While Joshua Williamson's acclaimed run on The Flash concludes on the main series with next month's The Flash #762, the longtime writer for the Scarlet Speedster tells CBR that the true finale actually unfolds in the upcoming Dark Nights: Death Metal one-shot special, Speed Metal.
With the Flash Family rallying to confront the Legion of Zoom in "Finish Line," the writer's final story arc on the main series, one hero's glaring absence is felt. Searching for redemption for his controversial role in the previous crossover event Heroes in Crisis, Wally West has been touring the DC Multiverse, an adventure that led to him recently acquiring the omnipotent powers of Doctor Manhattan. And while he's been missing from Williamson's Flash run, the Speed Metal one-shot brings the red-headed speedster back into the fold for what is basically the writer's final word on the Flash's universe.
"In the first couple issues of 'Finish Line,' it comes up immediately that Wally is missing -- it's mentioned multiple times in the book that Wally isn't there. Bart straight up asks, 'Where is Wally?' There's definitely pieces of that in this story where Wally's absence is felt by everybody and then it starts to connect to a bigger story and then it starts to connect with Death Metal through Speed Metal," Williamson teases in an upcoming interview with CBR. "Speed Metal comes out the same day as the last part of 'Finish Line,' but you have to read it 'Finish Line' and then Speed Metal; they tie into each other directly."
Promising that Speed Metal is a major part of Death Metal, Williamson also indicates that the special will put Wally back in the spotlight in a tale that builds directly from the ending of "Finish Line." And, as "Finish Line" officially kicks off this week in The Flash #759, Williamson noted that readers stopping at issue #762 won't get the whole conclusion to his run on the superhero.
"Speed Metal is a huge part of Death Metal, but Speed Metal is also, to me, not even epilogue [to my Flash run] but a huge ending," Williamson observed. "So much stuff happens in Speed Metal that's such a massive ending that ties into what we're doing on The Flash. Once you read 'Finish Line' and then read Speed Metal, you'll notice it was all connected and it was a straight line -- there's definitely some detours there -- but it's a straight line through. Wally's definitely a major part of it. I was talking [to DC] about this, and when 'Finish Line' is collected, it has to have Speed Metal last in the trade because, otherwise, you're missing a huge piece of the puzzle. There's a lot of scenes throughout 'Finish Line' where you have to read Speed Metal because it goes from this to this. I don't want to give it away, but Wally's stuff is a big part of my end on The Flash."
Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Eddy Barrows, Dark Nights: Death Metal - Speed Metal #1 goes on sale Sept. 22 from DC Comics.