Heroic Barry Allen takes a hit in The Flash: Year One – Chapter 3
By Monita Mohan
Barry Allen confronts Turtle in the present. But the Flash is still new to the superhero game, so how will he fare against a supervillain?
In the previous chapter of The Flash: Year One, Barry Allen escaped a hellish future ruled by Turtle, only to come face-to-face with that same villain in the present. Confronting Turtle is harder than it looks – The Flash and Turtle’s powers are polar opposites, and Turtle has the ability to siphon speed, making him almost impossible to defeat. But Barry Allen is a smart man, along with being a superhero-in-training, so he uses his brains to stop Turtle; at least for the time being.
The Flash No. 72 (Credit: DC Comics)
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Believing he has successfully kept the horrific future at bay, Barry proceeds to live his life to the fullest. Using his superspeed, Barry is able to make a difference as a CSI, Central City’s hero, and as Iris West’s boyfriend. It’s all so idyllic that we all know it can’t last. Overprotective Barry decides to follow Iris on her investigation into Clive Yorkin. Iris believes he killed his former partner and ambushes him, while Yorkin is on the run with Captain Cold following a heist. Yorkin doesn’t take kindly to Iris’ line of questioning and, in the midst of the fire fight, the people of Central City are safe, but is the Flash?
It’s a little disappointing that Turtle was quickly disposed of in this issue. He made for a surprisingly compelling and evil villain in chapter two, and worked as a perfect foil for the young and inexperienced Barry Allen. But apparently, whatever the Flash is supposed to remember from re-visiting his youth has more to do with his entire rogues gallery of villains, rather than just the one.
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The final panel presents Barry in dire straits and, despite the arresting art, it lacks punch because we know how this story ends. Yet it will still be interesting to see if Barry can help himself in the next chapter, or if helping hands are on the way.