Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #2 (November 1999)

The Brave and the Bold. To DC Comics fans, the name holds a great significance. The original Brave and the Bold was a long-running comic series that lasted 200 issues, from 1955 to 1983.

Originally, The Brave and the Bold started out as an anthology series that told tales of adventure set in the past. These stories would focus on characters like the Viking Prince and the Silent Knight (Hooooly niiiiiight...). With issue #25 (which introduced the Suicide Squad), the title would be retooled into what was essentially a "tryout" comic for new characters and ideas. It was during this time that the title would really become known for introducing some DC Comics institutions that still exist today:
- Issue #28: Justice League debut
- Issue #34: Silver Age Hawkman debuts
- Issue #54: Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash team-up, setting up the Teen Titans
- Issue #57: Metamorpho debuts
- Issue #60: Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) debuts
- Issue #79: Neal Adams' first work on Batman
- Issue #85: Neal Adams redesigns Green Arrow
- Issue #166: Nemesis (Tom Tresser) debuts

Indeed, the title was very important to the DC Universe. As such, even though the original series ended in 1983, the name never really went away. In 1991-1992, DC released a Brave and the Bold miniseries by Mike Grell and Mike Baron. It focused on Green Arrow and the Question. In 2007, another ongoing series of the same title was released. It lasted 35 issues. And then, there was the animated series Batman: Brave and the Bold, which had Batman team-up with various heroes around the DC Universe. It was a fun cartoon. It deserved more seasons. That cartoon also had a tie-in comic, which I looked at a couple issues of here and here.

The comic we're going to look at her is the second issue issue of the 1999-2000 miniseries, which focused on the Flash and Green Lantern. In particular, the Barry Allen Flash and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern. Each issue was set at different points in DC continuity, and it explored the friendship between the two men. So, with that intro out of the way, let's take a look at Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #2!

The cover is pretty awesome. It's a Barry Kitson piece. I love the reflective effect on Hal Jordan and Barry Allen in the mirror traps. I also like that the mirror motif is repeated with the villains in their pose as they blast the pyramid. It's really cool. Also, the text "Introducing: Kid Lantern" and the font of it helps give the cover the feel that this is a comic that you could find on a newsstand back in the swinging Silver Age sixties. I love this cover.

"Lightspeed"
Writers: Mark Waid, Tom Peyer
Penciler: Barry Kitson
Inker: Barry Kitson
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Editors: Peter Tomasi, L.A. Williams
Executive Editor: Mike Carlin

The story begins with a dinner date. Former hotshot test pilot Hal Jordan is at a restaurant with his latest galpal, Eve Doremus. The two dated between the events of Green Lantern #58 (January 1968) and #68 (April 1969). Iris West is there, and she brought along her young nephew Wally.

Hal is visiting Central City, so he thought he'd come play catch up with Barry and Iris...even though Barry isn't here yet. Late as usual, our Mr. Allen. Hal mentions that Barry can't stop talking about becoming an uncle, thanks to his marrying Iris in The Flash #165 (November 1966). Wally was looking forward to meeting Hal, as he's never met an actual test pilot before. However, Hal has given that up, and is now an insurance claims adjuster.

Hal tries to explain the job to Wally, but the redhead is bored by it. Barry finally arrives...in time to pay the check. He wants to pay, but Hal insists on doing so. However...he doesn't have the cash on him, so he asks Barry to loan him some money. Hal needing to borrow some money from Barry was a bit of a running gag throughout this miniseries. Barry explains that the reason he was late was because he ran into something that he, Hal...and Wally need to look into.

The three drive away into an alley and suit up.

"You're darn right I'm Green Lantern, son!"

Yeah, this is evidently where Hal and Wally first learn the other is a superhero. There was a bank robbery earlier this morning. The vault was cut open, and the responsible party used some kind of energy weapon to do it. It left behind energy residue...that matches Green Lantern's ring. What could duplicate that energy so perfectly. Flash and GL get zapped before they can make any theories, and the responsible parties make themselves known.

"I was thinking of calling our team Mirrorhand, but Mirror Master threatened to punch me."

Meet Sam Scudder, the Mirror Master! You may know him from my Crisis on Infinite Earths reviews, in which he died. Scottish mercenary Evan McCulloch would end up taking up the mantle. And who's his partner? Meet William Derek Hand, the Black Hand! Hand has an energy device that can absorb Green Lantern's ring power and use it for his own purposes. Hal thought the device was drained. So did Hand. But Mirror Master had discovered that there was still some residual ring-power left in the device, so he used his mirrors to...enhance it somehow. I dunno. Silver Age science. Hand admits he did not expect to see the Emerald Gladiator in town. Kid Flash charges in, but Mirror Master creates a bunch of images of himself and Black Hand to throw the teenage hero off. Black Hand fires his power-draining beam at Hal, but Wally takes the energy bullet.

"AW GAWD THIS HURTS! WHY DID I DO THIS?!"

The two villains take advantage of the confusion to flee. Hal and Barry pursue them...but Wally can't keep up. It seems the young speedster has lost his speed powers. Barry then realized something. Why did Black Hand come to Central City? Green Lantern mainly operated in Coast City. It turns out he wasn't there for Green Lantern's power...he was there for Flash's power. Wally is scared, as he fears that his powers are gone for good. Barry assures him that they'll find a way to get his speed back, but he has to sit this out for now. Wally eagerly wants to help, so Hal gives him a way.

"Finally, I get to have a sidekick!"

Meet Wallace West, Kid Lantern! Black Hand and Mirror Master are flying on a giant mirror. The heroes chase after him, Wally enjoying being able to fly thanks to his new ring. To get the heroes off his and Mirror Master's trail, Hand zaps a police car with Wally's speed, causing it to careen out of control. Hal and Barry make a plan to stop the car, but Wally grabs the car in a construct of a racetrack. However, that doesn't slow it down. Barry takes apart the car's wheels, and the vehicle is able to stop.

Mirror Master fires at Hal and Wally with a mirror beam. The beam bounces off a building's window, and hits a pair of helicopters. Wally tries to catch one with a net construct, but the helicopter is yellow...and Green Lantern rings at the time were useless against anything yellow. Wally is able to quickly recover from his goof by using a piece of gray concrete to catch it. Hal and Wally are celebrating while Barry is helping the cops out of the car. The forensic scientist has concerns about their working together, but a call on the police car's radio forces him to table them.

Hal and Wally fly off, eager to kick some butt and save the day. Barry...is not feeling this right now. Meanwhile, what's happening with the girls? Well, they're hanging out in Iris's apartment. Eve just finished telling one of her stories about her misadventures in the high life, when she remarks that she finds it funny Barry and Hal are good friends, considering how different they are. Iris wonders what Hal sees in Eve...while wondering what she sees in Barry.

Barry fears Hal is being a bad influence on him. You see, he thinks that Hal is a bit jealous of Barry's having a rather stable life, and he's using this whole thing with Wally to try and mess that up a bit. Hal thinks Barry is letting his ego talk for him. However, it's broken up by Wally, who points out something's going down at the Central City Stadium. And no, it's not your typical hockey fight.

"This is pucked up!"

Wally goes to find the villains, much to Hal and Barry's consternation. The hockey players have been affected by Wally's stolen speed powers, so making sure they don't end up killing each other or themselves is the priority. Barry's having trouble running on the ice, but Hal can't help him because of yellow boots. Thanks, Parallax. The tension between them starts to rise until...

"Huh. So that's what it's like to see other people get concussions."

Ouch. Normally Hal is the one who gets brained by things. Mirror Master sends out a mirrored pyramid-like device that traps the two heroes. Hal tries to blast his way out, but it's no good. Barry is still a bit dazed...and likely has a concussion. Mirror Master and Black Hand gloat over their victory...but Wally is still free. He tries to engage them, but his ring putters out. With Green Lantern trapped, Wally is cut off. Black Hand prepares to use his gun/wand/cigar-shaped weapon to speed up Wally's heart until it explodes...but the weapon is empty. Wally somehow drained its energy...restoring his powers.

"Room-a-zoom-zoom!"

Kid Flash is back! Black Hand tries to shoot him again, but can't get a bead on him. Mirror Master flees with a mirror, but GL stops him. He traps the two villains in a cage construct. Barry is wondering one thing...how did Wally beat these guys? Well, Wally explains it. He had caught up with the villains. But before they spotted him, he used his ring to get Black Hand's power-absorbing weapon, and them replace it with a fake. He then fired the weapon at himself...and Kid Flash was back!

As the cops take the two villains away, Hal notes that they did all this havoc for seemingly nothing. It's like they cared more about feeding their egos than getting rich. Barry's hoping it stays that way. Otherwise, Wally's going to have his hands full in the future when he retires. After all, who else is going to fill Barry's boots when he's in a nursing home HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Barry won't get to retire.

As Kid Flash signs some autographs, Barry and Hal apologize to each other. Barry should have given the benefit of the doubt, and Hal cut Barry off at the knees in front of Wally. Hal wonders why he didn't use his ring to stop the trap before it caught him and Barry. The Flash believes that he wanted to save them with his speed to show that at heart, he's a Flash.

That night, the three go to a diner for dinner, alongside Iris and Eve. Iris points out that they didn't take Wally home. The three try to make an excuse, but they're saved by Eve. She spits out her coffee and complains about the diner being a pigsty. The comic ends with Barry and Hal sharing a laugh, while Iris is just confused about the whole thing.

This comic was rather fun. I highly recommend it. The story had a real Silver Age feel to it, which is rather appropriate for this story. I loved that Waid and Peyer remembered that back in the Silver Age days, Black Hand was fond of spouting clichés. Nice attention to detail there. Also, I have to give props to Barry Kitson's art. I love his art here. It's very clean and expressive. I also liked seeing Mirror Master and Black Hand team-up. It's really cool seeing supervillains we don't often see joining forces doing so.

Another nice touch is the tension between Barry and Hal. Barry had just become a part of the West family at this point, so it makes sense he'd want to be a positive influence on his new nephew Wally. It is understandable why he would be concerned about Hal suddenly, and unintentionally, undercutting him by giving Wally Lantern powers for a while. I also have to give a shout-out to Barry Kitson's art. It's wonderful to look at. It does not outright imitate the art of Carmine Infantino or Gil Kane, it does have an appropriate feel for a more lighthearted Silver Age-style story like this.

I only have a couple of complaints about the story. One is how Kid Flash got his powers back. Black Hand's power-absorbing weapon is yellow. At the time this story was set in, Green Lanterns' power rings were ineffectual against anything that was yellow. Heck, the story showed that. So, how did Kid Flash lift the weapon with his ring? He should not have been able to do that. Also, Iris's wondering about her relationship with Barry goes nowhere.

There is also a bit of a timeline goof-up here. You see, Hal states in the story that he's been dating Eve for 2 months, one week, and 3 days. If we went by comic publishing dates, the story should also be set between The Flash #176 (February 1968) and #187 (May 1969). However, Barry and Iris are married, but she seems to be unaware of his being the Flash. So, that means it's also set between The Flash #165 (November 1966) and #174 (November 1967). Whoops. It's just something that I felt I had to point out. It doesn't hurt the story in any way, so it's not a big deal.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I got it from the 2006 trade paperback Green Lantern: The Greatest Stories Ever Told. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! Next time, we take a look at the formation of a unique new Justice League team...