Flash 341 – 346
'Trial of The Flash Part 5'
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| He's going for an insanity plea. |
After months of litigation and an odd,
kinky, S&M assassination attempt by Flash's greatest enemies,
it's finally time for the titular trial to get underway. Courtroom
drama ahoy!
We're well aware at this point that
Flash is on trial for killing the Reverse Flash,
but what's the charge? Originally charged with manslaughter, everyone
giving the scarlet speedster the benefit of the doubt that he didn't
mean to kill the villain, the charge is replaced at the start of the
trial with second degree murder meaning that Flash, while not
planning to murder someone that particular day, did make a thoughtful
situation to kill a son-of-a-bitch. Which he then succeeded in doing.
With his bare hands, the barbarian. The doubt is no longer in Flash's
benefit.
The prosecutor
seems to have a personal grudge against the Flash, but we later see
that this is far from the case: he shakes Flash's hand and admits the
hero saved him and his family a few years prior. Far from being just
another lawyer-cliche dick, the prosecutor makes a good point for not
only pursuing the trial but also jumping the charge to the more sever
choice being that superheroes are not society's appointed protectors
but are instead self-appointed.
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| Let Flash off the hook once, and it's murder-city. |
In the beginning
people were happy to overlook the sudden appearance gaudily-costumed
people with powers who seem to follow and enforce the laws of
society. Superheroes are not an agent of change but instead an agent
of the status-quo. They prevent change in most instances; reactive
and not proactive. Superman does a lot of cool things but he doesn't
march on for change and mostly keeps out of international incidents
that would break laws. The Flash killing Reverse Flash is supposedly
the first time in the DCU that a superhero, at least in terms of this
trial, is accused to have taken it upon himself to murder another
individual, bad or not. Because the Reverse Flash was supposed to be
innocent until proven guilty; that's a tenet of most international
judicial systems. As a society, all we have to tell us Reverse Flash
was guilty of anything is the Flash's interpretation of events.
That's not good enough and it really shouldn't be. It's a strength of
the story that the reader is able to understand why someone would
want to prosecute a lovable red hero and also be able to agree with
the character. If Flash is allowed to work completely outside the law
rather than just on that odd border that vigilantes can occupy, then
what's to stop this behavior becoming commonplace? That's a superhero
tyranny and that's a big 'hell-no' for this intrepid crusading
prosecutor. Unsung hero of 'The Trial of The Flash' right here.
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| The perfect secret identity: ugly. |
This
trial is also, of course, not without its quirkiness. If it were to
just be a normal trial, where would the drama be? No, Big Sir crashes the place again
manipulated by the Flash's colorful bank-robbing bad guys into being
a man-baby assassin. Not a friend worth having Flash, especially when
his huge orange (?) mace ruins your damn face. In true comic-book
fashion Flash takes the opportunity to run (across the Atlantic, go
super-speed), mangled face and all, to the hidden African nation of
Gorilla City. This is where Gorilla Grodd comes from: a whole city
full of super-evolved, super-strong, telepathic, nude-as-hell
gorillas. While cool in a science-fiction/pulp mash-up it's still
slightly racist (go comics?). The gorilla-scientists do give Flash a
new face out of the deal though. No more Barry Allen!
In
the more soap-opera aspects of the trial, Fiona Webb, present at the
trial as a form of therapy has a mental relapse when talk of the
Flash's trial turns to Barry Allen (and still, Barry does nothing to
help the woman he wanted to marry) and, I'll skip ahead a bit here,
she's not seen again during the entirity of the story. Fiona's story
ends with her being carted to the hospital after suffering a sever
mental break from reality. I've mentioned numerous times
how much of a dick the Flash is
for not doing much to help Fiona so I won't bemoan the point here. On
a lighter note, Flash's lawyer thinks he's a dick too,
but she's still agreed to defend him. In dramatic fashion we find out
she's harbored this anger towards the Flash because she believed him
responsible for her father's death. She was wrong, it was a gangster
by the name of Goldface (he who has gold skin, Green Lantern would love this guy).
With this knowledge she can now feel safe being friends with the
murder-happy speedster.
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| Goddamn Judas. |
But,
the most damning drama is of course the testimony of one retired
superhero: Kid Flash!
Even worse, his testimony amounts to Flash had many options in
disarming The Reverse Flash that didn't have to satisfy his raging
murder boner. Things aren't looking to good for The Flash at the
close of this chapter.
But here's the
good news! The Reverse Flash isn't dead! He shows up and begins
kidnapping Flash's enemies for some nefarious reason. No, wait,
that's horrible news. I'm pretty sure The Flash is screwed now.
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| Good thing/bad thing. |
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