Warning! Spoilers ahead from The Flash #785There's a new Flash villain in the DC Universe, and it's a character very reminiscent of a role Brad Pitt made famous.
Currently, the Justice League is missing and presumed dead due to the looming Dark Crisis event. Wally West and a group of other speedsters are in search of Barry Allen because they believe he's the key to stopping the crisis. Wally's kids, Irey and Jai, are included in the search, which spans across the multiverse. They were split up from the others and encountered a universe in which Barry Allen became a Batman-esque version of the Flash dubbed Night Flash.
In The Flash #785 by Jeremy Adams and Amancay Nahuelpan, Irey and Jai mistake Night Flash for a villain because he's so dark, brooding, and terrifying. They find safety with a kid who explains to them the origins of Night Flash. He gained his powers as a kid when a group of gangsters broke into his parents' lab. Then a lightning storm struck the lab, spilling chemicals all over him and giving him super speed. Unfortunately, the leader of the gangsters was doused in chemicals too and began reverse aging, and, as it turns out, this gangster is actually the kid telling them this story.
This character is very reminiscent of the 2008 film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt in the titular role. In the movie, Brad Pitt's character is born resembling an old man and ages backwards, similar to how this new Flash villain does in the comics. In the film, Benjamin Button's reverse aging is contrasted against a love interest. The tragedy of the situation is that as he gets younger and stronger she's growing older and weaker. A similar situation is playing out between the villain and Night Flash, as the hero sees himself struggling against this nemesis more and more as time goes on.
Unfortunately, this bizarre hero-villain relationship wasn't explored long. The arc that introduced them was only two issues long, and was shared with several other parallel storylines of the other speedsters also looking for Barry Allen. But as a Batman-Flash mashup, Night Flash is a particularly interesting character, so it stands to reason that he will make a reappearance sometime soon. And when that happens, this new Flash is bound to go up against in this odd Brad Pitt-like villain.
The Flash #785 is now available from DC Comics.