Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artists: Eder Messias & Tom Derenick
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Cover Artists: Will Conrad & Lee Loughridge
Flash Gordon #15 delivers a finale that feels both earned and emotionally satisfying. Jeremy Adams and Eder Messias close out their run with an issue that balances pulpy sci-fi action, character-driven drama, and a long-simmering thematic payoff. This series has been about consequences from the very beginning, and this final chapter brings that thread full circle in a way that feels true to Flash.
The result is an ending that feels grand without losing its heart. It’s classic Flash Gordon spectacle, but grounded in something more meaningful: redemption.
Into the Cave of the Ancients
Flash enters the laboratory in the Cave of the Ancients.
The issue opens in the Cave of the Ancients on Mongo, with Flash racing against both his alternate counterpart and Ming. Right away, Adams leans into the swashbuckling side of the character. Flash uses suspended laser projectors like monkey bars to evade gunfire, dodging blasts and thinking several steps ahead. It’s a reminder that this version of Flash is defined as much by cleverness as by courage.
Alternate Flash, in contrast, is all aggression. He loses his temper quickly, firing blindly when our Flash outmaneuvers him. Ming, ever composed, calmly instructs him to disintegrate the rock, triggering the laser gate so they can continue the pursuit. The contrast between these three men has never been clearer: one ruled by principle, one by instinct, and one by ambition.
Once inside the ancient chamber, Flash finally comes face-to-face with a holographic remnant of Mongo’s original civilization. The Ancients question his motives for seeking time-travel knowledge, reminding him that he was the one who accidentally destroyed Mongo earlier in the series. It is a pointed confrontation, but Flash does not deny his failure; instead, he admits he wants to undo it. That humility matters.
The Ancients grant him the knowledge, but at a cost. They warn him that he must sacrifice something—though they refuse to say what—and that once he uses the knowledge, it will vanish, as it is too vast for his “simple mind” to retain. When Flash grasps the baton and absorbs the information, it turns to dust. The power is fleeting; the responsibility is not.
Flash vs. Flash
Alternate Flash meets his end at the hands of Ming.
Before Flash can act, Ming and the Alternate Flash arrive. In a telling slip, the doppelgänger reveals he sought the same knowledge—not to save a world, but to conquer yet another universe as he did his own. Flash immediately exploits that arrogance, reminding Ming how much he despises betrayal. It’s a quintessential Flash move: he doesn’t have to overpower his enemies when he can outplay them.
The fight that follows is brief but brutal. Alternate Flash even lands a German suplex, and for a moment, it looks like our hero is beaten. Then Ming intervenes, blasting the alternate Flash through the chest in a cold, decisive act. Ming may be a tyrant, but he has zero tolerance for treachery from those he considers beneath him.
Of course, Ming immediately turns his weapon on Flash, demanding the knowledge for himself. But Flash cannot give it to him; he doesn't understand it in a transferable way—he can only experience it. Flash appeals to Ming’s love of Mongo over his hatred for him, but Ming rejects that framing. In his own twisted mind, he is Mongo’s savior, and he will settle for nothing less than total control.
Their firefight triggers the lab’s self-destruction. Ming escapes via jetpack, but Flash clings to him, riding his greatest enemy out of the collapsing cave in a classic pulp escape. It is big, loud, and exactly what a Flash Gordon climax should look like.
Rallying the Heroes
Mongo begins to reform.
After crash-landing, Flash defeats Ming and commandeers the jetpack to return to Mingo City. Along the way, he rescues Vultan and Talon from a pursuing fighter, reminding us that Flash never forgets his allies, even in the midst of a catastrophe.
Back in the city, Dale, Aura, and Barin are fighting a losing battle while Zarkov works frantically to repair the machine that brought the Alternate Flash to their universe. A giant robot seems poised to end the resistance, but Flash crashes through the ceiling, dropping debris onto the machine in a perfectly timed heroic entrance. It is pure comic book spectacle—and it works flawlessly.
The emotional core of the issue arrives when Flash utilizes the knowledge from the Ancients to modify the Unraveller. Instead of tearing reality apart, he recalibrates it to send Mongo back in time to the moment before its destruction, restoring the world to wholeness. The man who accidentally broke the planet has finally become the man who saves it.
However, the cost of the Ancients' gift soon becomes clear. As Mongo returns to its original place in the galaxy, it will become unreachable from Earth by any known vessel. Flash and his friends are forced to face a heart-wrenching reality: they must say goodbye.
The Cost of Redemption
Flash says goodbye to his closest friends.
The farewell scenes are handled with remarkable restraint. There is no forced melodrama—just a quiet, sincere acknowledgment of what has been shared and what must now end. Flash, Dale, and Zarkov part ways with Aura, Barin, and Vultan, fully aware that they may never see one another again.
It is a poignant resolution: Flash fixes his greatest mistake, but he doesn’t get to keep the world he fought so hard to build. Redemption, in this instance, comes with a heavy side of loss. That thematic throughline is what elevates this finale beyond a simple sci-fi adventure.
For a series rooted so deeply in pulp tradition, this run has consistently injected genuine emotional weight into its cosmic spectacle. The action never overwhelmed the heart of the story; if anything, the scale of the stakes only amplified the humanity of the characters.
Final Thoughts and What’s Next
Flash Gordon #15 is a strong conclusion to a strong run. It delivers satisfying action, clear character arcs, and a thematic resolution that feels earned rather than convenient. Jeremy Adams understood that Flash works best when he’s both daring and decent, both larger than life and deeply human.
The issue ends this chapter, but not the character. With issue #0 launching in April under Dan As finales go, this one feels right. It honors the past, closes the loop on its central conflict, and leaves the door open for the next adventure.
Rating: 8/10
A triumphant finale that blends pulp spectacle with genuine emotional payoff, proving that Flash Gordon’s greatest strength has always been his heart. Flash Gordon #15 delivers a finale that feels both earned and emotionally satisfying, bringing its long-running redemption arc full circle.