WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Flash #80 by Joshua Williamson, Scott Kolins, Luis Guerrero and Steve Wands, on sale now.
For the past few months, Barry Allen has been dealing with the arrival of various new Forces to rival his Speed Force. The Strength, Still and Sage Forces have all been unlocked, and they each have a user that has used their new powers for either good or bad. However, the appearance of these new Forces didn’t just create new super-powered beings; it also came with a dark consequence. As a result of these new Forces, the Speed Force is dying, and the Scarlet Speedster is slowly losing his powers because of it.
However, the Speed Force is fighting back, in the form of the Black Flash. The speedsters’ embodiment of death has been unleashed to kill the new Force users to ensure the survival of the Speed Force. Naturally, the heroic Barry Allen is more than willing to sacrifice his powers if it means saving lives, but it’s not all up to him.
Now, Hunter Zolomon’s Zoom has just joined the battle, and he has unlocked DC’s most powerful Force yet: the Forever Force.
Hunter Zolomon appeared at the end of The Flash #79 wearing a red Flash costume that was different than his usual yellow look. As we now know, the former Professor Zoom fancies himself as the one true Flash, and in The Flash #80, he shows just how far he is willing to go to prove that.
After facing Barry, Hunter manages to get control of all three of the unlocked Forces. By combining the Strength, Still and Sage Forces together, Hunter creates the Forever Force, which gives him power over time.
With this new Force in his grasp, Hunter is able to access all of history, as he demonstrates by showing multiple scenes from throughout time. Additionally, the Forever Force also seemingly allows Zoom to access the Multiverse — which makes sense since space is also his to control. While we may not yet know the full depth of the Forever Force’s abilities, it's almost certainly too much power for any one person to have — especially for someone as dangerous as Professor Zoom.
While Barry heroically sacrifices himself to save Zoom from the Black Flash, Hunter now sees himself as the Speed Force’s greatest triumph. Armed with the Forever Force, Zolomon declares himself the greatest speedster in the multiverse. We don’t exactly know what he plans to do with his new god-like abilities, but it can’t be anything good, especially since Barry foils his plan to let the Black Flash take him out. Regardless of his specific plans, The Flash #80 just unleashed the most powerful Force in the DC Universe, and it may have made Zoom the most dangerous villain in all of history.