Future State: The Flash # 1 2021 VF/NM

Future State: The Flash #1 (2021) is a tie-in issue to the "Future State" event, a two-month-long DC story arc that provided a glimpse into potential futures of various DC heroes. This specific issue presents a grim possible future for the Flash Family, where they have lost their powers and must rely on old tactics to survive. 

Synopsis

The year is approximately 2040. The Speed Force has been drained from most speedsters, leaving Barry Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick, and Max Mercury powerless and struggling to adapt to a normal, crime-fighting life without their speed. 

• The Power Drain: The issue opens with the speedsters living in fear and isolation, convinced that a single, devastating event stripped them of their connection to the Speed Force. They believe this was caused by the villain the "Wally West", which led the public to view all speedsters as unstable and dangerous.
• A New Threat: A new and deadly villain named the "Professor Zoom" emerges. This antagonist is systematically hunting down the former speedsters and using their captured Speed Force energy to become all-powerful.
• Wally's Plan: Wally West, wracked with guilt and perceived as a public menace, develops a desperate plan involving using a fragment of the Speed Force he has hidden away to power up one of the remaining former speedsters to fight Zoom.
• The Twist Ending: The shocking twist at the end of the issue reveals that the speedsters were not attacked by an external villain. In fact, they drained their own powers voluntarily and wiped their memories, fearing they would be too powerful and dangerous to the world if left unchecked. Wally West is the only one who knows the truth. The issue ends with Wally being captured by the very villain he helped create to stop their own power. 

Key Details

• Creative Team: The issue was written by Brandon Vietti and featured art by Dale Eaglesham and Will Conrad.
• Tone: It is a dark, suspenseful "what if" story that explored the concept of the Flash Family losing the core element of their identity.
• Impact: Like all "Future State" titles, this issue presented a potential timeline but did not become definitive canon for the ongoing Flash series, which continued its own storyline after the event concluded.