“Yesterday’s” Comic> Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends part 2

“We’re going to need a bigger bug zapper.”

Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends part 2

FINAL ISSUE

DC Comics (1997)

“End Run”

WRITERS: Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn

PENCILER: Val Semeiks

INKER: Chip Wallace

COLORIST: Ian Laughlin

SEPARATIONS: Android Images

COVER ART: Dave Johnson

LETTERER: Albert DeGuzman

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt

EDITOR: Paul Kupperberg

[continued from last issue] Jay is dying of a side effect of his powers combined with his age. But that takes a backseat to the evil Alien X unleashed on Earth…a horde of life energy sucking monsters that are overwhelming Earth’s heroes. Jay, Wally, Alan, and Kyle return to the alien ship and discover a path to where the aliens last came from. However, going through at the same time causes Wally and Kyle to temporarily switch personalities and costumes. (Not mind, just a bit of their personalities.) When the quartet reunite they find a way to end the alien invasion and without taking the alien queen’s life. Alan uses the portals to cure Jay of his own illness.

What they got right: The threat in this comic is really good and I like seeing the heroes teaming up. Wally and Kyle learn a bit about being the other person. Whether this leads to a better understanding is in doubt but I like the general idea. It’s also a good solution to Jay’s illness. Kyle also gets to use his artistic talents to interpret what the ring can’t translate.

What they got wrong: But why can’t Kyle’s ring translate like the other Green Lanterns before him? Was this explained at the time? I don’t think they really did anything with the Wally/Kyle switch that had any decent impact even in the story. I’m only guessing that Jay’s subplot factors into how he was able to reach the queen. But the biggest mistake is miscommunication between issues. Alien X self-destructed his ship, with him in it, last issue. There was no body and the ship shouldn’t be intact, never mind still running.

Recommendation: Faster Friends is a good two-part story with the first and then current incarnations of Green Lantern and the Flash. It’s worth checking out. And both stories can stand alone or as a miniseries.