I’ve read many DC books in the past, but I haven’t read many that were specifically about the Flash. Granted that this is more about Kid Flash than his mentor, but it’s still the Flash’s book. It was nice to see him battle in book format, but it can be really hard to accurately depict such a fighter in text. Will the book still be able to shine?

The book starts out with a very tough Warden talking to the Senator and bringing him to the prison. They’re both talking very tough until they realize that the Shade is tougher than he looks. The Shade causes some trouble for the city so the two Flashes go to check things out. Can they really match up against such a dangerous foe?

I will definitely give the book props for the fact that the battle lasts the entire book once it starts. The Shade was very tough to take seriously in the DCAU, but technically his powers are decent. He is out of his league against the Scarlet Speedster, but the Shade has come prepared this time. The Flash was definitely a likable character as expected, but I didn’t care for Bart. Bart was constantly getting upset and he was pretty full of himself. Flash had a lot of good puns to calm him down, but Bart seemed to be a downer.

Bart does have his “Hero” moment where he does something dangerous to try and help people, but it couldn’t save him. I had thought that he was going to use his ability to time travel since they hinted at it, but it wasn’t meant to be. I don’t agree with the fact that Bart was out speeding Barry, but we can’t win em all right? The Shade was a decent villain and you can definitely sympathize with him. That being said, he definitely took a long time to realize that he actually had powers within him. Pretty unfortunate timing for the Senator! In retrospect, this book may actually have had some fatalities, which is pretty rare for the series.

Overall, this was a pretty solid DC chapter book. I’d actually go ahead and say that it was in my personal top 3 for the series. The battle was solid and the cast of characters was also fun. The book succeeded in all areas and while it was short, it made the most of the page count. If this is a sign of what future Flash books will be like, then I’m ready!

Overall 7/10