Warning: Contains spoilers for "Down With Kings" from Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1!The Flash’s powers have gotten deadly as a dangerous new weapon has corrupted the Speed Force. The Flash, as well as DC’s other speedsters, all draw their power from the Speed Force, but as seen in the story “Down with Kings,” appearing in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1, evil forces have discovered a way to weaponize the Speed Force, creating one of Earth’s deadliest weapons in the process.
The story is written by Ed Brisson, drawn and colored by Jeff Spokes and lettered by Saida Temofonte. The newly reorganized Stormwatch has been sent to Iron Heights Penitentiary to retrieve the villain Huskk. Winter, Stormwatch’s new Weatherman, briefs the team ahead of time, telling them a terrorist group called the Singularity has been working on Speed Force-centric technology. The Singularity has weaponized not only the Speed Force but its opposite, the Negative Speed Force. Upon arriving at Iron Heights, Stormwatch discovers that the Singularity has already struck–and learns that one of the weapons the terrorists are using can speed time up around a victim, aging them in a matter of seconds. Stormwatch’s scientific advisor Doctor Zema tells the team the Singularity has created a Time Sphere that rapidly ages anyone near it. Stormwatch is successful in destroying the Sphere before it can overload.
Flash's Speed Force Is Dangerous In The Wrong Hands
The Speed Force is an integral part of the Flash’s mythos, as it is the foundation for every speed-based hero’s power. Introduced during Mark Waid’s epic mid-1990s run on The Flash, the Speed Force is one of the fundamental forces of the DC Universe–it keeps the flow of time moving forward. In recent years, it has been speculated that the Speed Force is somehow linked to the time stream itself, explaining how its users can travel through time with relative ease. On the other side is the Negative Speed Force. Created by the Reverse-Flash Eobard Thawne, the Negative Speed Force gives the user many of the same powers the regular Speed Force does, along with a few additional ones. Most importantly, the Negative Speed Force can negate the powers of a Speed Force user. If someone were to find a way to make the two work hand in hand, they could create some truly fantastic technology–and the Singularity has done just that.
The Speed Force Has Been Weaponized
The new Speed Force weapons are some of DC’s most horrifying, aging people to the point of death in a matter of seconds. While the story remains mum on how exactly the weapons work, their effects are on display for all to see. The Time Sphere is equally horrifying, able to duplicate the effects of the smaller weapons on a grander scale. Stormwatch is able to retrieve Huskk and keep him from falling into the wrong hands–who would use him to create even more terrifying weapons. Huskk is not killed in this issue, meaning his research into Speed Force-based weapons could continue–and this time create one that could wreak havoc on the world.
What is truly horrible about the Singularity and Huskk’s actions are how they have perverted the Speed Force. As mentioned earlier, it is one of the fundamental forces of the DC Universe and is integral to the flow of time. By creating weapons that exploit this, Huskk and the Singularity are corrupting the Speed Force, using it for a purpose it was not intended for. Furthermore, the Flash is nowhere in this story, meaning he more than likely does not know about these new weapons created from the corrupted Speed Force.
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