The Flash #33 Review
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Gavin Guidry
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Buddy Beaudoin
Cover Artists: Gavin Guidry & Adriano Lucas
Variant Cover Artists: Juni Ba & John Timms
DC x Sonic Variant Cover Artist: Dan Hipp
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99 Card Stock
Release Date: May 27, 2026
While competitors in the Omega Tournament receive visions of
tasks they must complete, Wally West also receives glimpses of the future. But
instead of learning how to prepare for Darkseid's return, Wally sees people
falling to their deaths.
With the website www.easymoneyina.flash awarding $10,000
each day for videos of fantastic saves, these Flashes of Insight keep Wally
occupied. But while Wally rescues people from danger, he can't save everyone,
and it takes a villain to tell Wally that someone has played him. How did the
uranium thieves send Wally his Flashes of Insight? And can Wally and Captain
Cold locate the thermonuclear bomb before it detonates? Let's leap into The
Flash #33 and see!
Story
When Wally West and Captain Cold reached a private airport hangar
outside Central City, they discovered that the thieves had already constructed
their bomb and departed. As Wally searched through the building, he discovered
the timer. Realizing that he only had twenty minutes until his city vanished in
a mushroom cloud, Wally raced back and frantically searched Central City. But
after fifteen minutes elapse, Wally realizes he needs to take a different
approach to finding the bomb.
In The Flash #33, Wally’s thoughts race as fast as his feet.
He ponders the ethics of his revised approach to finding the bomb. But just as
his desire to save people led more people to endanger themselves for money,
Wally remains uneasy about searching businesses and residences. Family is
everything for Wally. He dislikes intruding on other people's turf. But if he
can't find the bomb in time, the consequences will be infinitely worse than for
the boy standing before an oncoming train whom Wally failed to notice.
In Ryan North’s story, Wally thinks increasingly like a
detective. When the bomb proves elusive, he wonders who might construct it and
why. His wife, Linda Park-West, draws on her journalistic skills to lend a
hand. And just as the Justice League is relying on villains to prepare for
Darkseid’s return, Wally looks to Captain Cold for help. But as the timer ticks
down to zero, it’s up to Wally to determine why a villain might set off a bomb,
and what might inspire their actions in The Flash #33.
Art
Wally's body starts to blur as he races through traffic on a
splash page. He runs through circles laid atop a double-page overview of
Central City. When Wally reaches the office that coordinated the contest, he
finds it empty of people and equipment. Red-yellow lines trace along streets
and into buildings from overhead. Thicker yellow-red bands of light follow
Wally and wander through interiors like ribbons. Captain Cold stands still, his
expression frozen, as Wally approaches. But when Wally halts behind him, the
villain's body and face burst with life and energy.
As Gavin Guidry packs pages with horizontal panels separated
by white space, interspersing them with occasional square or vertical ones, Adriano
Lucas paints The Flash #33 with a palette of pastels. While yellow links Flash
with the glowing windows of buildings, the blue interiors have more in common
with Captain Cold. When Wally makes a crucial deduction, he arrives in a room
filled with yellow. And when he gets the Flash of Insight he awaited, Wally
sees himself in a scene colored yellow and red.
Buddy Beaudoin fills white dialogue balloons with black
uppercase letters, while Wally's small white lowercase thoughts fill red
narrative boxes. Words grow bold with intonation and shrink for lowered voices,
while emotional intensity deforms balloons. Sound effects enhance Captain Cold
employing his powers for good, Wally confronting a villain, and capitalizing on
an unexpected insight. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Fiction can inspire us to help or hurt people. As Wally
seeks one villain's aid to protect the public, he discovers how a great story
has prompted another to harm them in The Flash #33.
Rating 8.8/10
To look inside, see my preview of The Flash #33.
For what happened last time, see my preview of The Flash #32.
For how this story arc started, see my preview of The Flash #31.
