Hunter Zolomon Has His Sights Set on Barry

CBR

Flash War Looms, and Wally's Most Dangerous Rogue Targets Barry

By Jon Arvedon

Published Apr 15, 2018

With 'Flash War' on the horizon, a longtime villain of Wally West has taken a sudden interest in Barry Allen.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Flash #44, by Joshua Williamson, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia and Steve Wands, on sale now.

Currently, in the pages of The Flash, Barry Allen, the dual-Wally Wests and the rest of the all-new Flash Family have been fighting tooth and nail to put an end to Gorilla Grodd’s Speed-Force-fueled power trip.

However, while the Scarlet Speedster and company are able to thwart the power-hungry primate, a far more menacing foe with major “Flash War” implications lies in wait, and he’s got Barry locked in his crosshairs.

In The Flash #44, after a defeated Grodd is brought back to Gorilla City to pay for his crimes, the Flash Family still has one more problem that needs solving: the Negative Speed Force storm that’s threatening to tear all of Central City to pieces. Naturally, the Speedsters come out on top thanks to a little teamwork, but when all is said and done, Barry is still left with one final task, and it’s one that he must address on his own.

While the rest of the team celebrates their victory, Barry races off to find Iris. Now back in his civilian attire, he’s able to find her among those who survived the storm, and without pause, the two rush into each others’ arms and share a deep and heartfelt embrace. In fact, it’s a moment so poignant that it’s even commemorated in the form of a statue in the Flash Museum of the far-flung 25^th century, where we see none other than Hunter Zolomon admiring its beauty.

“You never really knew me as Hunter Zolomon, Barry,” he says. “You were never my Flash.”

It was back in January, in The Flash Annual #1, that we learned Hunter Zolomon/Zoom would be the true mastermind behind the impending “Flash War,” which will pit Barry against the original Wally to find “see who’s the best Flash.” Still, it’s interesting to note that Zoom appears to have taken quite an interest in Barry, especially since he’s always been depicted as a foil to the Wally iteration of The Flash. Nevertheless, despite that association, Zoom claims to “know [Barry’s] profile better than anyone. Even Eobard [Thawne].”

That, in and of itself, should be reason for concern among the Flash Family. However, the fact that Zoom plans to use this information not only to turn the speedsters against each other but to destroy them is all the more troubling.

KEEP READING: Jay Garrick Teased As Part of DC’s Flash War