The Flash Assembles the Ultimate DC Speedster Team-Up | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash #761, by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands, on sale now.

In many ways, Joshua Williamson's final story as the series writer on The Flash, "Finish Line," has been about bringing together the extended cast of heroes and villains together for one last battle royale, with Central City as their battlefield. Determined to seize the legacy of the Scarlet Speedster for himself, the Reverse-Flash recruited different supervillains from various points in history, when they were presumably the easiest for him to manipulate as part of his longstanding vendetta against Barry Allen. While the Flash Family was able to rally together to face Thawne's Legion of Zoom, including reintroducing Golden Age speedsters Jay Garrick and Max Mercury, Thawne received even more reinforcements to overwhelm the heroes. Fortunately, the speedsters were able to call in reinforcements of their own, no longer bound by the constraints of time.

Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view.

As the battle between the Flash Family and growing Legion of Zoom is joined in the streets of Central City, Max senses unusual fluctuations from the Speed Force. Max had spent most of his life studying the extra-dimensional force that connects and fuels all speedsters across time and space, and he's regarded by the superhero community as the foremost expert on the subject. Instructing his longtime protege and surrogate son Impulse to protect him, Max begins to meditate as the fight rages around him, with Bart Allen able to give him the time he needs to commune directly with the Speed Force.

Max's risky gambit pays off and the hero is able to open a portal through space and time, bringing in reinforcements of his own to the fight. Among the heroes seen answering Max's call and charging into battle are the Renegades, the 25th-century team of heroes that used the classic Flash rogues gallery's weaponry to create their own crimefighting personas, Wally West's children, who were restored during Flash Forward, and XS, Barry granddaughter and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Also seen are Fast Track, Barry's brief girlfriend Meena who gained her own super-speed from a Speed Force storm; Krakkl, a Sonic the Hedgehog-esque speedster made of radio waves; and Fuerza adn Steadfast, heroes who tapped in the other Forces exposed to the DC Universe at the climax of "Flash War."

This group also includes the Flashes of a few other realities too. This group also includes the Jay Garrick of the New 52's Earth-2 and the Wally West of the Kingdom Come universe. They're also joined by Lia Nelson of DC's Tangent Universe and Walter West, the futuristic Dark Flash who briefly replaced Wally West as DC's main Flash in the late '90s.

With the Legion of Zoom no longer possessing numerical superiority, the combined efforts of the speedster superheroes from the past, present and future are able to defeat their assembled foes and send them each back to their original points of history. As Max observed, Thawne had neglected to recruit speedster supervillains of his own, like Zoom or The Rival, which suggests that he was afraid his own influence over his team would be upended. Max used this oversight to his advantage by bringing in more speedsters to overwhelm the Legion.

With only Eobard Thawne left standing, the final showdown narrows back down to a heated confrontation between him and Barry Allen as they race off, leaving the rest of the Flash Family back in Central City. As John Fox, the speedster superhero from DC One Million's Justice Legion Alpha observes, the race between the two lifelong rivals will be their last, spelling certain tragedy for Barry. In the meantime, Max Mercury that was largely responsible for saving the day, using his deep, spiritual connection to the Speed Force to bring in even more reinforcements to overwhelm the Legion of Zoom. However, this may not be enough to spare Barry in what is sure to be a costly confrontation against the Reverse-Flash one last time.

KEEP READING: The Flash: Where Jesse Quick and Max Mercury Have Been Since Flashpoint

Captain America Just Forgave an UNTHINKABLE Betrayal

Related Topics

About The Author

Sam Stone (5790 Articles Published)

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.