The Flash #767 (Endless Winter Part 2) Review and *SPOILERS*

Crossover Blues

Written By: Andy Lanning, Ron Marz
Art By: Clayton Henry, Marco Santucci
Letters By: Steve Wands
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 8, 2020

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

We have just wrapped up a rather enjoyable story in the Flash comic but now that it is all finished up, we have something completely new to read as The Flash has been dragged into a crossover event. Now, if you’ve read any of my reviews in the past, you probably know that I am not the biggest fan of these events. Typically these events will derail ongoing stories in an attempt to raise sales across all books and ultimately I find a majority of these crossovers tend to be underwhelming or, at worst, just plain bad. Now, this isn’t always the case, there are some truly great crossover events out there in the world of comics. However, especially recently, they seem to be few and far between. However, we should always try and give each story a chance so, let’s hop into this new crossover issue and see what it has in store for us.

Our issue begins in the 10^th century in Greenland where two hooded figures enter a bar looking for someone. A local drunk points them in the right direction and the two find Black Adam who is receiving royal treatment. It is revealed that the two hooded figures are The Viking Prince and Hippolyta. There is some tension between the group but they all seem to be allied at the current moment. Before their discussion turns violent, Swamp Thing suddenly appears before them to reign them in. The group then readies themselves as they find themselves facing off with the Frost King in this time. There is some dialogue that references how the heroes of each era must face off against this overwhelming force before we flash to the present. We get a scene of Flash running across the world, which has been overcome by a worldwide blizzard. Flash gives us a lot of scientific explanations as to what is happening to the world and then via a call to the Justice League, we see what each of the members is currently dealing with.

We cut to a scene at the United Nations where Black Adam is addressing the organization as the sovereign of Khandaq. He questions the ability of the organization as well as that of the Justice League in being unable to address the source of this threat. He eventually leaves while promising that he will involve himself if nothing changes soon. We cut back to Barry who is running through an iced-over Arabian desert on his way toward Khandaq. He was instructed to meet with Black Adam in an attempt to calm the leader down and assure him that he won’t cause any unnecessary trouble. On his way, Barry comments about how he can feel the Speed Force waning inside of him. Barry tries to call Iris, but their call runs into some interference as Barry gets closer to Khandaq. Just as he reaches the edge of the country, Barry is suddenly attacked by some of the frost creatures that serve the Frost King. Barry is unable to fend them off due to his strained connection to the Speed Force but just before he meets his defeat, he is saved by Black Adam and several other super-powered individuals before Barry is taken with them.

Barry eventually awakes again in a bedroom and finds Black Adam waiting for him. Barry and Black Adam touch base with some simple questions before getting down to business. Barry reveals to Black Adam that the Justice League is currently unable to locate the Frost King in order to attack the problem at the source, however, he assures him that once they do find him, they will defeat him. Before leaving, Barry lets it slip that his power is waning and Black Adam uses his own lighting to give Barry his energy back. Barry leaves, and we get the sense that something from their conversation will be very useful to Black Adam in the near future. Barry races back to Central City to find Iris and finds her fighting off some of the frost creatures before he races in and pulls her from danger. The two share a tender moment before Barry gets back to the job at hand. This is where the issue leaves us.

Unfortunately, our fears were realized in this issue. Nothing really of proper note, aside from a conversation with Black Adam, takes place. We spend most of the issue explaining everything that is going on and the rest of the issue is Barry running around accomplishing mostly nothing. Most of the actions Barry takes are throwaway lines used for one or two panels before moving on to the next thing. It really feels like this was just done for that one conversation with Black Adam and the rest was to justify a 4 dollar price tag and frankly, it isn’t worth it. There’s some great art in this book but that’s about all I can find to praise. Even the pivotal conversation with Black Adam only lasts for 2 pages and then we continue doing nothing. Just another blatant attempt to increase sales by involving this book in a crossover.

Bits and Pieces

While there is some great art in this issue, there is almost no reason for the average reader to pick up this issue. There is one scene in it that seems to hint that there is a bigger story going on, but aside from that the rest of the issue is filler. Unless you are the type of comic fan that really likes crossovers and wants to purchase every single issue involved in that crossover, there is little to no reason for you to buy this issue.

3.0/10