The Flashdoesn’t just run fast. For over eighty years, the Flash has been a staple of DC, and in the last thirty years, his powers have consistently exploded beyond the bounds of what any fan thought was possible - sometimes literally. Thanks to the Speed Force,the Flash does more than just stay light on his feet, and in one story in particular, his powers make him an actual human bomb.
A major piece of any good Flash story involves a decimated future that onlythe fastest of the Flash familycan help solve. This was certainly the case inThe Flash #83by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, where comic fans were shown a world in which Captain Cold finally won.
The Flash was imprisoned with a power inhibiting collar that excluded him from a connection to the Speed Force.When he finally got it off, he unleashed a stream of cosmic energy that nearly leveled the city like an atom bomb.This was the Flash at his most powerful, with a super-charged energy that required him to not use his powers in order to not destroy the whole world.
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The History of the Flash’s Power Upgrades
Barry Allen Went From Traveling Through Time to Decimating Realities
The Flash’s first appearancewas all the way back in 1940 inFlash Comics #1,by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, and his name then was Jay Garrick.But it was when Barry Allen showed up and kickstarted the silver age by running so fast that he traveled across universes that the Flash became a pillar of DC Comics.Ever since then, his powers have been growing and growing, and he’s been running faster and faster, sometimes at a heavy cost.
Flash Fact! Wally West’s Flash ran so fast that he ran to the edge of all existence, thereby outrunning his own death, because there was no reason for death to exist in a void without life.
The very best Flash comicsinvolve a heavy amount of time travel. Beginning with the idea of the cosmic treadmill, the Flash first needed an extrasensory device to help him travel into the future.Soon enough, with events likeFlashpoint,by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, Barry Allen was traveling all on his own two feet and reseting the entire history of DC at the same time.In-between these moments, Barry Allen, and his protégé Wally West, would have encounters with outrunning death and traveling into all sorts of dimensions - but nothing beats the explosiveness of this new Barry Allen power.
Barry Allen’s Speed Force Explosion Is on Par With Superman’s Solar Flare
The Flash Matches the Man of Steel in More than Just Speed
This Flash feat givesBarry Allen a redesign of god-like power.The Speed Force, the mysterious essence of creation that gives every DC speedster their fuel, turns from an energy source that allows them to run, to a source of explosive energy. In thisFlashrun by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, Barry eventually learns how to pull back on his connection to the Speed Force in order to not destroy the world -meaning that the Flash will always be pulling his punches.
It only makes sense, considering Superman is powered by solar radiation, and this is just like the Flash, whose source of power is the Speed Force that can now be supercharged as well. Both the Flash and Superman are learning how to use their own fuel sources as weapons.
This powerful idea is reminiscent ofSuperman’s solar flare power, which is one of his most recent power changes. As an extension of his heat vision,Superman can supercharge his own body with his heat vision and explode like a star going supernova.It only makes sense, considering Superman is powered by solar radiation, and this is just like the Flash, whose source of power is the Speed Force that can now be supercharged as well. Both the Flash and Superman are learning how to use their own fuel sources as weapons.
The Flash Learns How to Cheat Reality Too
Wally West’s Newest Sidestep Powers Changed the Speedster Game
This isn’t the only lesser-known superpower of the Flash, considering the reveal ofhis most recent sidestep powers.InThe Flash#6, by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr,the Flash finds out that he can run so fast he can sidestep reality.This is a version of the Flash that is well beyond a speed that allows him to time travel but completely manipulate reality according to his own whims. With the ability to slip between all possible universes, the Flash has had a long road to being well on his way to becoming a god.
And he’s nowhere near done yet. It’s even been argued that theFlash has the combined powers of the Fantastic Four. His speed can help him punch as hard as Superman, his electrical abilities can heat up his body, his connection to the Speed Force can help him manipulate cosmic energy and phase through matter, and finally, that his very speed allows him to read infinitely to be as brilliant as Mr. Fantastic.With powers like these, including his Speed Force blast, the Flash’s cardio-based powers might be a thing of the past.
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In new pages from DC’s Absolute Flash, Wally West’s villains are revealed for the first time, making changes that couldn’t appear anywhere else.
The Flash’s Detonation Powers Make Him DC’s Deadliest Hero
Barry Allen Learns To Control His Powers at the Cost of His Own Speed
Undoubtedly, the Flash’s ability to supercharge himself makes him a dangerous foe. In the course of this comic by Williamson and Sandoval, the Flash has to learn to save the world without any connection to the Speed Force, as it is too dangerous. Without his power-inhibiting collar, he slips between realities without choice, leaving a wake of destruction behind him.The collar Captain Cold placed on him isn’t solely to remove his powers and render him weak but to stop him from destroying the whole world.
This is a hero who can run not only into the future but any possible timeline - and always, he’s holding at bay the ability to explode with the essence of the Speed Force. As such, he sacrifices his speed, because to run as fast as he can is to doom the entirety of existence to doom.
Yet, the Flash manages to control his power.The Flash has recently been returning to gloryin comics, but it’s important to remember that he’s still holding back. This is a hero who can run not only into the future but any possible timeline - and always, he’s holding at bay the ability to explode with the essence of the Speed Force. As such, he sacrifices his speed, because to run as fast as he can is to doom the entirety of existence to doom.Comic fans may never see the Flash at full speed, because to do so would be the end of comics.
The Future of the Flash’s Powers Are Bright
DC’s Newest Absolute Flash Races to His Debut
Thanks tothe living Speed Force, the Flash is one of the most powerful characters in DC Comics. With his time travel capabilities and his sidestep powers, he is more than just a speedster, but a hero completely controlling reality. As the Speed Force grows in consciousness in modern comics, fans will get a glimpse of this new relationship between the cosmic force and their favorite speedster. In the end, the Speed Force is just the fuel, whilethe Flashis the very engine of DC - the fastest one there is.
