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The Speed Force is a concept presented in various comic books published by DC Comics,[1] primarily in relation to the various speedsters in the DC Universe.
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Source of superspeed
Empowered
The Speed Force is a vaguely-defined extradimensional energy force from which most but not all superspeed-powered heroes in the DC Comics universe draw their enhanced abilities. For example, the multiple heroes named the Flash (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen), Johnny Quick, Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle, XS, the Tornado Twins, and Max Mercury draw their powers from the Speed Force.[1][2] The Speed Force is also seen as a physical space to which speedsters can travel. Max Mercury traveled through time as a result of his efforts to enter the Speed Force and ended up several decades into the future every time he made an attempt. Bart Allen could control the Speed Force and could "commune" with the spirits in the Speed Force through meditation. When speedsters die, they become one with the Speed Force as it is an afterlife for them. Max Mercury's own spirit is trapped inside following his possession by The Rival.
Non-empowered
Other DC Comics heroes with superspeed gained from magic such as Impala, Kid Impala, and Yaguareté of the Super Malon appear to have definite limits on their powers. But metahumans like Reflex (Sovereign 7), Red Shift (Freedom's Ring) Jaculi I, Jaculi II, Mas y Menos, Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash, Blur (White Martian hybrid), Baroness Blitzkrieg, and Pellmell of the Hellenders appear to have an upper limit to their speed, and no access to the Speed Force.
Black Flash
The Black Flash is the representation of Death associated with the Speed Force, and the entity responsible for claiming speedsters when they die. It appears as a rotting corpse wearing a black version (with red trim) of the Flash costume. Wally West has escaped its advances on at least one occasion. It appeared to Bart Allen shortly before his death, without luring him into the Speed Force, but witnessing his brutal beating at the Rogues' hands.
Status and future
During the events of Infinite Crisis, most of the speedsters in the DC Universe combined their powers to push Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force. Aided by Max Mercury, Barry Allen, and Johnny Quick from within the Speed Force, several Flashes vanished in the attempt, and, according to Jay Garrick, the Speed Force itself was gone.[3]
Bart Allen, dressed as the Flash, later appeared in Tokyo to warn that the speedsters could not hold Superboy-Prime, and corroborated Jay Garrick's claim that the Speed Force no longer existed.[4]
One year after the end of Infinite Crisis, the Speed Force was still believed to be missing, and Jay Garrick was the sole Flash due to his metagene compensating for the loss of the Speed Force. However, it was soon revealed that the Speed Force still existed. The Speed Force was now unstable and Bart was afraid it would kill him. According to tests run by S.T.A.R. Labs, the entirety of the Speed Force was now within Bart, who was now the only person who could use it.[5] Despite this, Owen Mercer (Bart's half brother) still displayed occasional access to the Speed Force, before[6] and after[7] Bart's death, which caused his body to generate a "background bio-electric field."[6]
When Bart died, Wally West reclaimed the mantle as the Flash and is freely using the Speed Force at will. Wally's return prevented Bart from accessing the Speed Force, inadvertently causing his death. With the Speed Force released from Bart, it returned and Jay Garrick can use it to go beyond the speed of sound as he was limited to before,[8] and Jesse Chambers' speed has returned.
In The Flash: Rebirth #4, Max Mercury revealed to Barry Allen that the Speed Force was created by Allen himself when he became the Silver Age Flash, adding on that "When [Allen runs, he generates] the kinetic wall between the present and the time barrier. It's an electrical energy that exists in every dimension, every universe, and every era. It touches every part of reality. It contains the knowledge of every place and time. The Speed Force is the all-encompassing Flash Fact."
The Speed Force had been seen in the future a number of times. A future Flash, Blaine Allen, was struck by a dilemma. His son, Jace, was infected with a virus by a future Cobalt Blue. Unlike many others in the Allen family, Jace was not gifted with super speed by the Speed Force and his metabolism would not be able to handle it. Blaine removed all speed from all of the molecules on Petrus, effectively freezing the planet. Cobalt Blue pointed out that she liked the idea. "No one dies that way, it’s true... but no one lives either." He thought this over and decided to take Jace to the Speed Force. As he ran Jace to the Speed Force, he was sucked in instead.[9]
Abilities
The Speed Force serves as the ultimate measure of velocity in the DC Universe. It introduced several "new" powers/implications to Flash and other Speed Force-powered persons. Some already existed during the Silver Age, but were either unexplained or rationalized as molecular/vibrational control and later retconned into manifestations of the Speed Force.
- Infinite Mass Punch - Introduced in Grant Morrison's JLA title, Flash (Wally West), traveling near the speed of light acquired the relativistic mass of such speed to impart blows which could hit with the force of "a white dwarf star", enabling him to knock down such powerful foes as the White Martians with a single punch; Flash's own durability is regulated by the Speed Force in such cases.
- Speed Lend/Steal - Perhaps his most versatile new power; because the Speed Force governed all motion, Wally could rob objects of their kinetic energy, motion, or momentum - for example, bullets in flight or turning a supervillain into a statue - and use the energy to accelerate himself even faster. He could similarly lend speed to inanimate objects or allies, enabling them to temporarily travel nearly as fast as himself. Bart Allen's future self is shown to also have this ability in the Teen Titans "Titans Tomorrow" story arc.
- Metabolize wounds - Accelerating his healing factor while using the Speed Force to sustain him, he could heal from grievous injury, without prematurely aging like his counterpart from another reality, Walter West. Related to the ability above, Wally would serve as "team medic", healing other team members by accelerating their healing-factors (without prematurely aging them).[volume & issue needed]
- Constructs - Wally discovered if he concentrated, the Speed Force could be used to create solid constructs. The first time he used this ability was to create a solid armor enabling him to run despite having broken legs. Later examples included sealing up the openings of his costume against disease, creating pockets for holding things, etc. In JLA, when shot by Prometheus, his suit displayed bullet-resistant properties.[volume & issue needed] Most recently, it was used to repair the damage done to the various speedsters' costumes, allowing Wally to change his uniform, Jesse Quick to take up the uniform of her father Johnny Quick, and Wally's daughter Iris to become the new Impulse.[10]
- Shield - Exhibited by Savitar, whose mastery of the Speed Force allowed him to reflect objects away from himself.
- Flight - Exhibited by Johnny Quick and his daughter Jesse Quick, the only speedsters known to exhibit this ability (however, all speedsters traveling faster than exit velocity exhibit "inverse flight").
- ESP - Exhibited by Max Mercury, whose communion with the Speed Force allows him to detect the motion of any object in the world and especially to perceive other speedsters. Wally West exhibited a similar ability which allowed him to perceive Linda across time and space due to the strength of their bond.
- Total recall - Exhibited by Bart Allen, who can retain everything he speed-reads (in contrast to other speedsters, who only retain it temporarily).
- Speed scouts - Exhibited by Bart Allen, who can create Speed Force duplicates of himself that - due to the timeless nature of the Speed Force - can travel forwards and backwards through time, manipulating objects or merging their consciousness with Bart, informing him of their actions. When a Speed Scout was killed, Bart was thrown into a coma and hasn't used the ability since.
- Speed control - Traveling at any speed one believes they can move at.
- Negate Anti-Life Equation - not yet explained, but it is seen in Final Crisis #4, when Barry Allen kissed his wife, who was under the control of Anti-Life, the Speed Force surrounds her and she gains back her free will.[11]
- Muscle growth - Exhibited by Jai West who has the power to speed up the growth of his muscles temporary giving him super strength but causing him to be exhausted after a short time.
- Intangibility/self-molecular control - Exhibited by Barry Allen, Bart Allen, and Iris West. Their total control of kinetic energy at a molecular level allows them to match the vibrational frequency needed to travel easily into and through solid matter. Wally West has this ability too, but with less control, so solid matter usually explodes coming in contact with him. When Bart Allen has internalized the Speed Force into himself, he too shows difficulty with this ability, melting matter if not concentrating enough. Iris' control is as effortless as Barry's, but unlike Barry's, it is somewhat unstable. As an offensive ability, it can be used to scramble one's molecular structure to the point of literal disintegration.[12]
JLA/Avengers
During the JLA/Avengers crossover limited series, the Flash was unable to use his speed in the Marvel Universe as the Speed Force didn't exist there, requiring artificial means to maintain his speed thanks to a device developed by Steel absorbing energy as he runs to provide him with a 'reserve supply'. However, this link was clearly not as powerful as his natural one, as he was still outpaced by Quicksilver, who normally tops out around the speed of sound, when the two raced to acquire the Cosmic Cube, one of the twelve items they sought to collect.
Other media
The Speed Force was shown in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Divided We Fall". The Flash is forced to run faster than he ever has before to defeat the fused Brainiac/Lex Luthor. In doing so, he achieved a different state of existence he called the Speed Force. Achieving this state caused him to phase out of reality, appearing only as a fleeting flicker that Hawkgirl was able to grasp hold of. It took her efforts along with the help of the rest of the senior Leaguers to pull him back into their plane.
Upon coming back, the Flash stated that he could never go that fast again, or he'll never come back.
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See also
References
- ^ a b Jimenez, Phil (2008), "The Flash", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 124–127, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
- ^ The Flash: Terminal Velocity trade paperback
- ^ Infinite Crisis #3 (2005)
- ^ Infinite Crisis #5 (2005)
- ^ The Flash The Fastest Man Alive: Lightning in a Bottle trade paperback
- ^ a b Checkmate #15
- ^ Outsiders: Five of a Kind: Nightwing/Captain Boomerang
- ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #8
- ^ Speed Force #1 (1998)
- ^ The Flash: Rebirth #5 (2009)
- ^ Final Crisis #4
- ^ Impulse #89 (October 2002)
External links
- Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning's article on the Speed Force
- Crimson Lightning - An online index to the comic book adventures of the Flash.
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