Retcon This! The Speed Force
In the ever-evolving landscape of fandom, there are simply some things that should not have happened. In Retcon This!, we examine some of the more questionable aspects of our beloved geek properties.
"And the Flash keeps runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin'..."
I’m not going to say much about the resurrection of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash. In my opinion he died a heroic death, is a bland character, and I’d much rather read about his successor Wally West. You can find lots of arguments and opinions about this on other websites. No, today I’m talking about the new idea that Barry’s super-speed running actually created and generates the Speed Force itself.
Okay, here’s some background for anyone who’s unfamiliar. The concept of the Speed Force (hereafter referred to as TSF because I’m lazy) was introduced by Mark Waid while he was writing The Flash in the mid-90s. A mysterious source of energy, it allowed anyone who could tap into it access to super-speed. It explained away lots of little Flash-related scientific anomalies and enabled Wally to learn lots of nifty new tricks. It also served as a sort of Valhalla to speedsters, calling out to them as they reached the highest velocities and serving as a kind of afterlife. It’s origin was largely unexplained, except in the Genesis crossover, and everything in that’s been mostly (and rightly) ignored.
Then came Geoff Johns and Flash: Rebirth, which revealed that Barry’s running created TSF, spreading it both up and down the time-stream. Not only that, but his archenemy Eobard (no, really) Thawne, a.k.a. Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse Flash, a.k.a. Little Sally Pondecker, can leech off of it to generate his own Negative Speed Force. (Eobard’s parents were obviously creative with names. Apparently this skipped a generation.)
Maybe it’s me, but in this case giving an origin to something that’s been profoundly mysterious for years seems like fanfic. And not even good fanfic, just another excuse for Johns to show how cool Barry Allen is. (Or at least how cool he wants Barry to be. See also his new, darker motivation for becoming a cop.) To me, it’s like when George Lucas revealed that The Force was generated by midiclorians. It took something mysterious (spiritual even, though I wouldn’t go that for in relation to TSF; although Savitar and Cicada might disagree with me) and gave it a scientific origin, sucking all the sense of wonder out of it.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to make it a mystery again, though. Most of this new information comes from Max Mercury, who could still be possessed by Rival for all we know. I wouldn’t put it past that guy to collaborate with Thawne in lying to Barry just to mess with his head. Revealing that would solve this dilemma nicely. Because some things are better left unexplained. Flash Fact.
Filed Under: Columns • Retcon This!
That wasn’t too much of a retcon, but I get what you’re saying. I liked the Barry schtick, which, in Booster Gold, showed that he created his own lightning that gave him access to the Speed Force via time-traveling to where and when he was hit to become The Flash…so, complex time travel stuff aside, I really think the Speed Force, like you said, should stay mysterious. Only getting “explanations” in Elseworlds and stuff that’ll turn out later to be not true or not entirely true. [See Joker's origins.
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Agreed, the Waid explanation sounds better then the Johns explaination. I like Barry for being a CSI character mixed with his old persona, but other then that I don’t really feel for him. Hal too. I hope Johns doesn’t turn them into the DCU’s Wesley Crusher.
I agree. I really don’t like this retcon at all.
I will say that I do like having Barry back though. I wasn’t too happy about the idea at first. Wally was the Flash in my eyes. However, after Blackest Night I’m really REALLY liking Barry. I just wish they hadn’t done the retcon of him creating the Speed Force.
I could do without Barry all together. Personally Bart has always been my favorite speedster.
This is merely an extension of everything that’s happened since Crisis on Infinite Earths. Barry ran back through time and ended up giving himself his own power. One of the best deaths in comic history. Why shouldn’t he end up giving every other speedster, including Reverse Flash, their powers?