REVIEW: ‘The Flash,’ #62

The Flash #62, published by DC Comics, is written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Christian Duce, with colors by Luis Guerrero, and the lettering by Steve Wands. It picks up with The Flash tracking down a mysterious new user of the mysterious Sage Force. The user turns out to be a young Zandarian spy named Bashir – AKA Psyche. Turns out Psyche is just starting to understand his powers. Not really knowing much about him, Barry still seeks his help to fight against the dual-threat known as Gemini, who is trying to steal both the Speed and Sage Forces.

I understand that certain heroes always see the best in people and are willing to trust them even though they may have just met. However, given everything that Barry has been through, I would’ve expected for him to be more cautious. Ultimately, the twist near the end of the comic seemed very obvious.

I wasn’t sure how’d they progress with the new concept of the Sage Force or any of the other Forces for that matter. The Speed Force is such a complex yet fascinating thing that’s been established for many years. I’d hate to see the other forces be rushed in explanation or be pointless in further issues. I’m getting the impression that these different forces are reminiscent of the four elements. That may be a very extreme connection, but I’m just excited to see how they expand on the other forces.

With the introduction of Psyche, I was hoping he would have a bigger impact on the story in the issue. I wasn’t particularly a fan of the character of Fuerza and hoped that Psyche could be a bit more captivating. His back story had the basic tragic hero trope, which already made me not care. By the end of the issue, I saw no real importance to that character. It just seemed like a test for The Flash’s sense of trust. His power was incredible and something quite unique, but that was as far as I can appreciate anything about the character. I’m hoping he has a redemption arc in future issues.

The twist at the end is what I really enjoyed about this issue. It not only sets up what’s to come, but it does in a way that gets me excited. The Flash has been in quite dangerous predicaments, but it’ll be interesting to see how he and Iris get out of this. Plus, Barry teases that his visit to Zandia could cause a big international conflict. I wonder if they’ll expand on that down the line.

Overall, I still enjoyed reading this issue. It was a bit lackluster with what went down with Bashir and Barry’s will to trust everyone, but the ending twist managed to save the issue. Having this story follow Flash War, there were bound to be dilemmas. I just hope it gets better from here.

The Flash #62  is available now, wherever comic books are sold.