Out this week, The Flash 2022 Annual is a bit of a unique book in that it is a story within a story. The bulk of the issue, written by Jeremy Adams, centers around Wally West reading Linda Park-West’s novel, sci-fi romance that is heavily inspired by her own life with her speedster husband. But for all the fun of the story within a story, there’s also a genuine exploration of Wally and Linda’s real life, including a major twist at the end that could very well tease a new addition to the Flash family.
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Warning: Spoilers for The Flash 2022 Annual beyond this point!
Heading into the issue, readers of The Flash already know that Linda has been dealing with a bit of a power surge all of her own as she’s been shown to have developed speedster powers of her own. It’s something that doesn’t really have an explanation but has allowed Linda a new way to connect to her heroic husband. It’s also important context to keep in mind for the end of the issue.
After reading Linda’s novel, Wally decides he wants to support and celebrate his wife. He gets a babysitter for their ids and asks her want she wants to do next to which Linda replies that she has a “crazy craving for sea salt caramel gelato”. It’s a very specific craving and Wally reminisces that when she was pregnant with their twins, that’s what she craved all the time and he had to run all over to get it for her. It slowly dawns on both of them that if she’s craving that same very specific thing now it might just have the same meaning again and the end of the issue finds the couple wondering if Linda is, in fact, pregnant.
So, is she? It’s an excellent question. Linda being pregnant certainly would explain both the craving as well as potentially explain her sudden onset of powers. The issue doesn’t itself answer the question of what the West family is facing — that adventure is set to be continued in The Flash, but it definitely seems like we could be seeing the start of a wild new adventure for one DC’s most beloved couples — and it’s something that Adams himself told ComicBook.com in a recent interview he’s excited for fans to explore as well.
“I’m excited for people to realize that The Flash is not just about Wally West. It is about his relationship with The Flash family and just like I am, it is not just about me. It’s like, I am no longer me. I am a ‘we’ with my wife. It’s that, just focusing on… we focus in the DC Universe on a bunch of different couples. This is my way of falling in love with these two in a way that wants to elevate them to the forefront of, ‘Hey, these two are the most well-adjusted, loving characters in the DC Pantheon, and that should be celebrated.’ I think it would be easy for dramatic purposes for me to break them up and do something horrible or whatever,” Adams said.
“I don’t want to do that. I want there to be at least a couple in the DC Universe that’s doing it well, even though it’s hard, and I love the fact that Wally is quickly becoming like, literally in the string of all characters. You’re like, ‘Oh, but he’s moving on, He’s got kids, he’s got a life he’s got now this other wrinkle that’s going to add another level to their family.’ So, I just want people to fall in love with Linda and Wally in a way that I did.”
The Flash 2002 Annual is on sale now.
