Bunn actually manages to save the concept of this arc for me with this issue, but I'm not sure if I like where the series is going as a result.
In fighting the "Monsters of Evil," Flash tries to summon happy thoughts. When he realizes that he has none, he instead decides to focus on his rage as a motivator, using it to take control of the monsters and set them against Hellstrom. As I said last issue, I don't really buy this idea that Flash's life is so dark and dreary that he literally has not a happy thought, but Remender and Bunn both seem to think that it's the case, so I don't see much point belaboring the point. At least, in this issue, Bunn has Flash use that darkness for good purposes, if you will, so it no longer simply motivates him to whine about his childhood. (Harsh but true, lately.) Interrogating Hellstrom later, Flash learns that he was able to control the demons because of the mark he received from Mephisto as part of the "Circle of Four" arc. According to Hellstrom, all the Hell-Lords are marking their potential heirs as they prepare for the Descent, when one of them will fall farther than the others and become the "true" devil. (I'm intrigued that the Marvel Universe apparently doesn't have a "true" devil.) Hellstrom informs Flash that one of the two of them (or someone else marked by Mephisto) will become a devil once the Descent has happened, controlling a corner of Hell. Hellstrom justifies his alliance with the DAO as using all the tools available to him to make sure that he wins and suggests to Venom that it's better for him to run Hell than someone really bad.
As I mentioned above, I actually think that it's a pretty intriguing concept, this fight for the throne of Hell. The problem is that I don't really want to read about Flash being part of that contest. I liked this series when it was Flash conducting espionage and fighting to keep control of the symbiote. But, now, it's all monsters and demons. It's why I hated Peter Finch's "Batman: The Dark Knight:" these sorts of stories just seem to be a poor match for a human character who's better lurking in dark shadows and fighting human villains. As such, even though I liked what Bunn did here, I think that I'm done with this series once "Minimum Carnage" ends. I'm just not that interested in the story that Bunn wants to tell to justify spending $5.98 a month on it.
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