Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

The Flash #203

By Loretta Ramirez
November 2, 2003 - 10:19

The costume is stiff like plastic, and his voice is too shaky to intimidate any villain, but Wally West is determined to resume his superhero role as the Flash. In "Ignition Part Three: Crash and Burn" by Geoff Johns and Alberto Dose, the world is again brilliant as The Flash returns to Keystone City.

Flawless is Johns' portrayal of West-a character who's not too smart and not too ambitious, but so optimistic that he believes himself capable of saving the world. The character's raw integrity imbues this issue, making it a charismatic and hopeful story with building action; West dons his costume, a rogue profiler arrives, a villain is wrongly accused as an older villain is updated, and West quickly meets defeat.

Dose's art continues to be effectively bleak. The atmosphere is gloomy, and people are ugly. Yet when the costume returns, so does Keystone City's spark. In a two-page spread, West finally begins to run in costume and, in the process, cuts a blazing golden path through the dull world. This scene is overly dramatic-but the return of active heroism deserves this extra emphasis.

Overall: A-

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51