Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Fast Talk: Impossible Phenomena


Impossible Phenomena: And so, after countless misadventures filled with endless pseudoscientific shenanigans, Barry Allen begins to suspect that something might be just a little off kilter in his corner of the universe. After dealing with yet another disaster that seemingly defies the traditional laws of science, the fastest man alive is forced to face facts. "Stopping the menace that caused it will be much tougher because that menace is... ME!!!" Yes, our stalwart hero, like his faithful readers, has at last become aware of the fact that loopholes in logic seem to follow him around in his super-speed slipstream. "For the past several days, scientific laws have been going haywire all around me! It doesn't matter whether I'm Barry Allen or the Flash--I trigger off impossible phenomena! Can it be because scientists regard me as an 'impossible phenomenon'?" It seems that poor Barry has been taking our regular Fast Talk feature's gibes to heart. I love plot developments like this, in which a character is so rattled as to unabashedly question the very laws that govern the known universe, but what most amuses me about this particular development is the fact that the crimson comet is both self-centered and self-deprecating enough to reach the conclusion that he, personally, is the focal point of this apparent malfunction in the fabric of reality. Of course, when you're a costumed metahuman beloved by millions and burdened with righting all manner of crazy crimes committed using mad science, you're bound to take such things personally!

Issue: The Flash #246 (January 1977)

No comments: