Summary

• Wally West embarks on a cosmic adventure reminiscent of Jack Kirby's legendary works in The Flash Annual 2024 Annual #1.
• The Flash dons a new armor to navigate dangerous realities and faces cosmic explorers in pursuit of answers.
• The storyline in The Flash mirrors Kirby's high-concept storytelling, embracing scientific exploration and cosmic conflicts.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Flash Annual 2024 Annual #1!The latest cosmic catastrophe faced by the Flash and his allies is a story that beautifully channels the spirit of comic book legend Jack Kirby. Wally West is traveling throughout the strangest realms of the DC Universe and his current exploits are something that would fit right in with The King's greatest works.

In The Flash Annual 2024 Annual #1 by Simon Spurrier, Tom Derenick, Scott Koblish, George Kambadais, and Amancay Nahuelpan, Wally is a terrifying Uncoiled monster, the Flash dons a new set of armor to protect him from the most dangerous layers of reality.

The Flash travels through various planes of existence as time-quakes and dimensional tears continue to endanger the DC Universe. Wally pursues the cosmic explorers known as the Stillness to get answers on how to fix the world. The Flash even travels as far as the Source Wall to find his targets.

The Flash's Latest Saga is a Jack Kirby-Like Adventure

Things have gone off the rails rapidly after Flash developed the power to phase through unseen layers of reality (dimensions now known as the SpectraVerse). Wally discovered spiritual realms, worlds filled with sentient math, and a strange, yet serene plane known as the Gallery of Moments that allowed him to slow down. However, as Flash discovered the SpectraVerse's secrets, chaos began to build as the various layers began to bleed into one another. Worse, Flash ally inspector Pilgrim made the horrifying discovery that something, possibly speedsters and their powers, has destroyed the DC Universe's future.

The current era of The Flash is one that embraces scientific exploration and dramatic cosmic conflicts, very much like the things DC and Marvel legend Jack Kirby wrote about when working on things like Thor or the "Fourth World Saga". Kirby might not have ever worked on The Flash, but Wally's discovery of the SpectraVerse and his subsequent adventures carry the same sort of spirit found in Kirby's most identifiable works. Between Flash's awesome new cosmic outfit and the incorporation of the Source Wall, it seems like the current storyline is trying to keep Jack Kirby's works on readers' minds.

The Flash Embraces the Same Concepts That Made Kirby So Amazing

The Flash's current run has been very high-concept, introducing a lot of strange entities and metaphysical concepts. It takes a lot of big swings, much like Kirby did when he was building DC's grand cosmology. The references to Kirby's work aren't just subtle winks and nods, they're an acknowledgment of the hard work Jack Kirby did and a reminder of how far the DC Universe has come since the comic book legend planted those seeds so long ago. As The Flash continues its cosmic epic, one can only imagine how else the book will build on Kirby's work.

The Flash Annual 2024 Annual #1 is available now from DC Comics.