The first strike of the villainous Professor Zoom’s plan to exact his revenge on Barry Allen begins in the latest issue of The Flash #43. DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio promised that the DC Universe would be completely shaken up after the most recent “crisis” to plague the multiverse — after the “convergence” the intent was for creative teams to have the freedom to take characters into uncharted, unorthodox territory.
The Flash has always proven one of those mainstay titles that just has the legs (pardon the pun) to keep up (yikes — another one) with the slow-yielding (you gotta do comedy in threes) competition. When Geoff Johns brought Barry Allen back into the DCU forefront with the now classic FlashPoint storyline, the Flash was responsible for reshaping the mainstream continuity. At the conclusion of that story we got the New 52!
Cut to where we are today and the emergence of one of the Flash’s greatest adversaries! Professor Zoom – the original “Reverse-Flash” — Eobard Thawne! A baddie so bad that he even earned himself a position on the premiere season of the live-action The CW hit show “The Flash”. Robert Venditti and Van Jensen the writers of The Flash comic book have insisted that on their current run of the title, they have borrowed elements from the show, influences that are very apparent.
Not withstanding the dramatically similar styling in the Flash’s new look for the monthly title (Barry has been inspired by the high-definition color scheme of his tv counterpart) there is also the relationship between Barry and his father, Henry who has recently broken out of Iron Heights Prison and is on the run fearing that something is out to get them, or more specifically that Barry is in danger. In danger from whom? ZOOM!
That’s right! Henry has escaped from his confinement in fear that ZOOM is out to get his revenge on the Allen family by killing Barry. Zoom, it appears is the mysterious “man in yellow” that murdered Nora, Henry’s wife and practically orphans Barry in the process. Assembling a team of rogue agents, from across time, including a revamped Human Top and the Folded Man, Zoom takes his first step in destroying the Flash!
For the last several months Venditti and Jensen have been teasing us with the origins of Professor Zoom’s acolytes, gathered from throughout history and some with powers reflective of past Flash villains, and others completely new. One thing is for certain, Zoom’s thirst for revenge is palpable and he’s relentless in his quest to not only destroy the Flash, and everyone close to him, but ultimately discredit the hero.
In this third act, Zoom launches his first move! After Henry pleads with the Flash to protect his son from danger, he reveals the identity of Nora’s killer — it’s Eobard Thawne, but is it all just too much and too late? We’ll have to wait and see — Professor Zoom’s crew has Henry Allen prisoner and the Flash has found himself in deep water — literally!
