Flash's Greatest Rebirth-Era Enemy Returns - and He's Deadlier Than Ever
by L.D. NolanWARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Flash #88, by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands, on sale now.
Since DC Rebirth relaunched the title in 2016, one of the Flash's fiercest foes has been August Heart/Godspeed. After obtaining his powers from a Speed Force storm, the speedster villain worked as Barry's partner at the Central City Police and was a close ally until he turned on Flash.
In each of their encounters, Godspeed has proven a deadly foe. However, he's been absent since Flash #45, when he was seen talking to a mysterious character off page. Flash #88 finally brings August back and reveals his deadly new ally: Paradox.
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Flash #88 is narrated by Chris/Paradox, who became trapped in an area outside of the multiverse during the Scarlet Speedster's battle against the time-displaced Turtle in "Flash: Year One." This results in Chris losing his family and being transformed into the monstrous, hulking beast known as Paradox. Over the course of the rest of the issue, Paradox comes to blame Flash for what happened to him and his suffering. In the issue's final pages, it's finally revealed that Paradox is talking to Godspeed. "It's time for The Flash to pay for what he has done to the time stream," Paradox tells Godspeed.
This confrontation could go very bad for Flash. During his conversation with Godspeed, Paradox references when Flash nearly killed Captain Cold/Leonard Snart by unlocking a golden form. This transformation came about due to Hunter Zolomon destabilizing the Speed Force during the war between that entity and the Sage, Speed and Strength Forces, which essentially caused the DC Universe's speedsters to go haywire. Although Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper helped stabilize Barry and his companions, he did warn Flash that he'd have to be careful not to overdo it, or he could easily lose control again.
There's no indication Godspeed is having the same trouble controlling his abilities as Barry, which could spell disaster for the Scarlet Speedster. When they finally face off again, August doesn't need to hold back, meaning that he'll be able to go at the Flash with everything he's got, and Godspeed isn't alone this time. Paradox is also clearly quite formidable, so Barry is going to be taking on two pretty major enemies at the same time. This dramatically increases the likelihood the Flash will tap too hard into the Speed Force again, which could spell disaster for everyone.
The Flash #750 goes on sale March 4 from DC Comics.
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