Times have been tough for Wally West ever since he was restored to the DC Universe. While the one-time Flash has endured the loss of his family -- due to wholesale revisions to reality -- he's been left with immense guilt, following his actions during the 2018 crossover event Heroes in Crisis. Wally's remorse was addressed at the start of Jeremy Adams' run on The Flash, kickstarting the Infinite Frontier era for the DCU. The Flash Annual #1 appropriately ends Adams' opening arc with a bombastic conclusion that sets a new course for Wally West.
Serving as the culmination of Adams' work on the Scarlet Speedster rather than a standalone story, The Flash Annual #1 picks up where the most recent issue of the main series left off. After traveling through time and space to meet different characters linked to the Speed Force, Wally has arrived at his most infamous moment during Heroes in Crisis. Confronting his rock bottom once again, Wally has to contend with his remorse head-on while facing one last major obstacle if he truly wants to reclaim the mantle of The Flash and his career as a superhero.
From the start of his run, Adams has always had a strong grasp of Wally's voice and that of his longtime mentor Barry Allen. That mastery of voice continues in this issue, showcasing Adams leaning more into DCU's history and its cast of characters. While this issue addresses both Wally's ongoing crisis of conscience and the mysterious fluctuations within the Speed Force, it relies on an awful lot of exposition and to a distracting degree. Some of this is expected, but, even the action sequences are overloaded with dialogue, detracting from its artwork.
Artists Fernando Pasarin and Brandon Peterson work with colorists Hi-Fi and Michael Atiyeh, respectively. Pasarin and Hi-Hi illustrate the sequences set during the Heroes in Crisis portion of the story while Peterson and Atiyeh bring the sequences set during DCU's present to life. Pasarin's linework excels during the more emotional parts of the story and during much of the annual's big action set pieces. Hi-Fi's color palette makes these sequences feel like a natural continuation of Heroes in Crisis. Peterson and Atiyeh's sequences are more shrouded in shadow, with this moody approach operating best in their portions' quieter moments.
At the start of the Infinite Frontier era, Adams set out to develop a new, redemptive direction for Wally West. While West's journey and his story arc's finale is noticeably uneven, at times, Adams has succeeded in his goal. For Flash fans who have been hoping to see justice for Wally West, The Flash Annual #1 delivers on that promise and firmly puts Wally back on the boots of being the DCU's Scarlet Speedster. While the exposition can run heavy at times, throwing off the issue's pacing, Wally West fans will be more than pleased with its final result.
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