"Spooky Speed Force Stuff."
The Flash is a DC Comics ongoing comic book series, written by Si Spurrier and illustrated by Mike Deodato, Jr., launched as part of the Dawn of DC initiative. The run began at the end of The Flash #800, and will begin proper in September of 2023.Wally West is happy and fulfilled as a superhero and family man. However, his new mastery of his Speed Force abilities open up a new world of sci-fi adventure for him. However, when he hears a dark whisper through the Speed Force, his newfound powers will see him visit new worlds, meet mysterious allies, and fight new terrors.
The Flash provides examples of:
- Art-Shifted Sequel: Mike Deodato, Jr. uses heavy shadows and emphasises cosmic horror, in contrast to The Flash (Infinite Frontier)'s brighter colour palette and more cartoony art style.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Evan McCulloch returns as Mirror Master after not being used since 2011 thanks to being rebooted from existence.
- Lampshaded in issue 3 with the return of Edwin Gauss, the Folded Man, as a Flash villain after his last appearance in One-Star Squadron. Wally isn't impressed when he learns that the mysterious force harassing him and Max through the story in the strange new dimensions they're exploring is just one of his old foes and he bails on him the moment he introduces himself.
- Deus Angst Machina: Justified, Wally and the Flash Family are suddenly riddled with personal issues despite having been fine and dandy a few months ago when the first series ended. It's revealed in issue #6 that extradimensional beings are deliberately influencing them to be miserable and infighting to break Wally's mental defences.
- Dissonant Serenity: In the initial promo image, Wally seems pretty calm and happy given that he has freaky floating eyeballs staring at him.
- Eldritch Abomination: Evan McCulloch is brought back as Mirror Master and it was revealed to have restored by the auspices of an extradimensional entity whose...appendages on panel look like tentacles made of energy with many disembodied eyeballs where suction cups would usually be.
- Extra Dimensional Power Source: Solicitations mention focus on the Speed Force that will recontextualize it as more than a power source for speedsters. It quotes Max Mercury's internal monologue from the first issue that "a font of extradimensional energy" sounds like a myopic summary, akin to a blind man describing a snake from only feeling an elephant's trunk, that barely scratches the surface of what the Speed Force is.
- Genre Shift: The series returns The Flash to the sci-fi adventure genre that was part of it during the Silver Age, though now starring Bronze Age Flash Wally West.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: Wally experimenting with new ways to use his powers results in him encountering what are said to be mind-shattering horrors.
- Happy Ending Override: The official descriptions makes it clear that, at the start of the series, Wally is in the best point he's ever been, both as a superhero and family man. Then the dark whisper starts...
- The Hero: Wally West keeps his role as protagonist Flash, carried over from Jeremy Adams' run.
- The Multiverse: Wally spontaneously jumps between dimensions, usually ending up in weird and horrific ones.
- Power Glows: Despite being covered in shadows on the promo picture, the yellow accents on Wally's suit still stand out thanks to glowing as he runs.
- Power Incontinence: Mirror Master does something to Wally that gives him the ability to vibrate into freaky dimensions. The problem is he can't control it.
- Recycled Title: Not only is The Flash the default name of all comics with a Flash as the lead, but the comic also, thanks to its release year, shares its name with The Flash (2023).
- The Reveal: It's revealed at the end of issue 6 that Eobard Thawne has been leading the empowered Rogues in a mad quest to weaponize Wally against the Source.
- Sensual Spandex: The promo image shows Wally's suit clinging so hard to his arms that we can see every sinew of muscle on his left one.
- The Walls Have Eyes: The first issue's cover sees Wally being stared at by floating eyes.
- Time Crash: The first issue has a mysterious figure trying to warn Mr. Terrific that Wally should be contained or killed to stop using the Speed Force otherwise a catastrophic collapse of the space-time continuum will ensue.
