The Flash #25 Preview

[BooCoo]

Why do most of the "bad" flashes give off a gay vibe with their obsession with Barry? Thawne definitely, and you can probably add August to that list. All we need now is Solomon Hunter with a secret crush and raging because Barry didn't wish him happy birthday. I really hate the whole treadmill thing, it just seems corny in 2017. For someone with a powerset so many people covet, the speed force seems to be easy to come by and duplicate by any cluck with enough knowledge or right circumstance. Barry using a treadmill just makes him look weak sauce and lame. Can you imagine Superman needing a glider to get around, or aquaman wearing a portable breathing tank? Just grinds me no end.

[FlashEarthOne]

I really hate the whole treadmill thing, it just seems corny in 2017. For someone with a powerset so many people covet, the speed force seems to be easy to come by and duplicate by any cluck with enough knowledge or right circumstance. Barry using a treadmill just makes him look weak sauce and lame. Can you imagine Superman needing a glider to get around, or aquaman wearing a portable breathing tank? Just grinds me no end.

I agree. I think Williamson needs to evolve that story point.

[Frontier]

Ah, the Cosmic Treadmill is awesome .

It also makes sense that Barry would have something to help with time-traveling given how difficult that would probably be to pull-off naturally

[FlashEarthOne]

Ah, the Cosmic Treadmill is awesome .

It also makes sense that Barry would have something to help with time-traveling given how difficult that would probably be to pull-off naturally

I will quickly lose interest in all Thawne related storylines if they play out like this issue. Superman doesn't get slapped around by Darkseid with that kind of ease. Batman is't the best fighter in the DCU and he never gets beaten hand to hand with that kind of ease. Hopefully Williamson starts putting some energy into making Barry the Fastest Man Alive.

I really liked this issue but I also really disliked that aspect of it. If he improves on that aspect no big deal... if not I'm not sure that I'll remain much of a fan.

[Frontier]

I will quickly lose interest in all Thawne related storylines if they play out like this issue. Superman doesn't get slapped around by Darkseid with that kind of ease. Batman is't the best fighter in the DCU and he never gets beaten hand to hand with that kind of ease. Hopefully Williamson starts putting some energy into making Barry the Fastest Man Alive.

Eh, depends on what you're reading/watching.

I imagine Barry will give a better showing come time for his final fight with Thawne in this arc.

[FlashEarthOne]

Eh, depends on what you're reading/watching.

I imagine Barry will give a better showing come time for his final fight with Thawne in this arc.

Maybe there has been. I've just never seen Darkseid basically make Superman look completely incompetent. Batman always seems to be able to fight back on some level. Barry couldn't even touch Thawne...

I hope he has a stronger and more decisive showing than the final fight with Godspeed.

[Waterfall]

I'm actually happy Thawne wiped the floor with Barry. Reverse-Flashes should be more powerful than their Flashes so they wouldn't be used in every single arc. After this arc. they should give a rest to Thawne for a while imho. He is at his best when he is used sparingly, which made his (&Zolomon's) appearences in volume 2 so awesome. If Barry and Eobard match in speed, Rverse-Flash will lose a lot of his cool aura.

The new origin is basically old one with "every second is a gift" flavor, that motto seems to become a big arc word that will be a corner stone of Flash mythos moving forward, much like death of Nora Allen.

I'm enjoying this arc. so far. It is nice to see bad things are slowly being undone.

[FlashEarthOne]

If Barry and Eobard match in speed, Rverse-Flash will lose a lot of his cool aura.

In the process also making the title character lose his "cool aura" especially when he is supposedly the best at his singular power. To each their own I guess.

[Waterfall]

In the process also making the title character lose his "cool aura" especially when he is supposedly the best at his singular power. To each their own I guess.

Reverse-Flash isn't a normal villain though. He's like a sudden earthquake. If Barry easily beats him, then there is no point in dreading him anymore. Look at Wally, he still couldn't see Hunter more than a blur when he combined entire family's speeds. With characters like Captain Cold or Godspeed, you are right, but Reverse-Flash should be the ultimate evil force where Flash needs to retort to help of his family and his wits.

[Frontier]

Maybe there has been. I've just never seen Darkseid basically make Superman look completely incompetent. Batman always seems to be able to fight back on some level. Barry couldn't even touch Thawne...

I hope he has a stronger and more decisive showing than the final fight with Godspeed.

I don't think Barry looked incompetent here, but that's just me.

I think the difference between this and Godspeed was that storyline was built around cementing Barry and Wally II's partnership, so thus Flash needed Kid Flash to stop Godspeed.

[TooFlyToFail]

Maybe there has been. I've just never seen Darkseid basically make Superman look completely incompetent. Batman always seems to be able to fight back on some level. Barry couldn't even touch Thawne...

I hope he has a stronger and more decisive showing than the final fight with Godspeed.

Sometimes Supes is made to look much weaker than Darkseid.

Still, is it incompetent to be beaten by someone better than you? Brainiac is a Supes villain, but there's plenty of times when he needs a lot of help to beat him.

Deathstroke isn't a Batman villain, but he's been made to look like a fool by Slade plenty of times. We don't necessarily see that as incompetence, because, technically, Slade is a better version of him, but amoral.

[Buried Alien]

Pre-COIE, Flash won his fights against Reverse Flash decisively, seemingly every time.

Post-COIE, it's been a mixed bag, and I think Reverse Flash has taken the majority, often with ridiculous ease.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[FlashEarthOne]

Reverse-Flash isn't a normal villain though. He's like a sudden earthquake. If Barry easily beats him, then there is no point in dreading him anymore. Look at Wally, he still couldn't see Hunter more than a blur when he combined entire family's speeds. With characters like Captain Cold or Godspeed, you are right, but Reverse-Flash should be the ultimate evil force where Flash needs to retort to help of his family and his wits.

I never said anything about beating him easily. He should be able to beat him... especially when it is HIS singular power unlike the other heroes mentioned. Wally wasn't clowned by Thawne in The Return of Barry Allen because Waid still had Wally focused as the hero of the story. Adversaries are just as dangerous when they are equals... it makes them even more interesting. Thawne was clowning Barry worse than ever before. Also Wally could see Hunter... that is how he was able to fight him. He was even able to catch him from behind and push him before he could do his finger snap sonic boom. I guess we just have to disagree on the Reverse-Flash assessment. He is better as an equally fast evil version not some overpowered evil version. Waid's first run was a success because he never lost sight of making Wally the hero and a hero true to his title. I'm starting to doubt if Williamson has the same focus.

[FlashEarthOne]

Pre-COIE, Flash won his fights against Reverse Flash decisively, seemingly every time.

Post-COIE, it's been a mixed bag, and I think Reverse Flash has taken the majority, often with ridiculous ease.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Granted there have only been a handful of contests post-COIE but the reasons for Prof. Zoom taking those fights with ease is lazy writing to me. If he outsmarted him or it was some plot point that is great. However clowning him with pure speed seems like a joke to me. Oh well... if it doesn't change I just simply don't have to read it. This issue was a mixed bag for me already and I'm already starting to get burnt out by the extended nature of Rebirth whose end is probably a year away and just leading into another mystery/event.

[TooFlyToFail]

If the Negative SF is more stable than the SF, it's not unreasonable that Thawne is faster, and more powerful.

The hero can have villains/antagonists that are stronger than them.