The United States Army has a famous slogan – “we do more before 9 AM than most people do all day.” The same can be said of Barry Allen, as proven by a story in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14. Written by Cavan Scott, with art by Travis Mercer, “The Flash: A Day in the Life” shows why Barry is called the Fastest Man Alive.
“A Day in the Life” opens with The Flash waking up besides his wife, Iris West. Every the dutiful husband, Barry gets out of bed to prepare their morning coffee. This ritual is interrupted by a call from Superman, who request’s Barry’s help in evacuating a burning building.
This kicks off a lengthy chain of events, with The Flash running around the country to help his allies. After Superman, there is a side trip to Gotham to stop a team-up between Gorilla Grodd and Poison Ivy. Once he returns to Central City, Barry also has to deal with the return of the Reverse-Flash.
The Flash goes through three adventures before his morning coffee
The final punchline of the comic is the revelation how little time passed during the course of the story. Barry heads home to grab the freshly brewed coffee, returning to bed just as Iris hits the snooze alarm on their bedside clock. All told, the story barely takes up ten minutes of time.
While this is played for laughs, it does drive home just how fast The Flash truly is. A comic can talk about relativistic speeds and the real world physics behind the Fastest Man Alive. It is more effective from a narrative standpoint, however, to showcase the Flash’s speed through a common touchstone like brewing coffee.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
