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The Flash 50th Anniversary Special #1 is a delightful showcase of the early writing ability of Mark Waid, with additional writing from Len Strazewski, Gerard Jones, and William Messner-Loebs.
Along with the great writing, the story was brought together in the art, with penciling from Mike Parobeck, Irv Novick, Carmine Infantino, and Grant Miehm, inking from Jose Marzan Jr., Dick Giordano, Josef Rubenstein, and Tim Dzon, lettering from Tim Harkins, Albert De Guzman, and Gaspar Saladino, and coloring from Glenn Whitmore. Brian Augustyn contributed as well as the editor for each story. This ambitious crossover of extremely talented individuals resulted in the birth of a well-paced, engaging tale of a generations-long battle against a familiar foe.
The Story
We are plunged into a dystopian Central City, where one John Fox and a group of scientists seek the aid of Scarlet Speedsters from seven hundred years in the past. At three different points in time, Jay Gerrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, the legendary Flashes of the past, were in the midst of a battle against the formidable Manfred Mota, aka “Atom Smasher” and “Professor Fallout.” Fox travels back in time using a machine he and his colleagues developed and briefly runs into each Speedster, attempting to persuade them into returning to the future with him. Unfortunately, Fox returns to his own time empty-handed.
Upon returning, Manford Mota, this time, in the form of a huge radioactive sludge monster, attacks Fox’s associates’ lab, causing Fox’s re-entry to go awry and grant him the power of super speed. In a heated final battle against Mota, Fox uses his newfound abilities to lure Mota towards Barry Allen’s experimental Cosmic Treadmill, where Fox carries Mota 50 MILLION YEARS into the past. With Mota defeated, Fox returns to his own time and takes up the mantle as his generation’s Flash.
The Substance
John Fox inevitably defeats the bad guy and all it took was the destruction of most of Central City in a dystopian future and the death of John Fox’s scientist friends! The Flash 5th Anniversary Special #1 deals with many dark themes like that throughout the different stories, like when Mota literally melts himself into the Earth’s crust when defeated by Wally West, or when Professor Fallout builds a nuke and puts it in the middle of Central City with the hopes of eventually detonating it.
This definitely goes to show that the writers will NOT hesitate in going “too dark” in their stories. This, however, isn’t all bad! Many stories in the world, like The Flash 50th Anniversary Special #1, need to have a certain level of severity or tragedy in order to convey the seriousness of the situation at hand. In the case of John Fox, the destruction of what he held dear was necessary for him to be shaped into the hero he became at the end.
The Minutiae
Subtly placed in every story within The Flash 50th Anniversary Special #1, there are little tidbits of scientific information. Typically, these are placed when the Flash or another scientist begins to ramble about certain scientific principles pertaining to super speed and without them, the reader wouldn’t have a clue what any of them were talking about. It was also nice to see the writers include ACTUAL scientific facts that help understand fictional concepts, like super speed.
Additionally, the artistic feel of each sub-story really emphasized the fact that each story was taking place during a different time. With Jay Gerrick’s story, the oldest Flash of the bunch, the art style, combined with the “old-timey” dialogue from each character reflected how he was the Flash of an earlier time: the 1940s and early 1950s. Wally West’s story, however, showcased a more contemporary and bold art style to reflect the change in time and a “modern-day” setting, seeing as he is the youngest of the Flash bunch.
The changing art styles for each story, although a small detail, helped convey the passage of time between each story, which was necessary in order to tell the over-arching story of John Fox vs. Manfred Mota.
The Verdict
The Flash 50th Anniversary Special #1 is not only the perfect conclusion to a reoccurring battle against a long-time foe, but it also invites a brand-new story to be told. Well, I suppose “brand-new” isn’t really the correct term here, seeing how this is a comic from 1990, but that’s beside the point.
This particular issue is perfect for everyone: whether you’re an avid Flash fan, or you haven’t touched a single Flash comic a day in your life. If you’re ever in a comic shop, post-pandemic, and happen to spot this issue from the corner of your eye, definitely pick it up and have a read for yourself!
