DC Just Settled The Absolute Universe’s Most Important Character

There’s one character in DC Comics’ new Absolute Universe that is way more important than anyone thinks, and you might be surprised by who it is. For the last year, we’ve been seeing the Absolute Universe take shape, showing us how dark a world where oppression and villainy are the status quo and how that’s affected the heroes we know and love. However, things are shifting in the Absolute Universe, and despite the odds, heroes are starting to rise and take on a bigger role in this new world.

We’ve seen a lot of great characters in this universe. From Absolute Wonder Woman standing tall against the shadowy machinations of the government to Absolute Martian Manhunter and John Jones fighting a war against bad ideas invading human minds. The Absolute heroes are all serving important roles in this universe as the tide slowly begins to, hopefully, turn more in their favour. But there’s one hero who is way more important than anyone, even real-life fans realise. And they could be the key to the Absolute Universe’s salvation or its utter destruction.

Absolute Flash’s Powers Come From Something Darker Than the Speed Force

I know people were probably expecting someone like Absolute Superman or Absolute Wonder Woman, but no. Absolute Flash has secretly set up Wally West as the most important character in this new universe. In this world, Wally got his powers in an experiment that was a part of Project Olympus, and for the better part of the year, we’ve had no clue what that was. Until Absolute Flash #8 by Jeff Lemire and Travis Moore, which revealed that Project Olympus was inspired by Project Blue Trinity, led by the Absolute Eobard Thawne.

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Thawne was driven to madness, claiming to hear a voice from another world, one of living energy. He managed to make contact with this dimension before he was lost to it entirely. Decades later, Eobard’s granddaughter, Elenore Thawne, created Project Olympus as a means of continuing his work. But Wally got caught up in Project Olympus’ master experiment, endowing him with power that’s made him one of the fastest beings alive. And yet, Absolute Flash writer Jeff Lemire has confirmed that Wally’s speed isn’t connected to the traditional source of Flash’s powers, the Speed Force.

Interestingly, though, we get a new look at Wally’s powers in Absolute Flash #9 by Lemire and Nick Robles. Wally is traveling with the Rogues when he notices an eerie, red energy source that only he can see. After making contact with it, Wally begins seeing himself from just moments in the past. The red energy surges as the boy becomes overwhelmed with time stacking on top of him. Now, I don’t know about you, but if this isn’t the Speed Force, I can only imagine that what Wally’s connected to is actually Darkseid’s Omega Effect.

Absolute Flash is Tapping into Darkseid’s Power Source

Now it is a big leap, admittedly, but just go with me for a second. We know that Darkseid’s essence permeates the Absolute Universe down to its core, as confirmed by the discovery of the Omega Particle in Absolute Evil #1. Thawne described hearing a ‘voice’ in this dimension of living energy, and we know that Darkseid was alive and incubating in the Absolute Universe for eons. What Thawne and, eventually, his granddaughter found wasn’t an alternate dimension, but a living manifestation of Darkseid’s Omega energy.

Why am I so certain? Well, have you noticed how, when Wally utilises his powers, he occasionally leaves red, solid lines in his wake? They look suspiciously similar to the beams that Darkseid shoots whenever he fires off his Omega Sanction. Speaking of, you remember how in Final Crisis, Batman was shot by Darkseid’s beams and ended up traveling through time? Being connected to Darkseid’s Omega Energy would explain why Wally’s sense of time has been erratic lately. Not to mention, Wally saw the hand of creation in Absolute Flash #5. But who created the Absolute Universe? That’s right, Darkseid.

Absolute Flash is the only hero in the Absolute Universe who likely has a direct line to Darkseid. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise because when it comes to the greater multiverse, Flashes always play a key role. But if this turns out to be the case for Wally, and he actually is connected to the world’s Omega Energy, he’s in a precarious situation. Someone with that much power could potentially use it to change the world for the better. But at the same time, Omega Energy is a dark force that could end up consuming Absolute Flash.

Flashes are powerful heroes, and the idea of one running off Omega Energy rather than the Speed Force is interesting, especially if they could harness it for good. But Wally has barely been holding it together throughout Absolute Flash, which makes sense if the power he has in him is some twisted extension of Darkseid. I don’t know how this is all going to play out, but I can confidently say that based on what the Flash has gone through so far, he’s certainly going to be the Absolute Universe’s biggest player going forward.

Do you think Absolute Flash is important to the Absolute Universe? Let us know in the comments or on the ComicBook Forum!