His name is Barry Allen and he’s the Fastest Man Alive. When the Regime began their conquest of the world he stood idly by. But with the death of Billy Batson, Shazam, he learned the errors of his ways. Barry turned on the Regime and now seeks to right the wrongs he allowed to happen. He is the Flash.
Injustice 2 #32
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Tom Derenick
Cover Artist: Mike S. Miller
Colorist: Rex Lokus
Publisher: DC Comics
What You Need to Know:
During the events of Injustice 1, the Flash was one of Superman’s voices of reason. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he was largely ineffective against the Kryptonian tyrant. After seeing Shazam be murdered by Superman, Flash defected and helped turn the tides against the Regime. Now he’s been given parole but is forbidden from using his powers.
What You’ll Find Out:
With the Amazonian War over and done with, we open to see Barry Allen hitchhiking along a desert highway at normal human speeds. The highway is actually the longest straight stretch of road in the world that he used to run and clear his head. Barry, still regretting his actions as part of the Regime, begins to recall the first time he began to doubt that allegiance. During the early days of the Regime, there was a protest being held at a college in Australia.
Flash, along with Superman & Wonder Woman, went to investigate only to be challenged by a new hero named Galaxor. A fanboy for the original Justice League who couldn’t stand what they were becoming.
It took the pair seconds to shatter Galaxor’s spine and cripple him. Ending the young hero’s career before it began all while Flash watched helplessly. Barry’s thoughts are interrupted by an 18 wheel truck that begins to crash. But deep down, Barry is still a hero and breaks the agreement he made to not use his powers and saves the man.
Batman immediately contacts Flash, courtesy of Brother Eye, to chastise him for using his powers again. But the Dark Knight is easily silenced when Barry asks if Bruce expected him to just watch as the man died. Batman just sidesteps the comment and tells Barry that ambulances are on the way and to stay out of trouble so he isn’t forced to punish him. Barry continues his hike until he arrives at the house of Laura Davies, the mother of Galaxor (Mitchell Davies). In the past, Barry was told that Mitchell had committed suicide. Now that he knew the truth he wanted to try and help. Mitchell could walk again with intensive rehab and hard work. However, his mother explains Superman & Wonder Woman broke not just his spine but his spirit as well.
Barry introduces himself to Mitchell as the Flash and that he wanted to talk about Galaxor. Before Mitchell can self-depreciate, Barry interrupts him with a positive affirmation. Calling Mitchell a hero and apologizing for not being as brave as he was and for taking so long to see him. Barry says he’s been studying and wanted to help Mitchell if he’d let him. The chapter closes out with Barry helping the young man undergo rehab and start to walk again.
What Just Happened?
After the unending dark tones that dominated Injustice 2s previous storylines, we get a break of sorts with the reintroduction of Barry Allen. The Injustice comics have made a point of showing how past actions affect the various characters. This is no exception with Barry finally dealing with the fallout for Galaxor. A character who only appeared in a single issue and was implied to have impacted Barry but never fully delved into.
It was surprising to see Galaxor return at all but it served as good character redemption for Barry. This also sets up how in the Injustice 2 game, Barry is still helping people but without using his powers or his old name. With that in mind, this is likely the last time we’ll be seeing Barry in the comics. But it was a sweet way to end his appearances.
Rating: 8/10
Final Thought: Normally, a post arc chapter that doesn’t immediately lead into another arc comes off as filler. But with this chapter, it felt like a nice break and shift of focus between events. We got to see Barry again as well as callbacks to the original Injustice comic. It’s nice getting a clear sign of how its events impacted a character who wasn’t also a Kryptonian or Bat Family which they haven’t really done too much in Injustice 2.
Outside of a panel or two, the art remains high quality. The retcon to Galaxor’s death wasn’t actually a bad thing. Him being brought back this chapter I felt helped far more than anything. Hopefully, we can see more of Galaxor in the future. Overall, it’s a much better issue than last weeks and has me curious what they’ll focus on next. Total nitpick, woulda been nice to have a different cover to signify we aren’t dealing with the Amazons anymore.