Warning! Preview pages for Absolute Flash #2 ahead!He’s only had powers for a hot minute, but the DC Universe’s newestFlashhas already felt the painful sting of defeat.The Absolute Universe’s Wally Westwas just a normal 15-year-old before accidentally gaining powers. Now his first villains are after him and they’re getting the upper hand already.
InAbsolute Flash #2by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles,Wally is panicking over Barry Allen’s death. Meanwhile,the Absolute Universe’s Rogueshave the new Flash pinned down in a cave and coordinate a plan to keep him contained. As the Captain uses a cold gun to ice out any escapes, Digger uses his boomerang drones to flush him out.
Wally runs for his life as the boomerangs attack him, but with all the other exits sealed up, he’s got nowhere to go. Wally runs towards the only exit,only for Glider to intercept the Flash and bring him down.
The Absolute Rogues Just Took Down DC’s New Flash
The Speedster’s Villains are Much More Effective in This World
The Absolute Universe is one shaped by Darkseid, whose energy has made it so that heroes face far more difficulty than their Prime Universe counterparts. In Wally’s case, he’s younger and under the thumb of his military scientist father. Barry took an interest in Wally and offered the young man a chance to work in his lab, but when Wally showed up, Barry was in the middle of an experiment that ended with Barry dead and Wally with uncontrollable powers.The unstable Flash ran out into the world and the Absolute Rogues were charged with bringing him backto base.
It should come as no surprise that this new version of the Rogues won this first battle with Wally. For one, he’s young and incredibly upset at everything that’s happened to him, and he barely understands the powers he’s just been granted. But even if he were on the top of his game, the Rogues are a well-oiled machine. To be fair, they’ve got decent teamwork skills in the Prime Universe as well, but here, they’re practically game hunters. The team takes him down with ease andthat spells trouble for the Flash’s future if the Rogues are this effective.
Absolute Flash is Facing a Truly Uphill Battle with the Rogues
While all heroes in the Absolute Universe are at a serious disadvantage, Flash got a worse deal than most. That’s not to say it’s impossible for Wally to turn things around, but he’s going to have to master his powers and his anxiety if he wants any hope of defeating the Rogues. But he’s going to have to learn quickly, because, unlike the more affable Rogues from the Prime Universe, this team isn’t making any deals with the Scarlet Speedster. Hopefully, theFlash’sfirst defeat by the Rogues is just a small bump in Wally West’s character arc.
