The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Rebirth)

by Jimmy Palmiotti and Josh Williamson

Carmine Di Giandomenico (Illustrator)

As Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash, learns more about the source that fuels his incredible powers, this same Speed Force that flows through him is unleashed all over Central City, striking cops, criminals and ordinary civilians alike, it’s up to the Flash to train this new wave of speedsters to use their amazing abilities wisely!

But while some may become his partners in crime-fighting—forming a true “Speed Force”—others will use their godlike powers for a more sinister purpose. And the Flash is about to learn that there’s some evil even he can’t outrun…
 
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Speedster is also discovering secrets about his past beyond anything he’d ever dreamed—how he created a Flashpoint that changed history and helped create a new world, watched over by forces unknown.

The race is on as writer Joshua Williamson (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad) and artist Carmine di Giandomenico (All New X-Factor) present The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice—the starting line of a bold new era for the Scarlet Speedster, bursting from the blockbuster DC Universe Rebirth event! Collects The Flash: Rebirth #1 and The Flash #1-8. A great new jumping-on point is here in The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice, a part of the critically acclaimed, best-selling, all-new line of volume one graphic novels, DC Universe Rebirth!

• ISBN10: 140126784X
• ISBN13: 9781401267841
• Publish Date: 24 January 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: DC Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 216
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781401267841

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Ah, now I understand volume 2 That was where a lot of the plot points came from, okay, that makes more sense of the one I read on Saturday.
 
This shows when people get hit by lightning and get the speed force and one of them is one of the detectives and he discovers what he can do and the power becomes very, very attractive.
 
Interesting and fills some gaps from the other one.

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 Stars,

This is the first Flash volume from the Rebirth reboot. Side note: volume four will be coming out shortly, making four decent sized volumes a year; seems appropriate for the Flash! New fans can easily pick up here if they choose to, and obviously longstanding fans can continue reading (they skipped the Origin story for him, so there is a lot less repetition that there could be).



As with most of the Rebirth line, the Flash decided to do something different, though in this case it wasn’t messing with the origin story for Barry (thank goodness!). Instead we see our hero dealing with S.T.A.R. and the unintended side effects of the sudden appearance of dozens of Speedsters (more on that later).
Barry Allen is still the character we’ve known and loved for years – he’s still struggling to balance his work (forensic scientist for the police), with his other work (being a superhero), with his life. I’m not sure that will ever change for him, and the consistency helps keep the world stable even when everything else gets thrown through a loop.
Something (or more accurately) someone has been creating Speedstorms (for those of you unsure, yes that is exactly what caused Barry to get his powers in the first place). People all over the city are getting struck with the lightning and finding themselves Speedsters. That includes, Avery, partner and good friend to our very own Barry Allen.
I loved the idea of Barry getting a partner again (especially after being reminded of how much he loved working with Wally West). It looked like they were setting up for a good cop/bad cop scenario with the duo, and sadly I was a little more correct on that count. As for the rest of the newbies? I’ll admit I was a little worried about the sudden introduction of so many new Speedsters. Suddenly there are so many of them that it’s literally not worth naming all but a select couple (Meena and Avery).
I love the name given to the villain (whose identity I will not spoil for you); Godspeed. It seems so fitting, especially when we consider that he’s literally stealing the speed force from the other Speedsters (and thus killing them). I also absolutely adore his costume design – it’s so sleek and I love the flip on the color palette (white normally being used to identify a hero as opposed to a villain).
I’m really curious to see where the Meena plot is going to lead us. (Spoiler warning) If Barry is correct that she isn’t dead, than that likely means she is lost in the speedforce somewhere, which would be an interesting plot in itself (Barry diving into it intentionally to try and save her). I’m not sure if we’re ever going to see Avery again, but the door appears to have been left open should the authors choose to bring her back.
On the whole I’d say that this was an interesting story – maybe not the strongest Flash arc out there, but still an interesting one. Plus I really appreciate that this was eight issues as opposed to the normal five, so that was a good move. I can’t wait to see what happens next in Speed of Darkness (love the title!).


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