Having recently been suspended from the Central City Police Department, Barry Allen has been working at the Keystone Saloon. Iris West, Floyd Gomez, Marissa Rennie & Albert Lim were all trapped in the Speed Force for several months. Since their return (during GORILLA WARFARE), there are hints that they may not be able to tap into new abilities. But, more importantly, a darker ‘Flash’ is on his way to Central City…
SCROLL DOWN to the bottom for the KEY COLLECTED EDITIONS for this event!
Crossover: This story ties in with events in another New 52 title, as well as one of the decimal ‘Villains Month’ issues. So, let’s just call it a crossover and move on.
Must Reads: Story arcs marked with a ✔are must-read stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue, so you don’t need to read the other four.
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- ✔ The Flash #18 (tie-in)
- Dial H #11 (tie-in)
- ✔ The Flash #19 (tie-in)
- ✔ The Flash #20, 21, 22, 23
- ✔ The Flash #23.2: Reverse-Flash
- ✔ The Flash #24
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| Must Reads | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The Flash #18 (pp.1-19) The Trickster flees the police when he’s accused of murder. The Flash gets unwanted ‘help’ in apprehending him from two of the new speedsters who recently re-emerged from the Speed Force. The Outlander Nation threaten to storm Iron Heights and free Trickster. |
| Dial H #11 (pp.1-2) The Centipede breaks into a Canadian Government facility to coerce a priest of the Church of the Dial to open a portal to the Exchange. | |
| ✔ | The Flash #18 (pp.20-21) The Flash heads to Iron Heights, but fails to convince Trickster to talk the Outlanders out of freeing him. |
| Dial H #11 (pp.3-4) Nelson Jent uses the H-Dial to gain powers and avoid talking to Roxie Hodder about them sleeping together. | |
| ✔ | The Flash #18 (pp.22) When Flash tries to leave, his powers cut out… |
| Dial H #11 (pp.5-16) Nelson Jent gains the powers of the Flash and struggles to control them. Roxie and Nelson realise they could’ve been stealing powers from existing heroes this whole time. Centipede makes the Shadow on the Line an offer… | |
| ✔ | The Flash #19 (pp.1-13) Trapped in Iron Heights with no powers, Barry Allen obtains weapons confiscated from the Rogues to oppose the Outlanders who have forced their way into the prison. The Speed Force-powered Albert Lim arrives to lend a hand, powering up Captain Cold’s Cold Gun which allows Barry to take out the Outlanders… |
| Dial H #11 (pp.17-20) The Shadow on the Line – actually known as the Fixer – takes the Centipede to Nelson Jent’s location. Using his Flash powers, Nelson runs Roxie to safety. They end up in Australia by the time the Flash’s powers have faded away. The Centipede catches up with them both and offers them up to the Fixer. | |
| ✔ | The Flash #19 (pp.14-20) Barry senses the Speed Force in Marissa Rennie just as his Flash powers return. It seems it was Marissa who staged the robbery that left a guard dead and let Trickster take the fall. Flash gets Cyborg to destroy the Rogues’ weapons. Later, Albert Lim is murdered by the Reverse-Flash… |
| ✔ | The Flash #20 Reverse-Flash kills Marissa Rennie. Barry Allen officially moves in with Patty Spivot and is reinstated at the Keystone City Police Department, filing cold case files. Flash tracks down a terrified Floyd Gomez who knows Marissa and Albert were killed by the same man and he aims to escape. Flash loses Gomez, but inspects a device built by Albert that reveals a ‘Flash’ killed him. The Flash decides to question Kid Flash… |
| Must Reads | Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| ✔ | The Flash #21 The Flash pursues Kid Flash across the planet in an effort to find out more about him. Physical contact unleashes Speed Force energy that reveals to the Flash that Kid Flash is from the future. Kid Flash refuses to give over any information on his origins, but he’s not powered by the Speed Force. Elsewhere, Iris West tries to convince her brother, Daniel West, to forgive their father. Later, Reverse-Flash catches up with Gomez and rips him to pieces… |
| ✔ | The Flash #22 Dr Darwin Elias prepares to capture the Flash so he can use his power to evolve humanity to the next level, even though it means the Flash will die. The Flash gives Iris West a costume that will mask her Speed Force energy from the killer. The Flash suspects Dr Elias of being the killer, but arrives on the scene to find the Reverse-Flash trying to kill him and take his stored Speed Force energy. Reverse-Flash overpowers the Flash… |
| ✔ | The Flash #23 Flash battles Reverse-Flash while Elias tries to kill them both. Iris West’s powers activates when she realises who Reverse-Flash is. She runs to the fight and takes a power-drainer shot meant for the Flash. Her brother is the Reverse-Flash, and he drains the Flash of his life-force… |
| ✔ | The Flash #23.2: Reverse-Flash Three months ago, Daniel West was released from prison during the Rogues’ war with Gorilla Grodd (during GORILLA WARFARE). Mirror Master attempted to thwart Daniel’s attempt to escape the Rogues’, which sent him and the Speed Force engine from Dr Elias’ monorail from the Mirror World. Daniel emerged, fused with shards of metal and with the power to turn back time. Now, Reverse-Flash uses the Speed Force he’s absorbed from the Flash to travel back in time 15 years and confront his abusive father. But young Daniel & Iris walk in on him as he’s about to kill their dad… Also see VILLAINS MONTH |
| ✔ | The Flash #24 The powerless Flash drags himself up and tries to protect the young Iris and Daniel. The force of the Reverse-Flash’s attacks injure young Daniel, giving the Flash a chance to drag him back to the present. Despite his defeat, the depleted Reverse-Flash swears to Iris West that he’ll repeat his actions all over again. Flash knocks out Dr Elias. Iris’ powers are gone. Reverse-Flash is sent to Iron Heights. Barry Allen resumes the search for proof that his own father is innocent. |
| Issues & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| Dial H #12-15 (2013) Nelson Jent & Roxie Hodder conclude their enmity with the Fixer and the Centipede. | |
| The Flash #23.3: The Rogues (2013) Forever Evil #1 (2013) The Rogues break the Trickster out of Iron Heights (with help from the Secret Society of Super-Villains). | FOREVER EVIL VILLAINS MONTH |
| Teen Titans #25-28 (2014) Kid Flash’s origin is revealed. | THE TRIAL OF KID FLASH |
| New Suicide Squad #5 (2015) Daniel West’s Reverse-Flash powers return, though they aren’t as potent; Reverse-Flash joins the Suicide Squad. | |
| The Flash #40-42 (2015-2016) The Flash Annual #4 (2015) The Flash #43-47 (2015-2016) The Flash clashes with Professor Zoom (Eobard Thorne), through they no longer remember their shared history. | THE ACOLYTES OF ZOOM |
| New Suicide Squad Annual #1 (2015) Reverse-Flash dies a hero when he stops a bomb and saves the inhabitants of a village in Turkey. | MONSTERS |
| The Flash #25-26 (2017) Professor Zoom takes the name Reverse Flash. | |
| The Flash #790 (2023) After slowly getting closer, Iris West finally proposes to Barry Allen. | THE ONE-MINUTE WAR |
Notable collected editions featuring the Reverse…
| Collected Editions Title | Collects… |
| The Flash vol.3: Gorilla Warfare | The Flash #13-19 |
| The Flash vol.4: Reverse | The Flash #21-25 The Flash #23.2: Reverse-Flash |
| Dial H vol.2: Exchange | Dial H #7-15 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes…. |
| The Flash by Buccellato & Manapul Omnibus | The Flash #18-24 The Flash #23.2: Reverse-Flash |
| Dial H – The Deluxe Edition | Dial H #11 |
| DC Comics: The New 52 Villains Omnibus | The Flash #23.2: Reverse-Flash |
Reading Order ©OmniverseComicsGuide 2023
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