By A lot of people who are reading Infinite Crisis are not hardcore DC fans; even if you are a DC fan, you may not have read the Flash for the past 20 years. What is the Speed Force and who were those guys in Infinite Crisis #4? To answer that, we are going to go back to the beginning-to Barry Allen, the Flash of the Silver Age of comic books.
Barry Allen always assumed that his origin was tied up with a bolt of lightning striking his laboratory. The chemicals that splashed over his body supposedly transformed him into the scarlet speedster. But in a flashback shown in Speed Force Special #1 (1997), we could see that Barry started to doubt this theory. After an encounter with a villain called Cobalt Blue, who seemed to withdraw the speed power from both Barry and Wally West (Kid Flash at that point), Barry suspected a greater force was at work.
Everyone knows by now that Barry Allen died in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series. He went out like a hero, running circles around the Anti-Monitor's machine in order to destroy it. However, what most new fans won't know is that this is only half of the story…
In 1988, DC published Flash Annual 2 (Vol. 2), featuring the Secret Origin of Barry Allen. It was written by a wonderful writer named Robert Loren Fleming and drawn by Flash's co-creator, Carmine Infantino. In this story, which actually covered most of Barry Allen's life, we see at the end that he transformed into a creature of pure energy…
…and eventually became a lightning bolt, going back in time and striking Barry's lab full of chemicals. In effect, he created himself. Who knows if DC's current generation of writers remembers this annual? Is it still canon? But I like it, only if I can say that the lightning bolt is not an endless, repeating loop, and that it eventually goes to the Speed Force. We would have to wait seven years to ask these questions...
In Flash #1 Vol.2 (1987), we see that Wally West is making good on his promise to become the Flash (which he stated at the end of Crisis). His speed power is nowhere near Barry's, as he can barely match the speed of sound. A trip across America to deliver vital supplies takes an hour and Wally's so exhausted at the end that he has to scarf down a ton of fast food to restore his energy.
Wally's quest to regain Barry's speed was a recurring theme in the new Flash's first 90 issues. When Mark Waid took over, Wally's scientist friends kept telling him that it wasn't possible for any human being to run as fast as Barry. After a trip through time, (courtesy of Zero Hour) Wally runs past the speed of light-but he pays a price. In Flash 95, Linda stumbles through a doorway to find that Wally is becoming a being of pure energy!
To make matters worse, Wally's seen a glimpse of the future-that he will die saving Linda-dissipating into pure energy. Despite all of Wally's best efforts to avoid his fate, it comes true at the hands of Kobra. In Flash 99, Kobra fires an energy weapon at Linda. In order to stop it, Wally must run faster than ever before. He saves Linda and explodes in a flash of light.
In Flash 100, Central City has a big problem. It is sealed off from the rest of the DC Universe, and Kobra's terrorist cell is in control. Linda Park proves she is no pushover and manages to survive on her own. Just as Kobra finally corners Linda and gets ready to kill her, Wally returns, surrounded by bolts of lightning. He defeats Kobra using speed powers we've never seen him wield.
Wally tells Linda that he made it "…to the other side of the light. I became part of some force…some power." Of what, he isn't sure: "I remember less with every passing second. It was like looking at the face of God. I couldn't comprehend a billionth of it…and yet it's a part of me now…more than it's ever been for any man alive. I have a direct line to the force of speed." He's the only man to ever merge with the Speed Force and return to our plane of reality. Wally returned because of love, the love he had for Linda Park, which is restated in Infinite Crisis #4.
We see evidence of his new powers in Flash 101, when he lends his speed to Linda for a little jaunt. In Flash 102, he's powerful enough to beat Mongul. Wally's power grows in his own title and in Grant Morrison's JLA series.
More mysteries of the Speed Force were revealed during the crossover event "Dead Heat". A new villain called Savitar is menacing the entire line of speedsters. He knows more about the Speed Force than Wally, yet he lacks one talent that Wally has-he can't merge with it. By drawing the speed from Wally's allies, Savitar hopes to attain that goal. Impulse, Jay Garrick, Max Mercury, Johnny Quick, and Jesse Quick (his daughter) invade Savitar's palace along with Wally. During the battle, Johnny Quick runs faster than ever before to save Jesse, and takes a one way trip to Speed Force central.
The climax to "Dead Heat" features a race between Wally and Savitar, as the latter races to kill Linda in retribution for the destruction of his palace. During the race, Wally realizes the only advantage that he has over Savitar. He takes Savitar directly in the heart of the Speed Force, becoming a being of energy once again.
Now Wally fully realizes the nature of the Speed Force: all speedsters eventually come to reside there. As long as Wally has Linda, there's a focus for him to return to. This special ability is what makes Wally unique, no matter how many speedsters are in the DC Universe.
In Infinite Crisis #4, we saw three people emerge from the Speed Force: Barry Allen, Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury-the mentor of Bart Allen when he was called Impulse. How did Max wind up in the Speed Force?
It was explained in the last issue of Impulse (#89). An adversary of Jay Garrick's called the Rival was imprisoned within the Speed Force. The Rival lured Max Mercury into the Speed Force and swapped places with him. Max is imprisoned in the Speed Force while the Rival is running around in a time machine. (At least, that's the last I saw of him.)
Where did Wally go at the end of Infinite Crisis #4? He tells Linda that it's not the Speed Force-something else is calling him away. Linda kisses him and refuses to let him go alone. How can she go without any super powers?
The answer seems to be within Wally and Linda's kids. Wally's energy spreads around as he kisses Linda, igniting the powers within their children, who seem determined that the whole family stays together. I didn't realize this when I first read this issue, but the boys over at Comic Geek Speak posited this theory and it is sound. We know that the children of speedsters usually inherit their powers.
When you first hear about the Speed Force, it sounds corny, like a bad Star Wars ripoff. But there's no hokey religion associated with it. On a Fanboy Radio interview with Brian Augustyn (the Flash editor during this period), I posted a question that Scott asked him: Why was the Speed Force created? His answer (as I remember it): it was created as a way to tie all the speedsters together. To preserve the legacy that started with Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and continues to thrive with Wally and Bart Allen. And that's why I love the Flash…that sense of history and evolution. Nuff said.
Wow, great summary. I've never really been into the Flash but I picked up The Secret of Barry Allen, Geoff Johns' recent arc, and now I'm interested in the history of the speedsters. Thanks for the direction on where to look for more.
Thanks for the 101 on this. I'm a marvelite, but recently saw the cover of the new Flash #1 and started collecting it. I was already familiar with Crisis on Infinite Earths from back in the day (one of my few 'cheating' moments outside of Marvel's continuity), but didn't know the whole story on Flash. Thanks to this, now I've finally figured out what I've been reading in the first few issues. I may keep collecting it now.
Side note, are you also checking out Ion ?