The Speed Force gives DC’s speedsters far more than speed. It grants a friction-proof aura, accelerated perception, phasing, time travel, travel between dimensions, the ability to steal and lend speed, and Speed Force lightning. It also works as an afterlife that has returned both Barry Allen and Bart Allen from the dead. Below, each power is explained, followed by how the concept developed from 1994 to today.
New to the concept? Start with our short explainer on what the Speed Force is, then come back here for the details.
Caption: Speed Force #1 showcases the new generation of speedsters tapping into the cosmic energy field. Source: DC Comics
Speed Force Powers at a Glance
| Power | What it does | Key comic |
|---|---|---|
| Speed Force aura | Shields the speedster from friction, heat and impact | The Flash (vol. 2) #91 (1994) era onward |
| Super-speed and perception | Movement and thought far beyond human limits | Every Flash since Flash Comics #1 (1940) |
| Phasing | Vibrating through solid matter | Silver Age Flash onward |
| Time travel | Running fast enough to move through time | The Flash #125 (1961, Cosmic Treadmill), Flashpoint (2011) |
| Dimensional travel | Vibrating to another Earth’s frequency | The Flash #123, “Flash of Two Worlds” (1961) |
| Speed stealing and lending | Taking or giving momentum | Savitar, “Dead Heat” (1995–96) |
| Speed Force afterlife | Absorbing, and sometimes returning, speedsters | Final Crisis #2 (2008), Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (2009) |
Speed Force Powers, Explained
Speed Force Aura
This is the power that makes the rest possible. The Speed Force surrounds a connected speedster with a protective field, so running at extreme speed doesn’t set them on fire or tear their body apart. It’s also why their costume survives. Without the aura, super-speed would be a death sentence, and that’s the physics problem Mark Waid created the Speed Force to solve.
Super-Speed and Accelerated Perception
A Speed Force connection speeds up thought as well as movement. Speedsters read a library in seconds, react before a bullet leaves the barrel, and heal faster than normal people. Top speed varies by character and by writer, which is why fans argue endlessly about who is fastest. Our fastest speedsters in comics ranking sorts through the evidence.
Phasing
By vibrating their molecules at the right frequency, a speedster can pass through walls or let an attack go straight through them. The same vibration trick is the basis for dimensional travel.
Time Travel
Because the Speed Force is tied to time, a fast enough speedster can run into the past or future. The Silver Age added the Cosmic Treadmill to hold that speed steady. The modern high point is Flashpoint (2011): Barry runs back in time to stop Eobard Thawne from killing his mother, and the whole timeline is rewritten as a result.
Dimensional Travel
Tuning their vibrations to another universe’s frequency lets speedsters cross between parallel Earths. It first happened in The Flash #123 (1961), “Flash of Two Worlds,” where Barry Allen meets Jay Garrick and the idea of a DC multiverse is born.
Speed Stealing and Speed Lending
Wally West draws on the Speed Force more directly than other speedsters, which lets him lend speed to allies and take it from moving objects. The villain version belongs to Savitar, created by Mark Waid and Oscar Jimenez, who first appeared in The Flash (vol. 2) #108 (December 1995). He can steal and lend speed too. In “Dead Heat” he tries to seize the Speed Force and cut other speedsters off from it, which leaves Wally’s unusually deep connection as the key to stopping him.
Caption: The Speed Force manifests as lightning energy that connects speedsters across the DC Universe. Source: DC Comics
Speed Force Lightning
The lightning that trails a speedster is a visible sign of their connection. Barry’s is usually drawn yellow and the Reverse-Flash’s red. The colors are an artistic convention more than a formally defined rule. Different artists and eras have given Wally West blue and later white lightning, so don’t read lightning color as a precise power scale.
The Speed Force as an Afterlife
This is the Speed Force’s most important job for the story, and the one that has made the biggest continuity changes possible. The Black Flash, created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Ron Wagner, cameoed in The Flash (vol. 2) #138 and fully appeared in #141 (1998), per its publication history. He is the Speed Force’s grim reaper, collecting speedsters at the end of their run.
Barry Allen died in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (1985) and came back in Final Crisis #2 (2008). The Flash: Rebirth then explained that he had run into the Speed Force. Bart Allen was killed in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (2007) and returned in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (2009). There the Legion used a lightning rod holding his essence to pull him back out of the Speed Force, as his Wikipedia entry records. Wally West escaped it in DC Universe: Rebirth #1 (2016).
Speed Force History: From 1994 to Today
| Year | Comic | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1940–41 | Flash Comics #1; More Fun Comics #71 | Jay Garrick debuts; Johnny Quick’s speed formula “3X2(9YZ)4A” appears, later tied to the Speed Force |
| 1956 | Showcase #4 | Barry Allen becomes the Flash; his speed has no named source yet |
| 1985 | Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 | Barry dies saving the multiverse |
| 1994 | The Flash (vol. 2) #91 | Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo introduce the Speed Force; Max Mercury explains it to Wally |
| 1994–95 | “Terminal Velocity” (#0, #95–100) | Wally is absorbed into the Speed Force |
| 1998 | The Flash (vol. 2) #138, #141 | The Black Flash arrives |
| 2008–09 | Final Crisis #2; Legion of 3 Worlds #3 | Barry and Bart return |
| 2009–10 | The Flash: Rebirth | Barry revealed as the Speed Force’s “engine”; Thawne’s Negative Speed Force |
| 2011 | Flashpoint | Barry’s time run rewrites the DC Universe |
| 2016 | DC Universe: Rebirth #1 | Wally West escapes the Speed Force |
| 2018 | Justice League; The Flash #49 | The Still, Strength and Sage Forces are introduced |
| 2023–24 | Speed Force #1–6 | Jarrett Williams and Daniele Di Nicuolo’s series starring Wallace West and Avery Ho |
The 2018 expansion is the biggest change to the rules since 1994. It turned the Speed Force from DC’s only source of speed into one Force among several. In The Flash #49, part of Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter’s “Flash War,” Zoom taps the newly freed Strength and Sage Forces. The “Force Quest” arc (The Flash #58–63) then sends Barry to find the avatars of the new Forces, including Fuerza and Psych. For what each Force governs, see our explainer on the Negative Speed Force and DC’s other Forces.
Our Take: Every Big Speed Force Rule Brought Someone Back
Look at the history table and a pattern jumps out. Nearly every major addition to the Speed Force’s rules came with a character returning. “Terminal Velocity” made it a place Wally could be lost to and come back from. Flash: Rebirth made it the explanation for Barry’s return. Legion of 3 Worlds used it to recover Bart. DC Universe: Rebirth used it to bring back the original Wally.
So the afterlife function isn’t a side effect of the concept. Across 30 years, it has driven more big continuity changes than any other Speed Force ability. Speed is what the Flash does, but resurrection is what the Speed Force does for DC. That’s why no speedster’s death in the comics is ever quite final, and why a new Speed Force rule usually means someone is about to return.
Frequently Asked Questions
What powers does the Speed Force give?
The Speed Force grants a protective aura, super-speed and accelerated perception, phasing, time travel, dimensional travel, the ability to steal or lend speed, and Speed Force lightning. It also works as an afterlife for speedsters.
Can the Speed Force bring speedsters back from the dead?
Yes. Barry Allen returned in Final Crisis #2 (2008) after The Flash: Rebirth explained he had been in the Speed Force, and Bart Allen was pulled out of it in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #3 (2009).
What is the Black Flash?
The Black Flash is the Speed Force’s grim reaper, created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Ron Wagner. He cameoed in The Flash (vol. 2) #138 and fully appeared in #141 (1998).
Who are Savitar, Fuerza and Psych?
Savitar is a speed-stealing villain created by Mark Waid and Oscar Jimenez, first seen in The Flash (vol. 2) #108 (1995). Fuerza and Psych are the avatars of the Strength Force and Sage Force, whom Barry meets during Force Quest (The Flash #58-63).
Sources
- DC: The Speed Force Explained (April 11, 2023)
- CBR: The Flash: The Strength and Sage Forces, Explained
- Wikipedia: Bart Allen
- Wikipedia: Black Flash
