The back-up story at least gets to reach some kind of conclusion, even if it is rushed and generic, with the Stormwatch gang defeating the vampires and making it out alive, if maybe a little humiliated. Barely anything is learned about the characters involved, and with the lack of substance in the main story, if the price point is to be justified more attention should be given to that end.

If there's one thing that can continue without needing a change it's Sean Phillips' art, which is again wonderfully gritty and properly noir, even as we move farther away from its conventional time period.

All scenes involving Andi end up as the standout examples of the artwork by Pepe Larraz, as she is perfectly sarcastic and disinterested while she skips class only to be looking delightfully mischievous after seeing Flash "venom-out". Lee Loughridge continues as the color artist bringing a bright and colorful feel to school scenes and an almost noir look to the night set-pieces that make up the bulk of the action.

After spending so much time trying to move out of the shadows of isolation Flash must now keep himself there to protect others who may get too close. With Toxin and the new alien experiments to worry about (although he's not aware of the latter yet) Flash must selflessly embrace solitude.

When David made the pledge to be more proactive than the X-Men proper, it was obvious the debate of stopping someone or something before it even did anything was going to pop up eventually. While David does make some good points, it was obvious that Ruth was not going to agree with him, so the outcome was never in question, but it was still sad to see the two of them so unhappy with what just happened, and an interesting shift in tone for what had been a fairly humorous book the last few issues.

Even the city itself seems devoid of people, almost like Flash is living in a ghost town populated only by monsters. While his life is looking to get more hectic soon, it's still nice to see a superhero comic dealing with an issue so mundane and regular as isolation.

The revelation/twist at the end leaves the door open for more to come but still provides enough closure to properly end the first arc.

I'm a sucker for alternate futures and dimensions, especially when this involves alternate versions of established characters, and while this story arc has been full of this kind of content, it has at times lost its focus to explore this new world, and this issue was an example of that problem.

While this peace in his life likely isn't going to last, it was nice to see Flash out of his element and taking time to grow as a character and as a person.