Publication history
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018) |
| The Flash | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Bimonthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | August 2016 – August 2023 |
| No. of issues | 145 (#1–88, 750–800, plus Rebirth one-shot, One-Minute War special, and 5 annuals) |
| Main character(s) | (#1–88, 750–767) Flash (Barry Allen) (#768–800) Flash (Wally West) |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Robert Kanigher Carmine Infantino |
| Written by | Joshua Williamson (#1–88, 750–762, 800) Geoff Johns (#750, 800) Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Marv Wolfman, Scott Lobdell (#750) Kevin Shinick (#763–766) Andy Lanning and Ron Marz (#767) Jeremy Adams (#768–800) Mark Waid, Simon Spurrier (#800) |
The Flash (DC Rebirth) is an American superhero comic book written by Joshua Williamson (of Nailbiter and Birthright fame) and published twice-monthly by DC Comics. The title follows the adventure of Barry Allen as the superhero Flash in Central City. The title is part of DC's Rebirth relaunch, following the end of The New 52 initiative established following the Flashpoint storyline in 2011, and started publication in August 2016. In May 2020, the title reverted back to its original numbering with #750, and ceased publication with #800 in August 2023.
While investigating a crime scene, Barry Allen has visions of Wally West, Eobard Thawne and an individual in white clothes. While running through Central City, Barry encounters Wally, who had been absorbed into the Speed Force and attempts to warn Barry about the involvement of someone in the timeline. Just as Wally is about to be absorbed forever into the Speed Force, Barry remembers him and pulls him out. Reuniting, Wally also warns Barry that they "are being watched". After discussing what to do next, Barry goes to visit Batman to talk about the button they found.
While at a crime scene, Barry reunites with his old friend August Heart, who was present on the day he was struck by lightning and gained his powers. Soon, citizens all over Central City gain the powers of The Speed Force seemingly at random.
As Barry neglects to train the new Kid Flash (Who coincidentally is also named Wally West), he decides to take matters into his own hands and battle Shade (comics).
After the supervillain team The Rogues has mysteriously disappeared, Flash goes looking for them. The Rogues enact deadly traps to kill Flash once and for all.
Eobard Thawne (aka the Reverse Flash) returns once again to ruin Barry's life and threatens to strike down everyone close to him.
Barry's new powers aren't working properly as he faces a new villain, Bloodwork, who has secret ties to Barry Allen.
The One-Minute War takes place over issues 790 to 796 with one special in between 792 and 793.
An alien force that can harness the Speed Force known as the Fraction invade Earth, arriving with their ship in the middle of Central City and causing everyone on the planet except for the Flash Family to be frozen in time. The destruction caused by their ship took the lives of thousands, including Iris West. [17]
Wally West eventually finds Barry Allen crying over Iris's death before rescuing him. Wallace West and Bart Allen bicker and argue about what to do, before they are saved by Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick from the Fraction. Finding refuge in the West house, the Flash Family briefly grief over the loss of Iris, before trying to come up with a plan to stop the Fraction. Jesse Quick and Max Mercury comment that the Fraction's spire is the same one the two saw while traveling the multiverse during the Dark Crisis. The Fraction plan to collect metahumans and the Flash family for a wedding present for the Empress, and release Miss Murder to take down the family. [18]
The Fraction is revealed to be an alien race that lived on a planet similar to Earth and had an Empress. The Fraction found an energy source (the Speed Force) that could help progress their civilization even further so they created a machine to harness it. After a successful attempt of them harnessing the Speed Force, the Empress wanted more and they started invading planets. The leader of the Fraction agreed to invade Earth as long as he gets to marry the Empress, to which the Empress agrees. As the Fraction invasion continues across the planet, they are faced with other speedsters like Avery Ho and Godspeed. The Fraction even faced Surge, a Jai West from the future that learned to better control his powers. [19]
Wally West convinces Barry Allen to leave Iris' side for a while, and help formulate a plan. The Flash family realize that the Fraction may have artificially accessed the Speed Force and they occupy a huge portion of Central City and Keystone City. Kid Flash and Impulse infiltrate the faction ship and managed to steal a vehicle from them (because Barry Allen wants a car) while also rescuing a person that they were using as a battery along with many other heroes (Superman, Captain Atom), narrowly escaping the grasp of Miss Murder. [20]
In 2011, DC Comics published the Flashpoint story arc in which Barry Allen travelled back in time in order to prevent his mother's murder. While doing so, he ended up altering the universe, creating one in which Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with one another and have decimated Western Europe, among other changes. Following its conclusion, the series radically changed the status quo of the DC Universe, leading to The New 52. DC cancelled all of their titles and debuted 52 new series in September 2011 with new first issues. [21] One of the new 52 series starting in September was the fourth volume of The Flash , starring Barry Allen. [22]
In February 2015, it was announced that following the Convergence storyline in May, DC would be ending its New 52 branding, though the continuity established post-Flashpoint would continue. [23] In February 2016, DC announced another line-wide relaunch of their titles called DC Rebirth. Rebirth was an attempt to restore the DC Universe to a form similar to the one before Flashpoint, while still incorporating elements of The New 52, including its continuity. [24] Due to the relaunch, the New 52 Flash volume ended with #52 in May 2016. [25]
As part of the DC Rebirth imprint relaunch, The Flash was first announced in March 2016, with Joshua Williamson writing the title. [26] A The Flash: Rebirth one-shot was published in June, with the series starting the same month. [27]
Williamson revealed during a Rebirth livestream that he first approached Dan DiDio about wanting to write The Flash in Summer 2015, [28] telling DiDio that writing The Flash is "really important to [him, and] that there's a story that [he] really [has] to tell". [28] He also revealed that during the first story arc, a Speed Force storm would hit Central City. The storm would strike numerous people and give them super speed, with Barry having to train them. [28] Among the characters to receive powers, Williamson also revealed a new speedster named Godspeed who would act as the main antagonist during the first story arc. [29] To differentiate Godspeed from previous evil speedsters like Eobard Thawne, Williamson made the character more sympathetic and calculating. [30] An element of Barry's character that Williamson wanted to highlight in the title, was his passion for "doing the right thing". During the first arc, the evolution of Wallace West into Kid Flash is also explored. [31]
According to Williamson, neither DiDio nor Geoff Johns mandated any of the Rebirth titles to resemble their film or TV adaptations. During early meeting, Williamson suggest the inclusion of character similar to Harrison Wells from the TV series to be in the comic; the idea was shut down due to not wanting to make the comic similar to the show. [30]
Williamson stated that the Rogues are some of his favorite Flash villains and planned to use them following the conclusion of the first story arc. [30]
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018) |
| # | Title | Material collected | Pages | Publication Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | |||||
| 1 | Lightning Strikes Twice | The Flash: Rebirth #1, The Flash vol. 5 #1–8. | 216 | January 24, 2017 | 978-1401267841 |
| 2 | Speed of Darkness | The Flash vol. 5 #9–13. | 128 | May 23, 2017 | 978-1401268930 |
| 3 | Rogues Reloaded | The Flash vol. 5 #14–20. | 168 | August 1, 2017 | 978-1401271572 |
| 4 | Running Scared | The Flash vol. 5 #23–27. | 136 | November 21, 2017 | 978-1401274627 |
| 5 | Negative | The Flash vol. 5 #28–32. | 128 | March 27, 2018 | 978-1401277277 |
| 6 | Cold Day in Hell | The Flash vol. 5 #34–38, Annual #1. | 128 | June 19, 2018 | 978-1401280789 |
| 7 | Perfect Storm | The Flash vol. 5 #39–45. | 184 | October 2, 2018 | 978-1401284527 |
| 8 | Flash War | The Flash vol. 5 #46–51, a story from Annual #1. | 160 | December 18, 2018 | 978-1401283506 |
| 9 | Reckoning of the Forces | The Flash vol. 5 #52–57. | 160 | April 2, 2019 | 978-1401288556 |
| 10 | Force Quest | The Flash vol. 5 #58–63. | 144 | September 24, 2019 | 978-1401291419 |
| 11 | The Greatest Trick of All | The Flash vol. 5 #66–69, Annual #2. | 144 | February 11, 2020 | 978-1779500328 |
| Year One | The Flash vol. 5 #70–75. | 168 | November 19, 2019 | 978-1401299347 | |
| 12 | Death and the Speed Force | The Flash vol. 5 #76–81. | 144 | June 9, 2020 | 978-1779503992 |
| 13 | Rogues Reign | The Flash vol. 5 #82–87. | 152 | November 17, 2020 | 978-1779505774 |
| 14 | The Flash Age | The Flash vol. 5 #88, #750–755, Annual #3. | 216 | May 11, 2021 | 978-1779509239 |
| 15 | Finish Line | The Flash #756–762. | 168 | October 12, 2021 | 978-1779513168 |
| 16 | Wally West Returns | The Flash #763–771, The Flash Annual 2022 #1. | 280 | July 26, 2022 | 978-1779518774 |
| 17 | Eclipse | The Flash #772–779. | 224 | December 20, 2022 | 978-1779517449 |
| 18 | The Search for Barry Allen | The Flash #780–789. | 292 | June 27, 2023 | 978-1779520173 |
| 19 | One-Minute War | The Flash #790–796, The Flash: One-Minute War Special #1. | 244 | January 23, 2024 | 978-1779520883 |
| 20 | Time Heist | The Flash #797–799, four stories from #800. | 128 | April 23, 2024 | 978-1779525017 |
| Deluxe Hardcovers | |||||
| Batman/The Flash: The Button | The Flash vol. 5 #21–22, Batman vol. 3 #21–22 | 104 | October 17, 2017 | 978-1401276447 | |
| Heroes In Crisis: The Price and Other Stories | The Flash vol. 5 #64–65, Annual #2, Batman vol. 3 #64–65, Green Arrow vol. 6 #45, 48–50 | 248 | October 9, 2019 | 978-1401299644 | |
| The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1 | The Flash: Rebirth #1, #1–13 | 336 | August 1, 2017 | 978-1401271589 | |
| The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2 | The Flash vol. 5 #14–27 | 244 | May 1, 2018 | 978-1401278427 | |
| The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 3 | The Flash vol. 5 #28–38, Annual #1, DC Holiday Special 2017 #1 | 264 | October 2, 2018 | 978-1401281403 | |
| The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 4 | The Flash vol. 5 #28–38 | 352 | Canceled | 978-1401289393 | |
| Year One | The Flash vol. 5 #70–75. | 168 | November 13, 2019 | 978-1401299347 | |
| 11 | The Greatest Trick of All | The Flash vol. 5 #66–69, Annual #2. | 144 | February 5, 2020 | 978-1779500328 |
| The Flash #750 Deluxe Edition | The Flash #750 and a story from Showcase #4 | 128 | July 17, 2020 | 978-1779505071 | |
| The Flash by Joshua Williamson Omnibus Vol. 1 | The Flash: Rebirth #1, The Flash vol. 5 #1–35, Batman vol. 3 #21–22, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32, Justice League vol. 3 #32–33, and material from DC Holiday Special 2017 #1. | 1008 | April 9, 2024 | 978-1779526984 | |
The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1. Nicknamed "the Scarlet Speedster", all incarnations of the Flash possess "superspeed", which includes the ability to run, move, and think extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes, and seemingly violate certain laws of physics.
The Reverse-Flash is a name used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Each iteration of the character serves as a foil and an enemy of the Flash.
Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash. His power consists mainly of superhuman speed. The nephew of Iris West, he first appeared in Flash #110 (1959), which depicted his transformation into Kid Flash. Under the mantle of Kid Flash, Wally was depicted as a teenage sidekick to his uncle-by-marriage, Barry Allen, and a founding member of the Teen Titans. After Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, Wally took on the role of the Flash from 1986 to 2009 in DC's main lineup until Barry returned in The Flash: Rebirth. He would later return as the main Flash since 2021, as part of the Infinite Frontier relaunch.
The Flash is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character known as the Flash, following Jay Garrick. The character first appeared in Showcase #4, created by writer Robert Kanigher and penciler Carmine Infantino.
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Flash Comics #1, created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert.
The Black Flash is a fictional comic book character from DC Comics. Created by writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, and artist Ron Wagner, the character had cameos in The Flash vol. 2 #138, before appearing in full in The Flash vol. 2 #141.
Hunter Zolomon, otherwise known as Zoom and the Reverse-Flash, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The second character to assume the Reverse-Flash mantle, he serves as the archnemesis of Wally West and an enemy of Barry Allen.
Iris West-Allen is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The Flash, and the aunt and grandmother, respectively, of the Modern Age variations of the characters Wally West and Bart Allen.
The Flash: Rebirth is a six-issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver. The series was published by DC Comics, and features characters from throughout the nearly seventy-year-long history of Flash comics.
The Flash is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. Throughout its publication, the series has primarily focused on two characters who have worn the mantle of the Flash: Barry Allen, the second Flash, and Wally West, the third Flash. The series began at issue #105, picking up its issue numbering from the anthology series Flash Comics which had featured Jay Garrick as the first Flash.
Flashpoint is a 2011 comic book crossover story arc published by DC Comics. Consisting of an eponymous core limited series and a number of tie-in titles, the storyline premiered in May 2011. The core miniseries was written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by Andy Kubert. In its end, the series radically changes the status quo for the DC Universe, leading into the publisher's 2011 relaunch, The New 52.
Jesse Chambers is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Chambers, who mainly uses the superhero name Jesse Quick and briefly Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. She inherited both of her parents' powers of superhuman speed and super-strength, and, unlike other speedsters, is also capable of flight. She was initially a scholar of superheroes who was recruited into the Justice Society of America after aiding them. She is a longtime ally of The Flash, despite their often difficult relationship, and has been a core member of the Justice Society of America, Titans and Justice League.
Batman is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Geoff Johns (writer) and Andy Kubert (artist), he made his first appearance in Flashpoint #1. He is a hardened version of Thomas Wayne seen in the alternate timeline comic Flashpoint (2011) whose son was killed instead of Martha Wayne and himself, eventually helping Barry Allen/The Flash defeat Eobard Thawne. His character returned to the main DC Universe in DC Rebirth as a revived amalgamation of his original self that was killed by Joe Chill and the Flashpoint version of Batman that was killed in "The Button", a storyline revolving around the "Smiley-face" button from Watchmen.
Eobard Thawne, also known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in The Flash #139 and has since endured as the archenemy of Barry Allen / The Flash. Thawne is the first and most well-known character to assume the Reverse-Flash mantle, and is additionally a descendant of Malcolm Thawne and ancestor of Bart Allen, Thaddeus Thawne and Owen Mercer.
Wallace "Ace" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was originally introduced as a biracial interpretation of Wally West as part of DC's The New 52 relaunch. The comic DC Rebirth #1 later established that he is a new character of the same name, being a Reverse-Flash's son and Wally's cousin, both named after their great-grandfather. To avoid confusion, the character was renamed in later comics as Wallace West, and later simply as Ace West.
Godspeed is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was established as a detective and one of Barry Allen's best friends on the police force. When his brother is murdered and the man he suspects is exonerated, he becomes vengeful and eventually gains speed-based superpowers. Donning the identity of Godspeed, he becomes a vigilante bent on killing criminals instead of incarcerating them, serving as an antithesis to the Flash. He has been portrayed as both a supervillain and an antihero in the comic books and adapted media since his introduction in 2016.
"The Button" is a 2017 comic book crossover created and published by DC Comics. The story arc consists of four issues from DC's Batman and Flash publications, functioning in part as a larger buildup towards the "Doomsday Clock" event. The plot was written by Joshua Williamson and Tom King, with art by Jason Fabok and Howard Porter.
Eobard Thawne, also known as the Reverse-Flash, is a character in The CW's Arrowverse media franchise. Based on the DC Comics supervillain of the same name, he is primarily portrayed by Tom Cavanagh and Matt Letscher. Letscher played the character's original likeness, while Cavanagh portrayed him in the form of Harrison Wells. Thawne is introduced and featured most prominently in the television series The Flash, though he has also appeared in spin-off shows and crossover events set in the shared fictional universe.
Flash War is a seven issue monthly American comic book limited series written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Howard Porter. The series was published by DC Comics, and features characters from the Flash comics. The story is from Flash Vol 5 Issue 45 to 50, with the epilogue being Flash Vol 5 Issue 51. The series ran from May to July 2018. The storyline received generally positive reviews for the plot, action, and art.
"Finish Line" is a four-issue monthly American comic book story written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Howard Porter. The storyline was published by DC Comics and features characters from the Flash comics. The story appeared in issues #759–762 of The Flash, running from August to September 2020. The storyline received critical acclaim for the action, plot, art, and the ending. "Finish Line" was the final story written by Joshua Williamson before Kevin Shinick began his run on the title.
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