Flash War Unlocks The Secrets Of The [SPOILER] Force

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Flash #49 by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands, on sale now.

“Flash War” just exploded in a major way; not only in the personal sense between Barry Allen and Wally West, but in the most literal of senses, as the Speed Force has been ripped open unleashing long lost energies into the DC Universe.

It turns out the Speed Force was just one of the fundamental forces of the universe and Hunter Zolomon’s plan has been about unlocking the missing pieces of that puzzle. With the villain known as Zoom more powerful than ever, can the warring Flashes come together and stop him while these new forces run wild throughout the DC Universe?

Need For Speed

The concept of the Speed Force was first introduced by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo in 1994’s The Flash #91. While stopping a robbery on the Keystone-Central bridge, Wally West was forced to use Johnny Quick’s speed formula — 3X2(9YZ)4A — pushing him to a new level of speed where everything around him appeared frozen. Ultimately, it took the advice of the zen master of speed Max Mercury — whose belief in the Speed Force serves as a counterpart to Johnny Quick’s more scientific approach to speed — to help Wally master the Speed Force and break himself free.

Generally, the Speed Force is represented as a separate dimension, part of the DC Multiversal structure. According to the Multiversity Map, the Orrery of Worlds which contains the fifty-two (and counting) universes of the DC Multiverse is encircled by the Speed Force wall, which separates the Orrery of Worlds from the Sphere of the Gods, which contains the Fourth World, Heaven, Hell and The Dreaming. At certain times, speedsters have managed to breach the Speed Force wall and merge with it, which is what happened to Barry Allen during Crisis on Infinite Earths and Bart Allen during Flashpoint.

The Speed Force has become a fundamental part of the DC Universe and the Flash’s background since its creation, so much so that it made it into the Flash television show where it was anthropomorphised into an entity which Barry could converse with and receive advice from. The Speed Force is is as fundamental to the DC Universe as the Emotional Color Spectrum or The Green which connects all life on Earth. Adding similar concepts to the DC Universe is a major step in changing everything we know about how the DCU works and opens limitless possibilities for the future of The Flash family.

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May The Force Be With You

Wally West was rescued from the Speed Force in DC Universe Rebirth #1, and according to Hunter Zolomon, that’s where all the DCU's other missing speedsters are, including Wally West’s children Irey and Jai. Knowing that the Flashes will do anything for their family, Hunter was able to convince Wally to break open the Speed Force in order to rescue them, which sparked a race around the world between Barry and Wally.

Barry Allen had been in a similar situation when he attempted to save his mother from Eobard Thawne by going back in time, and inadvertently created the Flashpoint timeline. While it’s tough for Wally to see, Barry just wants him to be a better Flash than he is, and he wants to him to avoid the same mistakes he did.

Unfortunately, Wally’s love for his kids is too strong, and even the chance that Hunter is telling the truth is enough for him to race faster than he ever has done before, breaking open the Speed Force which was Hunter’s plan all along. Now, after co-opting the original classic red and gold costume worn by Barry Allen in the Silver Age, Hunter is able to access hidden fundamental forces of the Multiverse that no-one has been able to harness... until now.

Not only is he able to access the Speed Force — which he has actually never had access to before — he unlocks the Sage Force and the Strength Force, a combination that grants him psychic and super-strength powers in addition to his super speed.

It’s interesting that both The Flash and Justice League are dealing with hidden and unlocked forces of the Multiverse, leading readers to wonder if the two stories will intertwine at any point. Scott Snyder’s Justice League is currently introducing seven new forces of the universe, including an opposite “Still Force” which has been messing with Barry’s powers. Joshua Williamson is part of the “New Justice” brain trust and will be exploring the new status quo of the DC Universe following the break in the Source Wall in the upcoming Justice League Odyssey, so it wouldn’t be surprising for the Sage Force and Strength Force’s discovery to be part of the larger story of the Multiverse. What they’re capable of and what Hunter Zolomon does with them however, remains to be seen.