When I heard about Throne of Atlantis, I was really excited to get an excuse to read Aquaman, as I had heard a lot of good about it. Instead, I got an excuse to not read Aquaman, as Geoff Johns decided this mini-crossover would be better served without the Flash. However, nobody told that to the people who did the alternate covers, so we got a couple of more images of the Scarlet Speedster.
The variant cover for issue #15 was done by Billy Tucci and Hi-Fi. It's one of those super-unique covers that you either love or hate, and I happen to love it. It is reminiscent of the famous Japanese Great Wave, and I think the Japanese spin on the Justice League characters is a fresh and fun take. Perhaps my years of Naruto-fandom has given me a liking for this style. Some may think it's weird for Superman to punch a wave of water, but I consider this a symbolic representation of an iconic fight. But I can totally understand why someone wouldn't like this cover.
The variant cover for Justice League #16 was done by Langdon Foss and Jose Villarrubia. I really have no idea what the intention was here. Everybody looks so goofy, it seems like it was done on purpose. Almost like a Mad cover. Everyone is just making the stupidest looks on their faces. I just don't get it. Apparently the Flash doesn't, either, as he's running away from the madness.
So yeah, these were the only two issues I read of Throne of Atlantis, but it seemed like a promising story. Apparently one of Aquaman's old friends felt he wasn't acting "kingly" enough, so he staged this huge war with Atlantis and the surface world. Naturally, Aquaman was eventually to straighten everything out with the help of the Justice League, but at one point, Cyborg needed to call in more reinforcements, opening the possibility of expanding the League's roster.
Of course, Cyborg didn't try to call the Flash, because he was "busy" with Grodd. I find that a bunch of baloney. While this was happening, Batman was involved in Death of the Family and Superman had his hands full in H'el on Earth, but they both found the time to battle a full-scale Atlantean invasion. It makes zero sense to me why the Flash, a founding member of the team, would be left out of its first crossover. What's even more disturbing is that this storyline marked the beginning of a trend of leaving Flash out of the Justice League. From issue #14 to #21, he only makes one appearance (and it wasn't a very good one at that). I guess Geoff Johns wanted to shake the roster up a bit, but at least he provided a good reason for Green Lantern to leave. I think the fastest man alive would need a pretty compelling reason to skip out on helping the League, but we haven't seen that. He's just been ... gone.
Oh well. Enough ranting about issues that don't have the Flash, and on to talking about issues that do have him. The following is my chronological list of every Barry Allen appearance in the New 52. I've divided the list between Active Appearances (where he's physically present and says or does something) and Passive Appearances (where he's only shown in a dream, alternate reality or picture). I've also included the scores for the issues I've reviewed, which are on a 10-point scale. I haven't included any solicited issues, because I like to wait until the issue comes out before I can determine the extent of the Flash's appearance and the chronological placement of the issue.
Active Appearances
The Flash #0 – 10
Justice League #2 – 6
Justice League #3 – 6
Justice League #4 – 6
Justice League #5 – 7
Justice League #6 – 6
DC Universe Presents #0 – 0
Action Comics #10 – 6
Batman: The Dark Knight #3 – 2
Batman: The Dark Knight #4 – 2
Batman: The Dark Knight #6 – 2
Batman : The Dark Knight #7 – 1
Captain Atom #3 – 6
The Flash #1 – 8
The Flash #2 – 9
The Flash #3 – 9
The Flash #4 – 9
The Flash #5 – 8
Justice League #7 – 4
Justice League #8 – 4
The Flash #6 – 9
The Flash #7 – 10
The Flash #8 – 9
The Flash #9 – 10
Action Comics #14 – 3
The Flash #10 – 8
Justice League #9 – 6
Justice League #10 – 5
Justice League #11 – 5
Justice League #12 – 4
Justice League #13 – 7
Justice League #14 – 4
Green Lantern #13 – 5
Green Lantern #14 – 5
Green Lantern Corps #14 – 4
The Flash #11 – 8
The Flash #12 – 10
The Flash Annual #1 – 8
The Flash #13 – 9
The Flash #14 – 9
The Flash #15 – 8
The Flash #16 – 9
The Flash #17 – 10
Superman #15
Superboy #16
Supergirl #16
Superboy Annual #1
Superman #16
Superboy #17
Supergirl #17
Superman #17
Justice League #18
The Flash #18
The Flash #19
Justice League Dark #19
Justice League Dark #20
Justice League Dark #21
The Flash #20
The Flash #21
Passive Appearances
Justice League #1 – Cover only
Action Comics #12 – 1
Resurrection Man #12 – 5
Stormwatch #0 – 4
Justice League #15 – Cover only
Justice League #16 – Cover only
Animal Man #12
Animal Man #12
Animal Man #16
Animal Man #17
Justice League of America's Vibe #1
Justice League of America #1
Justice League of America's Vibe #2
Justice League of America's Vibe #3
Dial H #11
DC Universe Presents #19
So what do you think? Is the order correct? Did I score some things too high or too low? Also, as always, let me know if I'm missing anything. Thanks again for reading — hopefully we will have many more amazing Flash stories to enjoy in the future.
Next time: A reader suggested I do some sort of a rogues gallery, so in honor of my 50th post, I will present the top 25 Flash villains I've covered so far. I hope you enjoy the break from the regular reviews.
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