Speed Force

A physical representation of the Speed Force. Panel from Impulse #66. Artwork by Joe Antonetti.

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. The Speed Force was the extra-dimensional energy that once powered all of the Flashs' superhuman abilities. It is not like any other fundamental force. Its origin is likely the same as most superhuman abilities found in the DC Universe, a byproduct of the mysterious omni-energy known as The Source and The Godwave.

The ability to access the Speed Force has been limited to only a few individuals in the DC Universe and when DC characters travel to the Marvel Universe, they are still able to access the Speed Force.

The Speed Force has most often been discovered or accessed by accident and almost every speedster in the DC universe can access it, except for Jay Garrick (Earth 2 series) who got his powers from a blessing by the god Mercury.

• Barry Allen and Wally West acquired their powers from an accident in a laboratory (later retconned to be Barry traveling through time to give his powers to himself) (Pre-Crisis)

• Bart Allen acquired his ability to access the Speed Force genetically, but had to be subjected to experimentation to prevent his power from hyper-accelerating him into old age.

• Professor Zoom/The Reverse Flash was able to use technology to recreate the ability to access the Speed Force in the distant future.

Others have had unique origins or specialized technologies or powers which gave them limited access to the Speed Force and the powers therein.

The Speed Force concept has been altered, remixed, rehashed and rewritten over the twenty years it has been in use. As of the "New 52" reboot, the new parameters of the Speed Force revolve around accessing and controlling the motion and progression of the universe, of moving time and space itself forward. All references are from the Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and Zero Hour continuities. The Post-Flashpoint Multiverse is not included. The concept of the Speed Force has been referred to as "completely absurd" and "basically magic" by Geoff Johns, who wishes for the concept to be written out of continuity entirely. The Speed Force is also vaguely similar to The Force from Star Wars, both being a mysterious, almost mythological source of the heroes' powers, and serving as an afterlife for them. This is even referenced in The Flash, when supporting character Cisco Ramon quoted in the first season finale, "May the Speed-Force Be With You".

The Speed Force was mentioned on the 2014 TV series The Flash, this marked the live-action debut of the Speed Force.^[2]

History

The Speed Force is an energy field that grants all speedsters their power. Several speedsters have merged with it, including Barry Allen, Johnny Quick, Wally West, Jay Garrick, Jesse Quick and Max Mercury. Those with access to the Speed Force can use a large number of abilities, usually revolving around speed, including: superhuman endurance, accelerated metabolism, increased and accelerated perceptions, accelerated healing, decelerated aging, Speed Force aura, supercharged brain activity, electrical generation, life force stealing, some degree of enhanced strength, vortex creation, phasing, Speed stealing, infinite mass punch, and others.

Scientists on the planet Savoth had a deep understanding of the Speed Force and there were many universities devoted to its study. One of these scientists, Gorflack, built a Speed Force cannon to defend his planet from a force of alien invaders. Instead of performing its intended purpose, it brought Jay Garrick, the first Flash, to Savoth. After Garrick helped drive away the invaders, Gorflack gave him a lightning-shaped piece of solidified Speed Force which he and his successors could use to transport to Savoth.^[3]

While fighting Superboy-Prime, Wally was nearly swept into the Speed Force. Wanting to see his family one last time, he visited his wife Linda and twin children. However, Linda was holding the Speed Force fragment and the entire family was swept off to Savoth.^[4] Bart Allen volunteered to absorb the entire Speed Force so that he would be fast enough to stop Prime.^[5] After this crisis had been averted, Bart found that his new connection to the Speed Force threatened to kill him. He refused to use his powers for a year. It wasn't until Tina McGee and Valerie Perez of S.T.A.R. Labs were able to modify a Flash costume to contain his abilities that he was able to return to action as the fourth Flash.

Shortly thereafter, Inertia; who had lost his connection to the Speed Force when Bart absorbed it, was forced to use Velocity 9 to maintain his super-speed. Inertia built a machine in Los Angeles which was designed to transfer the Speed Force from Bart to himself. However, the machine also threatened to cause an explosion which would have resulted in the deaths of millions. Bart sacrificed himself distracting Inertia and a group of Rogues while Valerie shut it down.^[6]

The deactivation of the machine caused a disruption in the Speed Force which not only resulted in Wally West and his family being transported back to Earth from their stay on Savoth, but also restored powers to all speedsters.^[7]

The sole survivor of the alien invasion forces that had attacked Savoth decades prior was sent back to his home dimension in a Speed Force explosion which resulted in a rapid evolution of his species. His descendants targeted the Flashes' solidified fragment of Speed Force and invaded Keystone City to avenge their defeat on Savoth. Wally destroyed the fragment to send them back.^[4]

After an unknown force tricked Barry and Pandora into 'resetting' history following Barry's disastrous attempt to save his mother from Eobard Thawne the Speed Force, much like the universe as a whole, had changed, making it now the driving force that propels the universe forward or backward when properly harnessed.^[8] Wally was trapped in the Speed Force when history was changed, retaining memory of his past but now wearing his old Kid Flash uniform. After the disruption caused by Darkseid's demise, Wally attempted to return to Earth by appearing to his allies as the Speed Force began to pull him apart, but despite his efforts to appeal to Batman, Johnny Thunder or Linda Park, none of them recognized him, culminating in him appearing to say goodbye to Barry as he felt himself begin to collapse for the last time, but Barry was able to pull him back into the universe as he suddenly remembered his history with Wally.^[9]

Notes

Different conduits throughout the multiverse excel in different Speed Force-related abilities, and it furthermore has differing effects on all of its users. Some examples being the original Flash, Jay Garrick's decelerated aging as opposed to Bart Allen's over-accelerated aging process. Others examples being how the Tornado Twins excel in using their speed to create high velocity whirlwinds that allow them to take flight, while Bart Allen has shown the ability to divide himself into multiple physical selves. Lady Flash, who is the keeper of the Speed Force in Earth-33, casts electrokinetic blasts that are capable of temporarily draining the movement of her target. And as the third Flash, Wally West learns how to manifest his costume at will, being created purely from the solidified Speed Force. Prior to the loss of his connection to the Speed Force, Jai West's super-speed could temporarily accelerate the growth of his muscles, giving the child super-strength. Notably, there is also the Negative Speed Force, which as the name suggests, negates and opposes the average Speed Force energy. Professor Zoom (and apparently Black Flash) are users of this super-speed that manifests as red electricity.

Source of Super-Speed

The Speed Force is a vaguely defined extra-dimensional energy force from which most, but not all, heroes in the DC Comics universe with super-speed 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 all draw their powers from the Speed Force (Although, Garrick has only recently gained a connection to the Speed Force, instead relying on abilities granted to him by "Hard gas" he was exposed to that granted him super-speed).^[1][10] 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.

The Speed Force only exists in the DC Multiverse; when Wally traveled to the Marvel Universe in JLA/Avengers, he was powerless in the other world, requiring Steel to create a 'battery pack' that allowed Wally to absorb Speed Force energy in the DC Universe to give him a supply that he could use in the other world (Although Marvel speedster Quicksilver was unable to access the Speed Force during his time in the DC Universe).

Abilities granted by Speed Force

The "infinite Mass Punch" from JLA #3 (March 1997). Art by Howard Porter and John Dell.

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 mass 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. Therefore, this means that Flash because of the Speed Force traveling at the speed of light acquires a relativistic mass to impart shocks that could hit with a mass comparable to an infinite mass and then also infinite damage.
• 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 (e.g., 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. In new 52 users can slow their own atomic motion to make themselves harder than steel and grant themselves incredible strength, even slowing down the molecular speed in matter to make it unbreakable like the air itself.
• Metabolize wounds – Accelerating his healing factor while using the Speed Force to sustain him, Wally could heal from grievous injury without prematurely aging like his counterpart from another reality, Walter West. Related to the ability above, he would serve as the "team medic," healing other team members by accelerating their healing factors (without prematurely aging them).
• Constructs – Wally discovered that 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. 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.^[11]
• 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 escape-velocity exhibit "inverse flight". The ability of flight also seems to manifest itself in the flash of the Kingdom Come story arc.
• 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 the information 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. They can also manipulate objects or merge their consciousness with Bart, informing him of their actions. However, after one of his Speed Scouts was killed, Bart was thrown into a coma and hasn't used the ability since.
• Super-Speed – 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, and the Speed Force surrounded her and she regained her free will.^[12]
• Muscle growth – Exhibited by Jai West, who has the power to speed up the growth of his muscles, temporarily 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 when coming in contact with him. When Bart Allen internalized the Speed Force into himself, he too showed difficulty with this ability, melting matter if not concentrating enough. Iris' control is as effortless as Barry's, but unlike his, it is somewhat unstable. As an offensive ability, it can be used to scramble one's molecular structure to the point of literal disintegration.^[13]

Despite its immense power, the Speed Force did not prove to be an asset when Wally West was pitted against Brother Grimm, a sorcerer with the power to sense other dimensions; as well as being able to find the regular universe from his pocket dimension, Grimm can also sense the energies of the Speed Force, with the result that Wally must restrict himself to normal speed when fighting Grimm or Grimm will be able to sense his moves and counter them.

New 52

As the DCU Reboot took effect the attributes of the speed force had been changed dramatically, now being more than just the source of all motion but also a means of accelerating progression and development. Its main function is to serve as the driving force that pushes the world forward, and will often give powers to those that can best utilize its gifts in advancement. Unlike simply being about rapid motion, the force can also be used as a means to control the flow of it such as pushing the world forward or backward at will.

• Super-Speed – held mainly by Barry Allen, Traveling at any speed at which one believes they can move.
• Electricity Manipulation – All users of the Speed Force generate electrical energy from their body. This lightning varies in color from yellow, red, blue, Green, Black and white. Barry Allen and Wally West have been shown to project this lightning from their hands as electric bolts.
• Technological Augmentation - Used by Albert Lim. Accelerate the potentiality of any and all technology within tactile vicinity, and can cause them to malfunction or short circuit.^[14]
• Space-Time Migration - Used by Xolani/Folded man, enables him to compress chronouranic fields in order to shorten distances and transport oneself near instantly to any desired location.^[15]
• Vibration Manipulation - Utilized by both The Flash and Marissa Rennie, utilization of a host of effects, such as using it to phase through solid objects while moving at super speed. One runs the danger of causing objects to explode if vibrating at the wrong frequency, while others can use such an aspect to their advantage creating shockwaves with which to knock over buildings.^[16]
• Accelerated Probability/Speed Mind - Used by Flash and Solovar. The acceleration of mental capacity enables the user to percive and interact with a host of possible/probable outcomes that can happen within a given setting of choices. The mind is able to compute the numerous ways any set path taken can result in using a form of advanced Choice-Causality perception to predict most actions taken.^[17]
• Metabolism Augmentation - Gifted to Floyd Gomez, accelerates and re-purposes the body's metabolic rate to enhance physical conditioning giving them a host of augmentations.^[18]
• Mental Evolution - How the light can effect a host of users. A great many individuals touched by the speed force have the intelligence evolved and accelerated to the point of super genius acumen and various psionic powers. The Apes of Gorilla City are one such evolved society because of this, elder simians of their culture will grow into various mental capabilities with time and age such as telepathy and clairvoyance, taken to its evolutionary extreme; in the case of Gorilla Grodd, They can also achieve telekinesis strong enough to rip aviary devices from the sky.^[19]
• Chronokinesis - used by Flash, Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, singular ability to adjust personalized timestream in order change the outcome of events. Slowing it, reversing it speeding it up and even time traveling.
• Age Manipulation - A user can control the progression of time around others or themselves restoring ones youth or withering them into old age.
• Molecular Acceleration - cause enough molecular agitation within matter to create an explosive reaction.
• Time Travel - Used by Savitar, Professor Zoom and Reverse-Flash. Users have the ability to traverse the rivers of time to reach the past, present and future at will.^[20]

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.^[21]

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.^[22]

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.^[23] Despite this, Owen Mercer, Bart's half-brother, still displayed occasional access to the Speed Force before^[24] and after^[25] Bart's death, which caused his body to generate a "background bio-electric field."^[24]

When Bart died, Wally West reclaimed the mantle as the Flash and freely used the Speed Force at will. Wally's return had prevented Bart from accessing the Speed Force, inadvertently causing his death. With the Speed Force released from Bart, Jay Garrick could again go beyond the speed of sound (as he was limited to before),^[26] and Jesse Chambers' speed 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 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.^[27]

In other media

Television

In The Flash, the Speed Force is a key element in the events of season two. In "The Runaway Dinosaur"", revealed to have brought Barry to its realm to regain his powers, the Speed Force appears before him in manifestations of Joe West, Iris West, and Barry's parents. The season also introduces specter-like beings called Time Wraiths that are enforcers of the Speed Force and appear to capture speedsters like Zoom who callously break the rules of time-travel without forethought.

References

1. Jimenez, Phil (September 29, 2008). "The Flash". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC 213309017.
2. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/27/spoiler-room-thrones-shield-arrow-spoilers
3. Flash (Vol. 2) #233 (December 2007)
4. Flash (Vol. 2) #236 (March 2008)
5. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #6 (January 2007)
6. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (August 2007)
7. All-Flash #1 (June 1941)
8. The Flash Vol. 4 #8 (June 2012)
9. DC Universe Rebirth #1 (July 2016)
10. Waid, Mark (September 1, 1995). The Flash: Terminal Velocity. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-56389-249-3.
11. The Flash: Rebirth #5 (November 2009)
12. Final Crisis #4 (November 2008)
13. Impulse #89 (October 2002)
14. The Flash Vol. 4 #15 (2013)
15. The Flash Vol. 4 Annual #4 (2013)
16. The Flash Vol. 4 #19 (2013)
17. The Flash Vol. 4 #3 (2011)
18. The Flash Vol. 4 #18 (2013)
19. The Flash Vol. 4 #23.1 Gorilla Grodd (2013)
20. The Flash Vol. 4 #13 (2013)
21. Infinite Crisis #4 (February 2006)
22. Infinite Crisis #5 (April 2006)
23. Bilson, Danny; DeMeo, Paul (March 21, 2007). The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive: Lightning in a Bottle. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-1229-2.
24. Checkmate #15 (August 2007)
25. Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Nightwing/Captain Boomerang (October 2007)
26. Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #8 (October 2007)
27. Speed Force #1 (November 1997)

External links

• "Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning" Article on the Speed Force
• Crimson Lightning An online index to the comic book adventures of the Flash