Wally West was my Flash growing up. Barry had long given up his life to save all of creation and Wally had stepped in to fill his boots. After decades in the role, across hundreds of comics, games, and animated shows, Wally was The Flash to most people; but then Barry came back and honestly, it seemed like DC didn't know what to do with Wally anymore. He's been removed from existence, rebooted, and made into a killer. To say that Wally has been crapped on over the last few years has been an understatement.
With that in mind I was a little nervous about going into The Flash #768, I was worried about what Jeremy Adams might have planned for the character. Luckily, it seems like things might be turning around for the character.
The issue sees Wally coming to the League to tell them that he feels he's been through too much, and done enough bad, that he can't be a hero anymore; and wants to have his connection to the Speed Force cut off. Despite being reluctant to do this Barry sees that this is what Wally needs to begin healing, so the two of them set off to run into the Speed Force and cut off Wally's connection. However, things don't exactly go as planned.
Not only does Wally vanish into the Speed Force, but Barry seems to have lost his speed; as has the other members of the Flash Family. With the help of Mister Terrific, Barry thinks that the Speed Force might be in trouble, and has taken Wally to help fix things. Meanwhile, Wally wakes up in the body of a prehistoric cave man, somehow jumping into his body like Quantum Leap. Now Wally has to try and figure out what's happened and find a way home, all whilst dodging dinosaurs with super speed.
One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was that Wally was actually allowed to have some fun. After so much awfulness that he'd been through over recent years it was so good to see him actually finding some fun, even in such an extreme circumstance. I mean, who doesn't love Wally doing a 'yabba-dabba-doo' down a Diplodocus in super-speed?
The issue manages to set up a lot of mystery too. Why is Wally jumping through time into other speedsters' bodies, and what is wrong with the Speed Force? It's a story that has a lot of potential to go to some interesting places, and times. The end of this particular issue promises some interesting stuff as Wally finds himself in the body of Bart Allen in the future, and we get the return of Gold Beetle.
Despite all the fun and wonder that come with this story there's also a lot heart to it too, as those left behind in modern day have to face up to the fact that they've let Wally down in their past actions, and that it's down to them to make sure he gets home safely now. It seems like Jeremy Adams wants to make this a story about healing, about Wally finding some joy in his life, and those around him coming to terms with how they've let their friends down and doing better now.
Hopefully things will continue on this path going forward, and that this ends up being the start of a brighter future for Wally West.
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