From the beginning, Absolute Flash has been driven by mystery. Chief among these mysteries is the fate of scientist Barry Allen and the source of Wally West‘s super-speed. The latest issue of the popular Absolute Universe series offers some answers. However, for long-time fans of The Flash in the DC Universe, the answers only raise more questions.
Written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Nick Robles, Absolute Flash #11 finds Wally West stranded in another dimension. He is greeted by Barry Allen, who tried to mentor the young teenager during the brief time they knew each other. Appearing to Wally as a red-tinted ghost, Barry confirms that he is dead, but that his consciousness continues to exist alongside other beings who somehow came to the same dimension.
Barry explains that the space they are trapped in is known as The Still Point. It is full of an energy, made up of “the pure red stuff of life itself.” Allen and the other alien scientists he met bonded with this Red Life after it destroyed their bodies. Wally is unique in that he is the first being to bond with the Red Life, but not be killed or transformed by it. The same could not be said of Eobard Thawne, who was transformed into a demonic being by the same energy.
How Absolute Flash’s “Red Life” differs from Speed Force
The Red Life and Still Point of Absolute Flash seem similar to the Speed Force of the main DC Universe. Both a field of energy and another dimension, the Speed Force empowers all speedsters across time, space and reality. However, the energy connecting Wally West and Barry Allen seems far closer to another mystic force – The Red.
In the DC Universe, The Red connects all animal life. It also empowers heroes like Beast Boy, Vixen, and Animal Man. All these characters are capable of briefly acquiring super-speed, but cannot attain the faster-than-light velocities managed by Speed Force users. This raises the question of why Barry and Wally seem to have tapped something like The Red in the Absolute Universe rather than the Speed Force.
The answer may lie in the current The Flash comic. There, Darkseid attempted to destroy the Speed Force and replace it with a corrupt Omega Speed born of his own dark influence. This would not be necessary in the Absolute Universe, which was created as a reflection of Darkseid’s will.
It is possible that Darkseid subverted The Red in his reality, forcing it to act as a substitute Speed Force. This would make sense given The Red was born of the same eternal conflict that empowers Darkseid. It may also explain why the speed powers of Absolute Flash have been so erratic and tend to function in short bursts, like those who tap The Red in the DC Universe.
Absolute Flash #11 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
