Watch Your Speed

Greetings, my name is Jordan. Last time, we looked at Batman 21: The Button Part One. This time: The Flash 21: The Button Part Two. This post shall provide a synopsis with some key points from the issue, and some speculation on the next issue.

This issue begins with Johnny Thunder, aka Thunderbolt, screaming into the rain from atop the roof of the home for the elderly in which he resides. Mr. Thunder was a former member of the Justice Society, until it was no more. We saw him in DC Universe: Rebirth Volume One, when Wally West appears to him. While lasting only the first page, I enjoyed Johnny's sequence: We have Saturn Girl and Pandora from the Legion of Superheroes, and a Justice Society member, as well as the Watchmen...hopefully, all three groups converge with the Justice League of America, as well as the Justice League International.

The actual story begins with Barry Allen (The Flash) analyzing the scene of Batman's defeat, and Reverse Flash's death. Interestingly, he takes little joy from the fact that his mother's killer has himself been killed. Much of this sequence is filled with Barry's internal monologue over the events in his past, and the crime scene analysis.
We eventually learn from Barry that Reverse Flash is covered in Barry's own energy signature, from the Speed Force, which is strange, as Reverse Flash uses a Negative Speed Force. Flash goes to Bruce Wayne, who is recuperating in his bed, and the two discuss the strange circumstances surrounding the villain's death, and the disappearance of the button.

At this point, Flash brings up the Flashpoint timeline he created when he traveled back in time to save his mother. The two continue talking, and speak about the changes in the timeline being caused by Flash, or by some outside hand. Knowing who the button belongs to, it is not difficult to determine who exactly this is, which creates a case of dramatic irony, as we (the readers) know that the Watchmen are behind this somehow, but the characters do not.

Flash goes to space, to the Justice League's Watchtower, to use a cosmic treadmill to run through time to find who killed Reverse Flash. He and Batman end up running through time, and through some of the most beautifully colored panels I have seen. The entire experience is astounding, with bright blues, greens, and purples, flashing around the two heroes as they see images of either parallel universes, or the missing 10 years brought up in DC Universe Rebirth Vol. One.

The time-travelling goes south, causing Flash and Batman to land in a more primitive version of the Batcave. The final page reveals that they have arrived in the Flashpoint timeline.

I cannot wait to read the final two parts of this crossover. The artwork is fantastic, the story is excellent so far, and the mysteries are nail-biting. Hopefully some questions will be answered in the next issue, such as the location of the Watchmen (what timeline they are in, or if they are even in one), as well as what happened to Reverse Flash. All we know right now is that he had Speed Force energy, and radiation of the type on the button, which I shall assume is Dr. Manhattan's.

Anyway, thank you for reading. Tune in next time for a similar post about Batman 22: The Button Part Three.