Written by Tom King
Pencils and Inks by Clay Mann
Colored by Tomeu Morey
The final chapter of this series shows us that we all have our hang ups and things that we use in our minds to hold us back. That we all have moments where we feel alone, like no one could possibly understand the pain we may be going through, and when we feel this way how hard it can be to reach out and ask for help. This issue and series as a whole also shows us what can happen when someone who feels totally alone and without hope of helping themselves can crack and bend to the pressure of their situation. How even good people are capable of doing bad things when they aren’t able to focus and keep control, when they don’t get the help they may need how easy it can than be to spiral and fall.
This issue really hit me hard in the feels because of how raw and personal the dialogue was between the two Wally Wests in this story. The older Wally shows his younger self that he understands what the younger Wally is going through which means he’s not alone in his feelings. The older Wally also teaches his younger self that he can’t run away from what he’s done but he can face it and use himself as an example to help show others that they like him aren’t alone. That if you reach out enough there is help to be found, even if that’s just talking about what bothers you and listening to the problems of others because that will highlight how we all struggle at times and might feel alone but how could we feel alone when we’re in this struggle together.
Heroes in Crisis also hopes to show us that there is always hope no matter how dark things may seem, no matter what bad things we may have done, if we hold ourselves accountable and face the consequences of our actions by truly owning up to what we’ve done, we can one day redeem ourselves. By the end of this story we learn that failure isn’t your finish line and that facing your faults doesn’t make you weak, it builds you stronger and more capable of healing and becoming a better person.
The artwork in this issue is by far some of the saddest and emotionally moving pieces of comic art that my eyes have been lucky enough to look at. Seeing how beautiful of a moment it was when Wally fell to the ground and broke out into tears and than hugged his older self after learning he wasn’t so alone after all was so powerful, and I think Clay Mann did an amazing job as always with handling such heartbreaking content. I will definitely be saving plenty of panels from this issue into my memory for years to come because the moments are just so real and vulnerable, and well I’m kinda into that kinda stuff so yeah whatever, don’t judge me ok.
Ultimately and overall I am happy with how this series played out as a whole. We didn’t get the super happy ending we all wanted and that’s okay because what we were given was a chance to see one of our favorite characters change and grow in a new way. If you, like Wally, have hope, maybe this new chapter in the story of Wally West will make him even stronger and give us even more reasons to believe that our heroes can overcome struggles and that so can we.
I give Heroes in Crisis #9 a 9 out of 10 BUT I’M SUPER SAD ABOUT ROY HARPER BECAUSE HE’S STILL DEAD AND THAT’S BIG SAD.
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