Absolute Flash is a series published by DC Comics under the Absolute line. It is written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Nick Robles, colors by Adriano Lucas, and lettering by Tom Napolitano. The series began on March 19th, 2025, becoming the fourth ABSOLUTE title to debut for DC. The series has fans and detractors but as a Flash fan I can see both the good and the bad. Let’s talk about it!
Who Is ABSOLUTE Wally West? (Absolute Flash So Far)
When conversation about DC's Absolute line comes up these days, it always seems to either be about how crazy the latest issue of Absolute Batman was or how "Absolute Wonder Woman is really underrated, bro! You gotta read it." And yes, those statements are definitely true. I feel like this has also allowed other series to feel a little bit underappreciated in the landscape. Enter exhibit A: Absolute Flash, a book I feel is not spoken about enough, and sometimes it feels like I'm the only one reading it. By no means am I suggesting this book is an underground cult hit; I mean, it's published by one of the big two, and I believe the first issue sold the most copies for a Flash book since 1987.
So, for the uninitiated who may be clicking on this article with no prior experience with the series and thinking about jumping on board, what is this series about? Well, like the other titles in the Absolute line, it's a twist on the classic character which has them set in a much darker Earth Alpha created by the evil Darkseid as opposed to stories in DC's main continuity that take place on Earth 1. Still with me? Don't worry, you don't actually need to understand all that context to enjoy this book I promise.
So, our protagonist of this book is Wally West, Kid Flash in main DC continuity, and later The Flash (also one of my favorite DC characters). A young teenager, he is currently living at Fort Fox with his father, Rudy Fox, a military service member who's been stationed there. He befriends scientist Barry Allen, who is working on the mysterious Project Olympus. Accidents occur whilst visiting Barry's lab one day, and Wally gains new powers that allow him to move at incredible speeds and seemingly observe reality non-linearly, whilst seemingly killing Barry Allen in the process.
I think the most obvious difference between Absolute Wally West and Earth 1 Wally West is the lack of the Speed Force and Flash Family that often aid and support him. Even early on in his adventures as Kid Flash, Wally had an established Barry Allen to support him as The Flash and teach him his powers. In the Absolute universe, Barry seems as clueless as Wally does about any of this. In fact, not to spoil issue 9, I'd even go as far as to say some of the dialogue suggests Barry had sinister intentions toward Wally from the jump.
In my opinion, that adds a degree of tragedy to Absolute Wally that separates him dramatically from his Earth-1 counterpart.
The World’s Slowest Man? A Review of Flash #9
Absolute Flash has gotten some criticism online for its pacing, and whilst I can understand where people are coming from, as nine issues deep it doesn't seem like a whole ton has happened. In my opinion, Jeff Lemire has always seemed like a writer more concerned with the bigger picture of the story. I have loved his past work on Black Hammer as well as Moon Knight, and those stories were concerned with long-form storytelling and payoffs rather than every issue necessarily being a complete story. Now, your mileage for this may vary, and I can understand if this isn't your thing. Modern comic books can be expensive, and it may be a little much to ask the consumer to fork over their money each month to see how a complete story plays out.
In the last issue, we saw flashbacks to how Barry met the mysterious Elenor Thawne and became involved with the elusive Project Olympus. We also learned that Eleanor's grandfather, Eobard Thawne (Flash's nemesis, Reverse Flash, in the main continuity), was responsible for early work on the Project and was able to open a gateway into which he got sucked and erased from time. We also saw Wally strike an uneasy alliance with The Rogues, who also feel exploited and like pawns by Thawne, and intend to all escape together.
There Is A Cost To Everything
This issue kicks off directly with Wally and the Rogues agreeing to hatch a plan to deceive and confront Thawne directly, although Eleanor Thawne may have prepared for this and hidden a mole amongst the group. Although I don't think a whole bunch of stuff happens in this issue, I think it's cool that we get to see some more reality jumping and visions of what the mysterious gateway could be. Like Barry before him, Wally is spoken to and commanded by a mysterious voice from the future or possibly the past?
So far, for me, Wally has seemed the least like a hero compared to any of his Absolute contemporaries, as the majority of his story has focused on him trying to survive, outrun the Rogues, and understand what his newfound powers could possibly mean. I think we will see Absolute Flash become the hero he's supposed to be, although I don't think his problems are quite over yet.
I also really like this take on The Rogues and how many creative liberties Jeff Lemire is taking with this brand new take on the character. I think having The Rogues as a strike unit as opposed to outright villains adds an interesting dynamic to how we’ve viewed Wally's struggle so far. We’re not reading about a young character trying to escape THE bad guys, no, we’re watching ’re watching a young character trying to escape a government body.
I don’t think Eleanor Thawne's true motives have become fully clear to us yet, although, it’s been hinted at that a lot of her goal with Project Olympus is to try and find out what happened to her grandfather Eobard Thawne and try to save him, my personal theory though is that she has already been visited by her grandfather possibly multiple times, and he’s told her visions of the future as well as the hero and powers Wally West is destined to. I think her end goal is this power for herself.
If my theories are correct then I think it will be a fun take on how in main continuity Yellow Flash is constantly going back in time to mess with Barry and Wally's lives due to hating their guts.
One thing I've really been loving about Absolute Flash is the body horror associated with Wally's powers and their unpredictable nature. There's a moment early on in the series, in Issue 3, when we see the death of Barry Allen happening before our eyes as his body is ripped apart and forced to age at a dramatic speed due to the mysterious power from the portal, and it's truly nightmare fuel. Although Issue 9 doesn't contain anything as extreme, we still get to see how Wally is plagued by visions and, at points, doesn't have a sense of time, which rightfully seems to freak him out.
In my opinion, these body horror elements create a really fun juxtaposition to what we expect from a Flash book taking place in the mainline continuity and really hammer home the point that the Absolute universe is not a place where good always triumphs and is Darkseid's world. In terms of storytelling, I also think they convey to the reader that Wally is not having a great time at all and show us the true darkness that could be awaiting our protagonist.
One Speedster, Under Grodd
Thankfully, he has his companion, Grodd, to calm him down and ground him. When the reinvention of Gorilla Grodd made his debut at the start of the series, I was a little unsure about him and what purpose he would serve, but I'm definitely liking him as a comfort animal that can trauma bond with Wally. It's still unsure whether Absolute Grodd shares any similarities with his mainline counterpart, who is one of Flash's greatest villains, but for all we know, he's also one of Eleanor Thawne's spies, and this is all an elaborate ruse. It really seems like he's been tortured quite a lot by her, so I'd be shocked if that were the case.
I also really like how Wally is very obviously a young teenager who's still quite unsure of his place in the world and what he's supposed to do with these brand new powers that he's been gifted or cursed with. I think that really makes a sharp distinction from characters like Batman or Wonder Woman, who are more than capable and confident in their abilities. I can see similar themes to young adult fiction I read when I was younger, and can see people who consume a lot of that media also enjoying this for those reasons.
Whole ‘lotta Scarlet On That Speedster. Let’s Talk ART!
Time to talk about art. While I think the work by Nick Robles is competent and works well enough for this book and series, it also doesn't really inspire or stand out to me in any great way. Now, I'm not saying I think Nick Robles is a bad artist by any means; I just also have yet to be wowed in any great way by his work. I think the colors by Adriano Lucas really aid Robles' work, though, and I really like how the reds really stand out and pop. I think there's really good color distinction as well that makes it easy to work out what's going on and adds a sinister atmosphere to scenes relating to the portal.
I think something DC has been really good at with the Absolute line so far is giving each of the series its very own artistic voice that instantly gives the reader a tone and feeling when jumping into the book. For example, Absolute Batman's art feels heavy and bombastic, giving Bruce and his world a very mythic feeling, whereas Absolute Martian Manhunter's feels very new wave pop art, kind of like a Roy Lichtenstein painting. That feels perfect for a comic that dives so deep into character studies and the complex nature of emotion and its effect on people.
Absolute Flash's artwork, in my opinion, further embodies the style of young adult fiction, and I can definitely see creative similarities between Absolute Flash and some of DC's young adult output over the last decade. I wouldn't be shocked if this was intentional. I would argue that the creative style is perfect for the plot due to its themes of adolescence, knowing our place in the world, and not knowing where to turn when every adult seems out to get you.
The Final Verdict
While this is another issue where not a great deal happens, I think Jeff Lemire is definitely in it for the long game and is more concerned with grand storytelling than delivering an entire story in one issue, as this issue features some more hints and foreshadowing about what is to come. While I'm still unsure where it's leading, I'm hopeful it will pay off in the long term. This is either a single pull or wait for the trade paperback depending on how you view that statement.