The Flash #793: Don’t Stop Running!

The fourth part of “The One-Minute War” picks up after Impulse and Kid Flash’s adventure from the previous issue, where they stole one of The Fraction’s vehicles, revealing that the vehicle was not only powered by a person, but it was also holding captured heroes like Superman. Wally quickly takes charge of the situation and comes up with a plan to infiltrate The Fraction’s fortress and damage the spire. While the speedsters go to work on Wally’s plan, Jesse Quick has a heart-to-heart with Irey after noticing that Irey is having some difficulty processing the situation. Before the plan kicks off, Wally has a heart-to-heart with Barry, where Barry reveals that he was planning on proposing before Iris beat him to it before she was killed in the first part of this arc. The issue coalesces with the team enacting their plan which goes awry when Jay gets stabbed and Wally seemingly parishes. Meanwhile, Irey encounters Miss Murder, who has tracked down the speedster’s home base.

This issue continues to move at breakneck pace, which is perfect for this caliber of Flash story. Jeremy Adams has turned the pace up to eleven, making sure that each page is either full of action, important plot beats, or excellent character moments. As for bare bones plot, this issue actually does very little to push the ongoing narrative forward, a textbook example of decompressed storytelling. This is not by any means a negative aspect of the book, as it allows our heroes to take second and breath, giving the readers the important character moments that Adam’s run has been known for. 

By far, the best parts of this issue are the moments between Irey and Jesse Quick. Irey has been an important player in this run, with Adams basing a lot of her character on his real life daughter. It’s nice to see her character get a stand out moment to really solidly her strengths. We have already seen bits of future Irey and the hero she becomes, and moments like this help identify how Irey gets to that point from where she is now. My only nitpick with this section is how she needed Jesse Quick to be that point of contact during this stressful time, when her parents are both right there. I understand that Wally is busy leading this group of speedsters, but Linda seems more focused on consoling the boy who was used by The Fraction as a battery, than consoling her own daughter. A large theme throughout this run has been balancing hero life with regular life, so it was just a bit odd to see Linda and Wally prioritizing heroics over the important conversations with their daughter. That being said, the moments between Jesse and Irey were still very powerful, and helped keep the focus on the characters that have been the heart of this run.

Plot wise, I am still not convinced that Iris is actually dead. Barry and company have been grieving her death since the first issue, but something about this arc continues to give off the vibe that she will return before it’s over. Iris’s death is certainly impactful; however, It just feels odd that it happened in an ongoing Flash series where she and Barry are no longer the main characters. I firmly believe that her death is just here to raise the stakes, and I have zero doubt that she will return within the next couple issues. 

Roger Cruz’s art continues to be great in the action scenes, but frustrates during the more mundane moments. The more I look at it, the more 90s vibes it gives off. The 90s were all about over-the-top action and style over substance, so it makes sense why Cruz is the main artist on this arc. I was very tough on the art in the first couple of issues but I have grown more and more comfortable with it once I understand the impetus behind the story.