- You know, every time someone has a "team-up", rumors hit the spandex grapevine. We all talk. The Ray is a mooch, Halo will talk your ear off, and Animal Man and his family actually send fruit baskets.
- — Flash
The Flash (Volume 2) #191 is an issue of the series The Flash (Volume 2) with a cover date of December, 2002. It was published on October 30, 2002.
Synopsis for "The Brave and the Beaten"
Cliff drives Linda across the Keystone city limits. Linda gets the impression that Cliff wants to be more than just close friends however. She grows nervous and Cliff does little to assuage her fears.
In the heart of the city, Fred Chyre, Jared Morillo and Hunter Zolomon take note of a giant Beanstalk that has sprouted up from the ground, growing towards the heavens[1]. Police officers try to cut it down, but have been unsuccessful. The Flash arrives and tells them that the one responsible for the beanstalk is Brother Grimm. Suddenly, a horde of purple dragons swoop down out of the sky and begin attacking the city. Fortunately, Flash finds assistance from an unlikely ally – Hawkman. Hawkman stabs one of the creatures with a spear and it plummets to the ground. Flash finds a length of chain and uses it to bind another of the monsters.
From a distance, Cliff and Linda watch the melee. Cliff's body begins to transform, and he reveals that he is actually Brother Grimm. He considers Linda to be a princess and declares that he has fallen in love with her. He uses his magic and starts recreating his home realm of Eastwind in Keystone City.
Flash and Hawkman finish off the dragons, and race off to confront Brother Grimm. While Flash saves Linda, Hawkman snatches Brother Grimm's sword. He knows that this weapon is the only thing that can cancel Grimm's power, and he uses it to cut down the beanstalk. Immediately, all of Brother Grimm's magic dispels and he disappears. Flash asks Hawkman how he knew about the sword, and Hawkman tells him that this isn't the first beanstalk that he has chopped down in his lifetime. The two heroes thank each other for their assistance and take off in separate directions.
Meanwhile at Iron Heights Penitentiary, Gorilla Grodd awakens and prepares to escape from prison.
Appearing in "The Brave and the Beaten"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Gorilla Grodd (Cameo)
- Peek-a-Boo (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
- Eastwind (Behind the scenes)
- Missouri
- Central City (Cameo)
- Kansas
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The title to this issue, "The Brave and the Beaten" is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the DC Comics title, The Brave and the Bold.
- Gorilla Grodd made a behind the scenes appearance in The Flash (Volume 2) #179. He becomes the feature villain for the next story-arc beginning in issue #192.
- Fred Chyre, Linda Park and Jared Morillo all appeared last in The Flash (Volume 2) #189.
- Hawkman (Carter Hall) appeared last in JSA #40. He appears next in Hawkman (Volume 4) #8.
- Hunter Zolomon appeared last in The Flash (Volume 2) #190.
Trivia
- The tagline to this issue is "It's a Grimm World... We Just DIE in it!"
- Wally notes that heroes always exchange stories about other heroes when they experience solo team-ups outside of operating in groups like the JLA or JSA, citing The Ray, Halo and Animal Man as examples, with the stories he's heard varying between describing Hawkman as a moody savage who discusses art between blows or a complete professional, while Hawkman notes in return that anyone working with Wally always feels that he would make his uncle proud.
- Hawkman alludes to the notion that one of his past incarnations was that of Jack the Giant-Killer. This identity is analogous to that of the Vertigo character Jack of Fables.