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Beyond human understanding exists an
elemental essence known as the Speed Force, it the source of power that lets those
superhumans with the ability to superspeed to move at velocities that far exceeds anything
the human body can or should be able to do. To join with the Speed Force is to go beyond
the limits of physically known speed and to enter a realm that is more a metaphysical
afterlife rather than a normal dimension.
To those that have attained the ability of superspeed the Speed Force is
literally the Creator, and at times it can seem to be an intelligence that guides the
fates and destinies of any that are fortunate enough to be part of it. Those that do for
what ever reason become connected with the Speed Force are destined to became heroes or in
the rarer case villains. One name that has become synonymous with the ability is the name
of the Flash and the three generations of heroes who have carried the mantel.
The first Flash was Jay Garrick whom first gained his
superpowers while a student at Midwestern university. He would go onto become one of the
stars of the Golden Age and a founding member of the Justice Society of America. Jay
retired when the JSA disbanded. To an extend the memory of Jay Garrick and his home of
Keystone City would fade because of a plot by a number of his foes to isolate Keystone
City from the rest of the world by a memory clouding spell.
Meanwhile police scientist Barry Allen was
transformed into a second Flash when his laboratory was struck by a bolt of lightning
knocking over a cabinet of unknown chemicals onto him. Like his predecessor before him
Barry Allen became one of the core members of the superhero community and a founding
member of the Justice League of America.
Wally West grew up with a strained family life, but
for all intents and purposes he was a normal child. Except for three events in his
childhood. One was being the head of the Flash Fan club at school, the second was the
words of a stranger to never let go of his dreams (that stranger was later to be revealed
to be Wally himself on a roller coaster ride through his own life via the Speed Force),
the third was the fact that Wally was the nephew of Barry Allen (a.k.a. the second Flash).
Barry actually arranged for Wally to met the Flash
and while at the lab where the original accident had transformed Barry into the Flash,
Wally asked if the same thing could happen to him. As if fate needed to no more promoting
a second lightning bolt hit the building and this time transformed Wally West into the Kid
Flash, junior side kick of the Flash.
Wally played the part of the Kid Flash along side
Barry and eventually became a founding member of the Teen Titans. At that time Wally was
as fast as Barry but some have conjectured that perhaps Barry was actually subconsciously
transferring speed to Wally in the same way that Wally can now do to others. However
things have always been for more complex for Wally, his collage work began to suffer and
he discovered that he had gained a condition where if he overused his superspeed then he
might very well die.
Retiring from the adventuring life Wally was to
eventually return to active status during the Crisis when a blast from the Anti-Monitor
sent the disease into remission yet at the same time dramatically reduced his top speed.
After the death of Barry while saving the planet, Wally took up the name of the Flash and
tried to follow in the foot steps of Flash II.
At almost every stage Wally was somehow reminded of
Barry and he grew tired of the comparisons, particularly from people such as Ralph Dibny
(a.k.a. The Elongated Man). However as time went by Wally began to increase in speed again
and to move from under the shadow of Barry Allen. Along the way he has had as always a
roller coaster private life including winning the state lottery, loosing the money,
finding out that his dad was actually a Manhunter agent and slowly falling in love with
the television reported Linda Park. All this was to be turned on its head when as part of
the Zero-hour Wally had to push his speed to the limit in an effort of close an Entropy
rift, in the process he was catapulted into the timestream and was plunged into the Speed
Force as Barry once had in his final moments.
Wally was different, the Speed Force transformed
Wally to the point that he now has a "direct line" to the heart of the force
that grants all the speedsters their speed. It has transformed his abilities and he may
now well be the fasted man that has ever lived. It has also galvanised Wally as never
before and forced him to examine his humanity. At last Wally West is the Flash in his own
right and is only now taking his rightful place among the statesmen of the superhero
community.
Wally faced perhaps his greatest challenge in the
form of Savitar, who had joined with the Speed Force sometime after the retirement of the
original Flash and the emergence of the second. He had devoted his life to the study of
the speed force and had turned it into his religion. During the course of the battle
Johnny Quick lost his life and Wally finally realised that he had to give Savitar what he
wanted. Wally used his speed to boost Savitar to such a velocity that he was propelled
into the Valhalla of the Speed Force.
On yet another roller coaster flight through the
future Wally found himself teaming up with future Flash John Fox and the Tornado Twins
(the children of Barry Allen). Meanwhile back in his home time John Fox (also time
travelling) had tried to take the place of Wally. This started to generate feels for John
by Linda with the result that the emotional bond that anchors Wally to this world started
to breakdown leaving at the mercy of the Speed Force. It took everything that Wally had to
return to our own time, make John Fox realise his errors and defeat the bad guys. The
emotional bond between Linda and Wally was further reinforced during a recent battle with
Neron. Notes:
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A year after Iris' death, Barry
learns that she is alive in the year 2957. Barry is transported to this year
by Iris' parents, who - using 30th century science - plucked Iris' life
essence from her in the moment of her death and transplanted it into a new,
living body.
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