The Flash is among the most powerful beings in DC Comics. Heck, you could say all of comic books. Sure, the uninformed comic book fans may think that all he does is run fast, but that’s like saying all Aquaman does is talk to fish. In reality, the Speed Force allows for the speedster characters (and the creative team) to do all sorts of amazing things like phase through walls, learn things in an instant (real time), and travel through time. The latter brings us to the Scarlet Speedster's newest ability that will be both a gift and a curse.
In the first issue of writer Ryan North’s The Flash, Wally West received a glimpse of someone falling to their death in the future. Now, this person was lucky that Flash had this vision, because she would have died if he hadn't. It was certainly a cool moment that happened again.
People who have read North’s Fantastic Four or One World Under Doom knew that this wasn’t a one-off thing. All of the power upgrades his characters get become important at some point. For example, in Fantastic Four No. 6, the incredible feats by Susan Storm lead to her continuously getting stronger. This is proven in the next couple of issues when “The Flashes of Insight” (as Wally’s calling them) continued, but he couldn’t control them. That problem ends on the last two pages of issue No. 33.
The Flash No. 33
- Writer: Ryan North
- Artist: Gavin Guidry
- Colors: Adriano Lucas
At the end of the issue, Wally has an epiphany when he recalls learning how to make his chest jump by flexing them. At first, it was something that he had to concentrate on doing. Eventually, it becomes something he can do without effort. With that in mind, he learns how to control his Flashes of Insight. He tests this out and helps four people with things that would have minor effects on their lives.
Now that he has a better understanding of this ability, Wally will save a lot of lives. People won’t get severely hurt or die in Central City thanks to the Scarlet Speedster being able to stop things before they happen. However, this will certainly end poorly.
Of course, as all Flash fans know, messing with time is a bad thing, and Wally should know better after what Barry Allen did during Flashpoint. That was a running debate during The CW's The Flash TV show and it also made it into the 2023 film, too. But that isn’t the only issue; The Flash knowing when something bad will happen will understandably add more stress than he’s ready for. We've seen this many times in superhero stories.
This happened to Peter Parker in Dan Slott’s Spider-Man. The webslinger once thought that heightening his Spider-Sense would make him a better hero because he could stop everything before it happened. Eventually, his Spider-Sense went off for things as simple as someone about to step into a puddle of water. If Peter hadn’t fixed this, he might have gone crazy or died. We've also seen this in various Superman adaptations when the Man of Steel's super-hearing needs to be fine-turned to detect emergencies.
In Wally’s defense, he can think faster than anyone in the world and analyze the severity and determine if it’s something he should get involved in. Peter Parker is a genius, be even he can’t things as fast as the Flash or Superman.
That being said, Wally is the kind of hero who wants to help everyone. Eventually, his Flashes of Insight will become a problem that needs solving. Because even someone with the Speed Force can become overwhelmed when they believe the can save everyone.
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