Warning: SPOILERS for recent issues of The Flash
Summary
I’m officially calling it: the best punch inFlashFamily history has just been thrown by none other than Linda Park-West. Though Wally West’s wife doesn’t traditionally have powers, she more than earned the knock-out punch she threw against Abra Kadabra in a recent issue — especially after he quite literally broke her mind. Not even the Flash could beat this very one-sided fight.
Linda Park-West throws her mean right hook inThe Flash#9 by Simon Spurrier, Ramón Pérez, and Vasco Georgiev. A pivotal turning point in this run’s ongoing conspiracy, Barry Allen discovers that asecret cabal of Flash rogueshad been working against the Flash Family from the shadows — includingAbra Kadabra, who had been breaking Linda’s mind, forcing her to feel a kind of emotional emptiness and distance from her family that’s very unlike her character.
Pied Piper manages to break Abra’s spell, andLinda gets her extremely earned revenge against the villain who warped her mind and emotions. As much as I’ve been fascinated bythe big, weird scope of thisFlashrun, I’ll admit I had my doubts about Linda’s emotional arc — but this punch more than made up for any concerns I had, giving Linda a moment of triumph that’s been a long time coming.
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The Flash’s son solves a perplexing mystery that shows he’s not just ready to join a team like the Teen Titans, he’s ready to join the Justice League.
Linda Park-West Is More Than Just the Flash’s Wife
Panels fromThe Flash#1 by Simon Spurrier, Mike Deodato Jr., Trish Mulvihill, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
On paper, I love the idea of an emotionally struggling mother getting the spotlight in a major superhero comic. But in practice, I was a bit worried, from the first issue, that the story had so much going on that the creative team wouldn’t be able to do Linda’s arc justice. She had recently given birth to Wade and, frombeats established inThe Flash#1,seemed to be struggling with postpartum depression.
For a more upbeat story focusing on Linda — to complement this fascinating turn in her character arc — check outThe Flash 2022 Annual#1 by Jeremy Adams, Serg Acuña, Matt Herms, and Justin Birch!
This emotional shift in Linda, while a very real problem for new mothers, was a huge departure for thenormally harmonious Flash Family, and that shift didn’t always sit well with me as a fan, even if I trusted the natural ups and downs of superhero narratives. Her depression appeared to worsen as the story went on,creating a cool, unfeeling distance between Linda and Wally— one of the most beloved couples in DC history, and one of the few couples who managed to make a marriage work both narratively and as characters.
Linda Park-West Continues to Be an Essential Leader in the Flash Family
Linda Gets Her Moment of Triumph
Even as I was having them, I knew I couldn’t trust my doubts, and Spurrier and Pérez pulled through withone of the most cathartic punches I’ve ever seen in a superhero comic. I know, intellectually, that stories have to go low before they earn their moments of triumph, but somehow I forget how sweet those lows make the highs. Linda has long been one of the most complex female characters in the DC Universe, even among those who have powers and sit on teams like the Justice League. Just because she’s a “normal” wife and mother doesn’t mean she can’t punch a supervillain’s light out, especially one who hurt her and her family.
Linda will do what she does best: be an anchor — a lightning rod, a heart — for her husband and their entire Flash Family.
The Flash Family’s story has continued on in the months since Linda threw her punch, and she has more than gotten her mojo back. Now it’s Wally’s turn, as he’s still stuck in the middle of a major, cosmic problem that may cost him his mind and emotional health. But I’m more certain than ever that Linda will do what she does best: be an anchor — a lightning rod, a heart — for her husband and their entireFlashFamily. All the supervillains out there had better watch out — and never turn their backs to Linda Park-West.
THE FLASH #9 (2024)
The Flash
The Flash is the superhero name given to the DC Comics character who utilizes unparalleled speed tied to a dimensional power known as the “speed force” to overwhelm their opposition. Premiering in 1939, the original Flash arrived as Jay Garrick. Still, it would be superseded by Barry Allen in popularity and featured status, but the Flash is one character that has met many of their alternate selves. The character is typically seen as a part of the Justice League in nearly all incarnations.
