Speed Force

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Speed Force (神速力)
Alias(es)	Shanshan; manifests as Caitlin Snow, Kara Danvers, Diana, and the Ghost Fox Killer 252 522 523
Species/Race	Conscious cosmic force; a fundamental manifestation of motion/time 242 243
Affiliation	Independent
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 34

Nature

The Speed Force is described as the universe's most fundamental motion: the force underlying time, thought, matter, and all ongoing processes. Lin Li's research treats it as independent from the four fundamental forces and closer to the operation of the universe itself than ordinary kinetic energy. 99 243

Its consciousness is capable of granting or restricting access to its power. Shanshan 2.0 states that nearly anyone in the world may receive authorization, while Lin Li was specifically restricted despite carrying traces of the Speed Force within him. 99 144 242

The entity claims to have witnessed the universe from the first particles released by the Big Bang through its eventual heat death. 252

Appearance

The Speed Force has no confirmed permanent physical body. It communicates and interacts through forms based on people significant to Lin Li.

• Shanshan — first identifies herself as the Speed Force while appearing as Lin Li's lover; black electrical arcs extend from her hand during the attempted transfer of authority. 252
• Caitlin Snow and Kara Danvers — appear in the Speed Force as manifestations that speak with Lin Li. 522
• Diana and the Ghost Fox Killer — additional manifestations shaped around Lin Li's relationships and memories. 523
• Environment — can recreate locations such as STAR Labs and Kitty's Coffee Shop within its dimension. 522 523

Abilities & Characteristics

Speedster Authorization

The Speed Force can permit, deny, or limit a person's access to super-speed.

• A speedster's cells emit Speed Force and form a protective Speed Force Field. 34
• The field converts kinetic energy produced by high-speed movement into Speed Energy, allowing speedsters to move without accumulating ordinary relative kinetic energy. 34
• It can offer authority sufficient for superluminal movement; the offer made to Lin Li was stated to exceed light speed, or approximately Mach 880,965. 252
• Access is not universal or permanent: Lin Li was initially unable to use the Speed Force despite its presence in his mind and body. 99 144
• Different users possess distinct manifestations rather than drawing on a wholly uniform power; Barry's Speed Force behaved differently from Lin Li's converted power. 256

Temporal and Dimensional Movement

The Speed Force enables movement beyond conventional spatial limits.

• It allows speedsters to traverse time, making it central to Lin Li's attempts to return to his original reality. 99 217
• It can open or connect to the Speed Force dimension, a separate internal space entered by Barry, Lin Li, Savitar, and others. 248 255 522
• A specialized connector can forcibly link to the Speed Force's internal space and potentially draw upon its power. 586
• Savitar was held within the Speed Force dimension; the Philosopher's Stone enabled him to escape its prison but not easily leave the dimension itself. 524

Manifestation and Creation

Within its dimension, the Speed Force can form environments and avatars.

• It generates settings and people drawn from Lin Li's memories, relationships, and emotional attachments. 252 522 523
• Its manifestations can converse, provide information, and attempt to influence Lin Li's choices. 522 524
• Its creation ability can be studied and imitated: Lin Li later transforms the Book of Magic's space into his own Speed Force space. 414 522

Destructive Fluctuations

The Speed Force can affect a person's physical structure and dimensional connection.

• During Lin Li's attempted return, black electrical arcs fractured his spine, destroyed much of his converted Speed Force, and damaged his cells. 255 256
• The attack also attempted to erase Lin Li's “real-world frequency,” the frequency he considered essential to returning home. 253 256
• The identity behind the attack is disputed: later Speed Force manifestations deny responsibility, while Lin Li suspects a separate dark entity connected to the earlier black arcs. 522 515

History

Lin Li first developed a working theory of the Speed Force after briefly experiencing Speed Force Mode alongside other speedsters. He concluded that a speedster's cells generate the power and that its field protects the user from the normal consequences of extreme velocity. 34

As Lin Li's efforts to return home failed, he made mastering the Speed Force his primary objective. He considered it more valuable than his electromagnetism because it could cross time and potentially provide an independent route back to reality. 99 Later, Shanshan 2.0 determined that the Speed Force had altered Lin Li's frequency toward the current world, suggesting that the entity was preventing his return. 144

After studying Barry and Reverse-Flash, Lin Li learned enough to plan the creation of his own Speed Force. He entered the Speed Force dimension only after Barry opened its path. 248 There, the entity appeared as Shanshan and offered him authority exceeding light speed in exchange for abandoning his real-world frequency. 252 253

Lin Li rejected the offer after concluding that superluminal speed alone could not guarantee a return to reality. Instead, he converted his own energy into a temporary Speed Force and attempted to leave under his own control. 254 255 The ensuing attack nearly destroyed his body, but he used the surviving energy and Barry's protective Speed Force to create Speed Force cells, replacing thirty percent of his dead cells and establishing his own independent source of power. 256

Much later, Lin Li entered another world's Speed Force while pursuing Savitar. There, the entity manifested through several women connected to Lin Li and revealed that an unknown being had calculated and manipulated his future. 522 524 The same unknown being was reported to be fighting within the Speed Force and attempting to consume it in order to become one with it. 513 515

Relationships

• Lin Li Li / Lightning Rider — Initially restricted from using the Speed Force; later rejects its offered authority, creates Speed Force cells, and develops an independent Speed Force space. 242 254 256 414
• Barry Allen / The Flash — Barry's Speed Force serves as the basis for Lin Li's early conversion; it protects Lin Li's consciousness during the destructive fluctuations. 253 256
• Shanshan 2.0 — Identifies the Speed Force as a conscious entity, analyzes its mechanics, and helps Lin Li create Speed Force cells and study its dimensional creation ability. 242 256 522
• Savitar — Was imprisoned within the Speed Force dimension and later uses the Philosopher's Stone and external spatial rifts to escape its confinement. 524
• Black Flash — An agent of the Speed Force and the “Grim Reaper of speedsters”; it appears in ZOOM's corrupted form. 521
• Unknown entity / “He” — Reportedly fights within and consumes the Speed Force in an attempt to become it. 513 515

Notable Quotes

“I am the Speed Force.” 252

“The Speed Force giveth, and the Speed Force taketh away.” 217