Latest news with #Eclipso
Geek Dad
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – The Flash #23: Shades of Evil
The Flash #23 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: This series took a while to find its footing, but as Simon Spurrier's run comes to a close, this final act is turning into something spectacular. This issue spins directly out of Alex Paknadel's Shade-centric special last week, as it's been revealed that Richard Swift is in thrall to Eclipso – gaining his powers from him in the first place and also owing a debt to him in exchange for Eclipso's help with Shade's dying wife – the ancient shadow immortal wishes to die with her. That's made him resigned to his new villainy, as he confronts Jai West and the Wally dupe who's gained his own awareness. The two speedsters try their best to hold Swift off, but the more experienced metahuman has the edge – until Jai tries something unconventional that turns out to be a parallel to one of the most iconic superhero movie scenes in the last decade. If I had a nickel every time a cosmic being… Trapped in shades. Via DC Comics. Meanwhile, the real Wally West – who has lost a little bit of his mind in the process as he battles to keep tabs on countless dupes – is leading his Flash army against Eclipso's shadows with the help of all the other speedsters – including one who finally makes his journey back from unknown quarters. But time is running out, and it comes down to Irey to pull off an unexpected move to give them a chance. While the run didn't start out with as much of a focus on Wally's kids, it's building in a very interesting way on the work Jeremy Adams did developing them into fan favorites. I think this run might read a lot better as a collected story – the strange, cosmic sci-fi didn't quite click on an issue-by-issue basis, but everything Spurrier did has led to this, and it's turning into a Flash story with some fascinating elements and unique implications for what it actually does to a person to be a speedster. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – The Flash: Blood Moon Special #1
The Flash: Blood Moon Rising Special #1 – Alex Paknadel, Writer; Daniel Bayliss, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist Ray – 9.5/10 Ray: Blood Moon Rising has been an intriguing final act to Simon Spurrier's controversial but compelling Flash run, seeing Eclipso take over the moon and Wally West push himself to the limit to stop him. But I've been most interested in a side player to the run – Richard Swift, aka The Shade. This roguish immortal shadow criminal turned antihero was one of the biggest scene-stealers of James Robinson's Starman, and eventually became a leading man in his own right. But in recent days, he's been turning more cruel and ruthless towards lawbreakers, and it turns out this comes from a very human matter – his lover, Hope, is dying of a mysterious illness, and all of Richard's magic is powerless to help her. And in his desperation to cheat mortality, even as Hope starts to come to terms with her impending death, Richard taps into his darkest power and returns to the site of his creation – and discovers a terrible secret. The idea that Eclipso created the Shade centuries ago makes a lot of sense – obviously, their powers are incredibly similar, but also Eclipso loves to prey on human suffering and create loyal soldiers. And now that Shade needs help, Eclipso is all too willing to help him out – for a price that will strip away the little humanity he has left. And so Shade becomes Eclipso's sentry on the moon as he builds his empire, with years passing there as days pass on Earth, until the Flash gets involved and the event kicks off. This is a fantastic character piece for the Shade, probably the best since James Robinson's maxiseries for him, and it emphasizes just how well he works as both a hero and a villain. There are some great horror segments here, as well as some surprisingly emotional moments. Paknadel has written a few Flash specials before, and I'd love him to get a shot at a full run. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – The Flash #22: Sins of the Fathers
The Flash #22 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: 'Bad Moon Rising' has been a compelling crossover so far, with Wally West combating Eclipso's takeover of the moon by splitting himself into hundreds of alternate selves – at the growing cost of his mental stability. But this issue throws a new wrinkle into things, as his kids start helping him – but not the same Wally. Jai winds up playing a key role in helping the Wally clone that resisted being reabsorbed last issue, seeing that his father is losing his mind and seeing this version as closer to the real thing. Iris, meanwhile, just wants to help – and when she joins her father in the fray, he's too busy splitting his attention to realize how far she's willing to go. This is all far more cosmic than Flash stories usually are, and Eclipso and his rogues are almost entirely off-panel for this issue. But this is one of the better stories the book has done in a while – and it completely wins me over with the surprise last-page cameo. The call. Via DC Comics. While this series has gone in some odd directions, it does feel like it's finding its groove again with a bigger focus on the Flash family. The characterization of Iris and Jai is feeling much more in line with the way Jeremy Adams wrote them, with both trying to help their father in their own way – but the tragedy of this might be that they're going to find themselves on opposite sides as a result. There are some interesting tie-ins coming up, and while this series hasn't gotten the hype of some of the other big books at DC right now, it does feel like it's finding its groove at the right time. Super-speed is one of those powers that can be really predictable – or really out there if you think about the bizarre ways it can affect someone. And the use of Barry Allen as an ex-speedster watching helplessly as his protege starts to slip away and become something new is a really good way to keep the character involved. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – The Flash #21: Army of the Flash
The Flash #21 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist Ray – 9/10 Ray: 'Dark Moon Rising', the current Flash crossover, definitely continues the strange and surreal tone of this series under Simon Spurrier – but it also escalates that to a cosmic level, with Eclipso having taken over the moon and launched a massive war on reality. The only thing standing in his way – the Flash, or rather all the Flashes. This not only includes the whole team, but Wally West has taken full advantage of his new ability to split himself into multiple copies and built an army of his duplicates – sending them in massive waves to take on the enemy, no matter how many of them get killed off. This has made him more than a little unhinged, and is wearing on his relationships with his friends and family. It's worrying them enough that they call in some extra backup for an intervention – Barry Allen, who lost his powers during Absolute Power and has been adjusting to life as a normie ever since. This is an interesting issue that's been dealt with extensively with the character of Multiple Man over at the competition – the idea of when exactly these 'dupes' become their own person. Most of them don't make it past the first wave of attack, and those that do are quickly absorbed back into Wally Prime. Wally's cavalier attitude clearly disturbs Barry, as he thinks the Flashes were never meant to be soldiers. But when a thought-dead Wally shows up, having gotten further into Eclipso's base than anyone else, things taken an interesting new turn. Wally wants to quickly absorb what this leftover has to share, but it's been so long since they were one and the same that this character is ready to go 'rogue'. There are some very interesting elements in this issue, including a close-up look at some of the villains, but what makes this issue work is how it still manages to make this very cosmic topic feel human. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
