In 1990, Mark Waid made his formal debut in the realm of comic scribing. He had sold a couple of Superman stories to DC in 1985, and it led to him getting a staff editor job at DC Comics a couple years later. His time in the position did not last long, but it did result in him forming a friendship with the editor of the Flash's book at the time: Brian Augustyn.
Waid was a fan of the Flash, and knew even then, the character was about legacy. It made perfect sense. Jay Garrick was the very first Flash, debuting in 1941. In 1955, Barry Allen took up the suit. And in 1986, Wally West became the third Flash.
Also at the time, CBS debuted a live-action TV series focusing on the Flash, with John Wesley Shipp playing the role of the Barry Allen Flash. Yeah, they used the Flash that had been dead for four years in the comics beforehand. Go figure. The series lasted one season, but it would be referenced in the 2014 Flash TV series. Shipp even reprised his role as Barry Allen in that series. The comic did get a sales bump from the TV show, but it was not to last. In fact, some editors felt the book should have been cancelled.
Waid's actual Flash debut was on Flash Special #1 (1990), a generational tale that linked the three Flashes (as well as a far-future Flash) in one story. Flash #62, the comic were going to look at here, was Waid's first debut on the regular Flash book. He would stay on the title for eight years. The first story he would tackle in his run? A retelling of the origins of Wally West. How he gained his powers and his adventures as Kid Flash. And with that out of the way, let's dig in!
The cover is a Greg LaRocque piece, depicting Wally West presumably being struck by lightning. The facial expression is amusing to me, as it looks like Wally just got mildly spooked instead of taking a lightning strike to the face. I do like the nod to AC/DC. "Thunderstruck is an awesome song."
"Flash: Year One - Born to Run!, Chapter 1: Thunder Struck"
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciler: Greg LaRocque
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr.
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Tim Harkins
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano
The story begins with Wally West racing into action as the Scarlet Speedster.
He runs into an airport. He's in a bit of a crisis. You see, two captured terrorists were in a jail cell after committing a series of local bombings. However, they had one last bomb ready to blow at midnight. But the terrorist in charge of setting the timer screwed up. He set the bomb to explode at noon. This happened at 11:42 AM. Whoops.
Wally himself didn't learn about it until 11:55 AM. The terrorists refused to reveal the bomb's location, so Wally West has less than five minutes to find and defuse the bomb. Wally may be the Fastest Man Alive, but even he needs time. He's able to find the bomb with seconds to spare...but he has no time to defuse it. He races to the airport's tarmac as the bomb starts to explode.
This leads Wally to reminisce about a game he used to play on the Fourth of July as a kid. He would light a firecracker and hold on to it as long as he dared to before throwing it. He was good at it. And yes, he does admit it was pretty stupid. His dad tanned his hide good for it. Wally pitches the bomb in the air.
With the crisis over, Wally can change back into his civilian clothes and rest a bit. He goes to a restaurant and orders a lot of food. Yeah, being super-fast comes with super-metabolism. As a result, Wally needs to eat a lot of food. Gotta consume those caolries! It's there he runs into his beloved grandfather, Ira West. A Nobel Prize-winning professor and lecturer, West is a bit of an absent-minded man. Wally is feeling a bit guilty. You see, the old man lives about twelve miles away from him...and he never comes to visit. It feels even worse because Wally could literally zip over there in seconds. To be fair, life can consume people...even if they're the Fastest People Alive. The two agree to have lunch together.
It's then that Wally starts thinking about his family.
Ira West had three children: Charlotte, Rudolph, and Iris. Charlotte was the oldest, and she always talked down to Wally. I don't think we've seen her much in the comics. She may not even exist anymore in the current comics. Current DC canon is a giant fustercluck. Rudolph was Wally's dad, and the middle kid. He never was close to anyone. Finally, there was Iris. Wally worshipped Iris. She was married to Barry Allen, the previous Flash before she passed away in The Flash #275 (July 1979). She was killed by Professor Zoom.
Wally is then at Ira's home, looking through Iris's old personal effects. Ira had forgotten he had them. You know, Wally, maybe you should consider the possibility that the old man has dementia or something. Wally finds Iris's scrapbooks detailing Barry's career as the Flash. It leads him to wonder if Iris knew he wanted her to be proud of him. He worshipped her, and he hopes that she knew how much he loved her.
Iris had kept a scrapbook of him during his Kid Flash days. Turns out was pretty darn proud of her little nephew after all. Aww. It leads the new Scarlet Speedster to reminisce about his childhood. When he was ten years old, he was living in Blue Valley, Nebraska. His parents constantly fought. Iris had called and offered to let Wally stay with her in Central City for the summer. Naturally, Wally was all too eager to go. Central City was home of the Flash, the coolest hero ever!
After a long bus ride, the young Wally arrives at Central, where Iris was waiting for him. The two get ready to check out the Flash Museum when he gets to see the Scarlet Speedster himself. The Flash was stopping a bank robbery. He managed to take down two of the robbers, but ended up tripping on some jewelry the third robber dropped. Wally comes up with a plan to save the Flash. He grabs a wrench from a worker, and goes to a nearby fire hydrant.
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| "HAVE A DRINK ON ME!" |
It's then Wally gets introduced to Barry Allen, Iris's fiancé. He was also operating as the Flash at the time. The three have lunch, and Barry tries to explain to Wally his job as a forensic scientist, but the young boy finds it dull. He couldn't find Barry Allen more dull if he tired. It's like he intentionally tries to be boring.
Heh heh, a young boy would really not have a lot of patience. Barry then takes Wally to his home. He claims he's a friend of the Flash, and he's coming to visit. Wally's like, "Yeah, right. The Flash. Friends with you. Quit pulling my leg, Allen!" But Allen isn't pulling any legs.
Naturally, Wally is amazed. He's taking to the Flash in the flesh. But why is here? Well, Barry lets the Flash use his lab to crack cases. He lets Wally ask anything about him...except who he is under that mask. Got to protect that secret identity, after all. Wally then asks how he got his powers. Well, that one's alright. The Flash was standing in front of a cabinet of chemicals. A thunderstorm had erupted...and a bolt of lightning smashed through the window, causing the man who would become The Flash to be doused in electrified chemicals. And the Fastest Man Alive was born!
As if fate is having itself a bit of a laugh, there's a thunderstorm outside. And Wally is standing in front of a cabinet full of chemicals. You can guess what happens next.
Yup. They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but that turns out to be bull.
This comic was really good. I really like that Waid gave much more depth and development to the early years of Wally West. It really does help explain why Wally became the man he is, and why he held Iris and Barry so highly in his life. I like the idea that he was a fanboy growing up. For Wally West, becoming a superhero was a dream come true, getting to fight crime and colorful villains alongside his favorite superhero. I also liked the scene with him using the fire hydrant to help save the Flash from the bank robbers. It showed that Wally already was a hero at heart, even before getting superspeed.
I love Greg Laroque's art here. It's very clean and has a bit of a cartoony vibe to it. There was good art in 90s comics, you just had to look beyond Image and the X-Books. If you want to read this yourself, I recommend picking up the 2016 trade paperback The Flash by Mark Waid Book One. It's a good trade, worth the money.
Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me next time as the Secret Wars rage on...
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