Weird Science DC Comics: Absolute Flash #3 Review

When we last left Wally West in Absolute Flash #2, Captain Cold, frustrated with his team’s inability to catch Wally, orders his teammates to finish the hunt by unleashing Grodd from a containment truck. The issue ended with a very different-looking Grodd stepping into the light.

Plot Synopsis

In Absolute Flash #3, Wally gets a sidekick? The issue begins with a flashback (maybe?) of what happened at the moment of the lab accident. Wally got zapped with energy, so he ran away at superspeed. Barry Allen was dragged along with him in his superspeed wake, killing him.

Now, Grodd – a little green monkey with an exposed brain – sneaks onto a farm to find Wally asleep in a barn. Grodd wakes Wally and connects with him telepathically. Through the sharing of memories, Grodd decides they are the same because of their similar life traumas, so they should stick together. 

The Rogues eventually arrive at the farm. Wally uses superspeed to evade attacks and knockout Boomerang, while Grodd uses mental attacks to knock out the rest. After the fight, Wally and Grodd run to where Barry’s body remains in a desert cavern. Somehow, Wally repairs Barry’s super suit, buries Barry’s body, and runs off into the sunset as the Absolute Flash. And that’s it.

This was a weirdly short issue. Jeff Lemire uses the opening to clarify the confusion from the first two issues, quickly makes friends with Grodd, dons a super suit because it’s simply the right thing to do, and runs off to start a life as a superhero. Absolute Flash #3 begins a new status quo without establishing one in the first place. 

How’s the Art?

Nick Robles’s artwork is one of the highlights of this issue. Wally’s superspeed antics look different than the typical electrical arcs of the classic Flash, and the visual presentation of Wally’s telepathic connection with Grodd is cool. Plus, this is the most coherent issue in the series, so Robles does his part to let the art tell part of the story.

What’s great about Absolute Flash #3?

Jeff Lemire’s script makes sense of the chaos and the confusion from the first two issues. The sequence of events and timelines are easier to follow, and Wally’s connection to Barry’s death is presented in such a way as to clarify why Wally feels responsible. This series is off to a clunky start, but this issue helps smooth some of the rough edges.

What’s not great about Absolute Flash #3?

It all happens too quickly because several of the bigger problems and open questions don’t get resolved. How did Wally get into Barry’s lab? What was the nature of Barry’s experiment? How did Wally repair Barry’s suit, and why did he think it was a good idea to strip a corpse for a damaged suit? Wally’s relationship with his father may not have been the best, but why wouldn’t he seek out some kind of help? Where is Wally going? How does he expect to survive without food, shelter, clothes, or money?

In short, Jeff Lemire hand waves away everything to give readers a heroic ending, but it feels quick, cheap, and unearned.