"

Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors by Ivan Plascencia

Central City had a storm caused by the Speed Force a few issues back that caused many normal people to attain powers just like The Flash.  Since then, a villain named Godspeed has emerged and has begun killing the new speedsters and taking those powers for himself.  The Flash thought he had found and stopped Godspeed but he was wrong and is now on the hunt for him.

This series keeps getting better and better.  I like what Joshua Williamson is doing with the story and causing Barry more heartbreak than most could handle.  Barry does stay ever vigilant which is why he is one of the greatest superheroes of all time.  The reveal at the end of who Godspeed is will really have you wondering what the Flash should do next.

Carmine Di Giandomenico has an interesting artistic style.  I like a lot of the action poses and Ivan Plascencia's colors look wonderful.  This is definitely a splendid read with fun visuals.

What are your thoughts on the Flash?  What do you think of the DC Rebirth titles?  Are there any other books you would like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?  Contact us and let us know.

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Comic Book Review: The Flash Rebirth #1 - DC Comics (2016)

"...Doomed To Repeat It..."

Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors by Ivan Plascencia

The Flash finds Wally West from an alternate reality and is on a quest to figure out what is going on with the visions he is having.  This book runs parallel with the DC Rebirth comic book.

The Flash Rebirth #1 is an absolutely fantastic read.  If you have been reading The Flash from the the previous "New 52" line, this is a continuation.  This book is also for those who hearken to DC's past story lines.  The Flash also appears to be the comic book to follow to see what truly caused the "New 52" and who appears to be "watching" them.  There is also a great team up in this book and that should keep readers happy.

The art is fun and vibrant.  I enjoyed the scenes of the Flash and Wally running and all of the interactions.  The Flash Rebirth #1 was incredibly enjoyable.

What are your thoughts on The Flash Rebirth #1?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?  Find us on your favorite social media and let us know.

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Comic Book Review: The Flash #50 - DC Comics (2016)

Written by Van Jensen
Art by Jesus Merino & Paul Pelletier

The Flash is under arrest and being taken to Iron Heights Prison.  That's where the action really takes place and we also get the huge reveal of who has been so bent on getting the Flash put away.

This book blew me away.  I loved seeing what happened with Iron Heights prison and that wasn't even as big as the reveal of who the Trickster has been getting his tech from.  Van Jensen has written an amazing story arc and I am looking forward to the next issue.

The art looks fantastic.  This is especially the case once the scene moves to Iron Heights Prison.  I really liked the way the villains were drawn once the story got there.

There was also a bonus story at the end of this book.

Wally West, The Fastest Kid Alive in WWFD
Written by Van Jensen
Art by Joe Eisma

Wally West recognizes he is going through some changes and is hoping to find ways to deal with it.

This was a fun story.  Wally West in gym class and being able to talk to his future self and find out he is a speedster.  This was an absolute joy to read.  Kids discussing what they would do if they had the Flash's powers and Wally getting to use his powers without anyone knowing.

The art looks good too.  All the facial expressions look great, especially when the kids look surprised.

What are your thoughts on The Flash?  What other comic books would you like Maskerpiece Theatre to review?  Please comment below or reach out to us on Twitter @MaskedBlogster 

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The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 18 "Versus Zoom"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 18

“Versus Zoom”

Synopsis:

Equipped with the Tachyon device, Barry believes he is fast enough to stop Zoom and wants to open the breaches to catch him. Harry strongly advises against that plan but after Barry convinces him, Harry reveals that Cisco has the power to re-open the breach. Meanwhile, Hunter Solomon’s painful Story on Earth-2 is revealed.

Review:

Barry and team are working to become faster, we are introduced while trying to test the Tachyon device which allowed him to jump over to Supergirl’s Earth. Once Barry figures out that he is now faster than Zoom, he wants to jump to Earth-2 but Harrison Wells is refusing to assist with opening the breaches.

Barry Figures the only way to jump between Earths is with the Help of Cisco, figuring he has the same powers that reverb had on Earth-2. At first Cisco refuses to assist, believing that the powers he has will eventually turn him evil like his doppelgänger. After some reassuring from Barry, Cisco agrees to help.

With the help of Wells the Team learns about the sinister acts of Zooms true identity, using this against him the team is able to capture Zoom. Unfortunately the team is unable to keep him locked up and Zoom escapes and kidnaps Wally. 

The only way to get Wally back is the trade Barry’s speed force for him. 

Final Thoughts:

Slowly this season we are getting more and more into Cisco and his powers, love the fact that he keeps getting stronger. It will be interesting to see where the creative team takes Cisco through the rest of the season and into next.

Another great episode, it will be interesting to see where they take this through the next few episodes. Will Barry capture Zoom to regain his speed, or has the speed force really left Barry? I know for myself I am hoping that the speed force will come back naturally allowing Barry to become a great hero. 

Once again there is a bigger tease which left many wondering who is actually under the IronMask in Zooms lair. One aspect which hasn’t been touched on is if the man might be the original Flash for the early 90’s show, we did see this during the travel back in time scene. The same scene which showed us Supergirl.

This show just keeps getting better each week, Let us know what your thoughts of the show are and leave your comments below.

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The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 10 "Potential Energy"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 10

“Potential Energy”

Synopsis:

Now that they’ve grown closer, Barry considers telling Patty that he is The Flash. Meanwhile, Joe and Iris try to get to know Wally, and the team hunts down a meta-human who can slow time itself.

Review:

Finally back from the mid season hiatus, the newest episode of The Flash starts with Barry having a nightmare about Zoom taking Patty and killing her. These dreams are starting to have an effect on the relationship causing Barry to be somewhat distant. While trying to deal with his relationship problems the team at Star Labs have decided the best way to combat Zoom is by stealing the powers of another Meta Human who has the ability to slow everything around him down. When everything is all said and done, Barry was able to capture “The Turtle” but in the process ends up loosing the girl before he is able to tell Patty that he is The Flash.

Also during this episode Joe is dealing with trying to get to know the son he never knew about, Wally. The only issue Wally is pushing Joe away. Joe follows Wally and learns about his street racing in order to pay for his mothers medical bills.

Final Thoughts:

I am not sure how I feel about this episode yet.  We know that Harrison Wells needs to figure out a way to increase the speed of Barry, only to help when he learns of The Turtle and his meta power of being able to slow everything around him. By the end of the episode Harrison is seen stealing some fluids from the brain of The Turtle. Is this to help Barry or use against Barry? only time will tell but its interesting to see that Earth-2’s Wells tows the line between good and evil. 

I am also not sure about the new route the creative team has decided to take between Barry and Patty. I was a big fan of this relationship, mostly cause it no longer involved Iris. I will wait to see if this comes back around and how it will effect the rest of the season. But I am also glad that we didn’t get another person with in the show that learned about Barry’s secret life as The Flash. 

Finally, whats up with Wally West? Will he be around in the future? so many questions left un answered, however I do find it interesting that Wally has a thing for speed and seems to be one of the fastest street racers. Hopefully this means at some point Wally shows his abilities of the Speed force. 

This was a solid episode and it really is setting up the remainder of Season 2. I give this episode “One Thumbs Up”. Let us know what your thoughts of the episode are and leave a comment below.

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The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 9 "Running To The Start"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 9
“Running To Stand Still”

Synopsis:
When Mark Mardon AKA The Weather Wizard (guest star Liam McIntyre) returns to break Leonard Snart AKA Captain Cold (guest star Wentworth Miller) and James Jesse AKA The Trickster (guest star Mark Hamill) out of Iron Heights, Barry (Grant Gustin) must stop these rogues from taking over Central City during Christmas.  Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris (Candice Patton) meet Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale).

Review:
Its the mid series finale and the christmas episode. What better gift than the return of Captain Cold and Mark Hamill as the Trickster. The Weather Wizard decided to breakout both Snart and Jesse from Iron Heights in order to come together to kill The Flash. Snart decided to let Barry know about the plan, we are getting closer and closer to Snart turning into legend he is to become in the future. 

The Trickster decided to hand out gifts while dressed as Santa to all the kids, these gifts all contain explosive. The Weather Wizard and Trickster give The Flash a choice use his power and all those kids die or let them have their way with The Flash. Harrison Wells and Cisco come up with a plan to save Barry.

In this episode Joe finally finds out that he has a Son named Wally West……We we finally got to meet the guy who will play Wally in future episodes,

Final Thoughts:
Wentworth Miller may be the best at playing Captian Cold but the original Trickster Mark Hamill is still perfect for the role of James Jesse.  We got to see his inner Joker come out and how great was that performance. As for Captian Cold we are slowly seeing him turn into a hero, I absolutely love how they are slowly bringing Captian Cold along.

We learned more about Patty Spivot and why she joined the Meta Human tasked force, she was truly out for blood until The Flash was able to talk her out of it. Hopefully this will be the last time we have to deal with this, I think she is a great supporting character, however I am not sure if I can deal with this if its a weekly ordeal.

We also saw at the very end Harrison Wells make a deal to save his Daughter by promising to increase the powers Barry in order for Zoom to get more powers

Finally Joe learns about his son Wally West, I am just intrigued whether or not he will have the speed force or is this just another example of the Multi-verse.

Any episode with Captain Cold will automatically get two thumb up. I can’t seem to get enough of this character. and I also can’t seem to get enough of the trickster.

Leave all your comments below 

The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 7 "Gorilla Warfare"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 7

“Gorilla Warfare”

Synopsis:

Grodd returns to Central City and kidnaps Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker). Barry (Grant Gustin) and team race to find her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Cisco (Carlos Valdes) plans his first date with the new barista at Jitters, Kendra Saunders (guest star Ciara Renée) and Patty (guest star Shantel VanSanten) begins to suspect Barry is hiding something from her.

Review:

Episode 7 starts with Barry learning how to walk after Zoom breaks his back. The effects from Zoom took a mental toll which played out through the show. Barry was questioning his ability to save the city and what everyone thought of their hero. In order to help get Barry back to being the Flash, Iris decided to bring Barry’s Dad Harry back to town. Its always nice to have Harry back on the show. While Barry is recovering we have Harrison Wells trying to go back to Earth-2 only to have Caitlin appose that decision wanting Wells to stay and help the Team defeat Zoom. 

The main advisory for this episode is Grodd, he is back and wanting to create more gorilla’s like himself. In order to do this Grodd kidnaps Caitlen in order to help replicate the explosion which created him. Due to Barry still being hesitant to put the Flash suit back on, the team decides the best way to get Caitlin back is to have Wells wear the reverse flash suit to make Grodd believe his father is back. While the plan succeeds the team still has to find a way to deal with Grodd. Harrison Wells come up with the plan to send Grodd to Earth-2, as they have a place which was made to send Gorilla’s with Grodds powers so they can be together. The only way for this to work is for Barry to become Flash once again and with the encouragement from his father. Barry is able to send Grodd through one of the rips between the earths. (Did anyone get a Planet of the Apes vibe from Earth-2 preserve?)

Final thoughts on Episode 7, the writers for Flash always do a fantastic job of never drawing story’s out past what is necessary. This is definitely the case for this episode. They dealt with Barry’s inability to walk and his fear all in this show and it never felt rushed. Also love that Cisco had a date with Kendr Saunders, and when they touched Cisco vibed on her getting an image of what at first looked like Hawkman. Later, at the end of the episode when he vibes again he see that its not a man with wings but Kendra. Its our first look at Hawkgirl. Tell me your not even more excited for the Cross over episodes of Arrow and Flash? or for that matter the new series legends of tomorrow? Also at the end of this episode, Joe West tells Iris how he sometimes gets jealous of Barry and his dad and wishes he  had a son. How soon until we meet Wally West? Will he have the speed force?

Seeing Harrison Wells in the reverse flash suite was Awesome, love being able to revisit that character and absolutely got that creep factor when Wells repeated the line from season one about Cisco being like a son. We all know this isn’t that last time we will see Grodd again, only will the next time be on Earth-1 or Earth-2? and how many more Grodds will we be introduce to when we are reintroduced again.

It was nice not to have another Berlanti moment in this episode, surprisingly that is two DC shows in a row which no one learned a secret identified. Pretty sure this is a record of some kind. I am only waiting until Barry tells Patty his secret. It seems like they are leading to this happening sooner rather than later.

This was a very solid Episode, its hard to follow up to what may be the best episode of the series. But the creative team continues with solid story’s keeping the show fun to watch each week. I give this episode Two Thumbs Up

The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 4 "The Fury of Firestorm"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 4
“The Fury of Firestorm”

Synopsis:
Barry (Grant Gustin) and the team look for another Firestorm match for Dr. Stein (Victor Garber). When the team meets Jefferson "Jax" Jackson (guest star Franz Drameh), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) has her reservations about whether Jax is the right match for Dr. Stein. Iris (Candice Patton) surprises Joe (Jesse L. Martin) while Barry and Patty (guest star Shantel VanSanten) grow closer.

Review:
Episode 4 is here and the goal of the show was to introduce the new Firestorm. The episode starts with the team trying to help Dr. Stein find his other half. This is where we are introduce to Caitlin’s choice, Henry Hewitt (Hewitt is know from his introduction in the DC universe through the New Earth Series) When the attempt to merge fails, Hewitt leave angry and we see that his meta human power has finally been revealed. Welcome to the Flash Universe Tokamak! This leaves only Barry’s choice of Jefferson Jackson and with that we now have the new Firestorm. I actually really enjoyed this part of the show, it gave us two choices one evil and the other good. When Jax finally accepts the offer to become Firestorm we like the person he is and will root for him to succeed. The disappointing aspect of the show is the departure of Dr. Stein from the team for awhile, he has been the calming influence and his interactions with Cisco have been great.

The other plot line through the first part of the season is the introduction of Iris’s Mother. This has definitely been a slow burn and as we learned in this episode Iris’s mother has another child who may or may not be the son of Joe. Is this how we will be introduced to Wally West? I believe we he will be and my guess is we will see him before the mid season finale.

Finally we have Harrison Wells, obviously he is from another earth where he is considered the savior. As the episode progressed we see Wells break into Mercury Labs to steal some unknown weapon. This leads to that ever so famous last scene of the show where not only are we introduce to the heavily hinted at Shark Man, but also Barry finally seeing Wells. So many questions and so many possibilities. What role will Shark Man play through out the season, obviously he was sent by Zoom but was he killed by Wells at the end? or will we see him again in the future? I am hoping in many ways Shark Man will be treated like Grodd. Also who is Harrison Wells? As we wait to see what will happen, I would like to express how great Wells is, in my opinion he might be right up there with Malcom Merlin as a great character/Villain. Wells is definitely interesting TV each week.

Episode 4 shows what a great fill in episode should be. The writers of Flash used this episode to help push ahead many different storylines which didn’t need the Flash to be the center point. Even the new love interest for Barry, Patty Spivot, was used as a nice subtle side story. I give this Episode Two Thumbs Up,

Leave comments below on your opinion of Episode 4.

The Flash Review: Season 2 Episode 3 "Family Of Rogues"

The Flash Season 2 Episode 3
“Family of Rogues”

Synopsis:
When Barry (Grant Gustin) and the team find out Captain Cold (guest star Wentworth Miller) has been kidnapped, they form an uneasy alliance with his sister, Lisa (guest star Peyton List). However, Barry feels double-crossed when he finds out Snart is working with his father, Lewis Snart (guest star Michael Ironside) on a heist. Meanwhile, Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is faced with a difficult decision.

Review:
What do you get when Captain Cold Makes an appearance on The Flash? Basically the best episode of the season thus far! The episode starts with Lisa Snart trying to find the flash to help save her kidnapped brother Captain Cold. Barry decides to team up with Snart to help while Cisco works to remove the bomb from the head of Lisa. By the end of the episode Captian Cold get revenge on his father for “breaking his sisters heart”, and finally The Flash is able to place Captain Cold in prison. So what did we learn about the Snart Family? Well both Golden Glider and Captain Cold work with a moral set codes while the patriarch of the Family Lewis Snart is a different type of evil with no moral code willing to kill anyone who gets in his way or has no use for. This episode is definitely the set up for “Legends of Tomorrow” as we see with the final interaction between Barry and Captian Cold, while Barry is visiting Snart in prison he lets him know that he see’s good in him and its only a matter of time before he makes a change. And Snarts reply of “Should I be a Hero Like you” how could you not just get excited for whats to come. I can’t wait to see how this plays out until “LOT”. (By the way, isn’t the casting of Wentworth Miller as Snart just a masterful choice by the Creative team of The Flash)

The other storylines which played out through out episode 3, we see Iris learn about her mother being alive, how this affects the rest of the season will be interesting to see. I am guessing we will be introduced to Wally West, will he also have the speed force if we see him? Barry seems to be getting a new love interest in Patty Spivot, how will this affect his relationship with Iris? this will be interesting to follow, as the creators of Flash have done a decent job of making the audience like Iris again after pushing her away last season. Also we finally get more details on the worm holes opening up through out central city as we see Jay Garrick work to stabilize the biggest of the worm holes in the basement of Star Labs, will we see Barry travel to Earth-2 this season? I believe we will, but how will this affect his speed force, will he loose his like Jay Garrick did? A lot of questions and hopefully we will get more answers through the rest of the season.

As has been for every episode of The Flash, the highly anticipated last scene gave all the fans what they wanted the most. The Return of Harrison Wells through the newly stabilize worm hole (Let the fan boys scream with Excitement). Personally I can’t wait to see how this will play out. I know I am hoping for a good Wells but admittedly I am leaning towards Wells being ZOOM!

This episode was everything you could want, it brought that excitement which I have felt was missing in first two shows. I give this a definite TWO THUMBS UP!!