Death Metal: Speed Metal Gives the Flash Family a Long-Awaited Reunion - CBR - Comic Book Resources

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dark Nights: Death Metal - Speed Metal #1, by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas and Steve Wands, on sale now.

As Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs reshaped the reality of the DC Universe in their hellish image during Dark Nights: Death Metal, many teams and families were torn asunder.

However, through all the chaos, the crossover has given the chance for the Flash Family to reunite, with three different generations of Flashes in Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West all running together again. As the Scarlet Speedsters race the Darkest Knight across the Multiverse, one Flash gets the reunion he's been desperately searching for since Flashpoint.

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Trapped on a dead Earth with the Darkest Knight and his army of Black Flashes from the far reaches of the Dark Multiverse, the speedster superheroes push themselves beyond their limits to reclaim the Mobius Chair. The New God throne normally used by Metron had residual energy left by Doctor Manhattan at the end of the New 52 era, with Wally gaining its omnipotent power after sitting upon it during the miniseries Flash Forward.

Ultimately successful, Wally discovers his fellow Flashes have taken refuge inside the confines of the Speed Force, along with Wally's wife Linda Park and their young children, Iris and Jai.

For Wally, the toll taken on him by Manhattan rewriting the DCU in Doomsday Clock was immensely personal. After returning to reality, Wally discovered his children had apparently been erased from existence. Linda had no memory of their past lives together when Wally briefly reunited with her.

The grief over losing his family strained Wally's relationship with Barry after his mentor prevented his attempt to travel back in time and rewrite reality himself during Flash War. This led to Wally's controversial actions during the crossover event Heroes in Crisis, where he accidentally killed his fellow patients at the superhero rehabilitation facility called Sanctuary.

Flash Forward revealed Jai and Iris had indeed survived, albeit they were stranded in the multiverse as it faced incursions from the Dark Multiverse and its corrosive energy. Wally was able to rescue his children as he purged the Dark Multiverse energy and reunite them with their mother. Linda also regained her past memories as she saw her children again.

However, Wally's new cosmic power boost and heightened responsibilities kept him from joining in the reunion. He ventured to investigate the mysteries of the multiverse with his new awareness, only to be ambushed and defeated by the Batman Who Laughs in the lead-up to Death Metal.

For virtually the entire DC Rebirth era, Wally West was a superhero in a state of grieving, shaken to his core by the sudden loss of his wife and children to the reality-altering events that had reshaped the DCU. This grief led the Scarlet Speedster to commit some incredibly questionable acts and left him at his lowest point. Having finally reunited with his long-lost family and regained control of the Mobius Chair, Wally is a man who is now restored in power, heart and soul. This wholeness will make an impact when he takes the throne to Wonder Woman to use as a reservoir for Crisis energy that will boost his cosmic powers, so he can save the entire multiverse.

KEEP READING: Wonder Woman Meets Wonder Woman on Dark Nights: Death Metal's Final Cover

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Sam Stone is a 10th level pop culture guru living just outside of Washington, DC who knows an unreasonable amount about The Beatles. You can read his work in the pages of Image+, follow him on Twitter @samstoneshow, and listen to his podcast Geek Out Show on iTunes and Google Play.