Chapter Summaries

Ultraman and Dormammu tried to outdo each other with claims of being more important to Donnie, each insisting the other was a nobody. Donnie finally lost patience and hurled them both underground, furious that their argument had spread across Cybertron.

• Ultraman left the hall, conflicted over whether to kneel to Donnie and call him Father.
• Ultraman encountered Dormammu, who claimed to be Donnie's lifelong enemy.
• Ultraman bragged that Steppenwolf had lost to him and that Darkseid admired him, then claimed Donnie had begged him to become his son.
• Dormammu countered that Donnie had once begged him for power and declared that Ultraman could call him Grandfather.
• Donnie slammed Ultraman and Dormammu underground with overwhelming force and angrily confronted them for broadcasting their argument across Cybertron.

Reverse-Flash’s attempts to steal Speed Force and escape the main universe drew Cisco’s suspicions, and Cisco uncovered the real Dr. Harrison Wells’s corpse. Barry learned that Harrison was actually Reverse-Flash, the man who murdered his mother, and sought Gideon and Cisco’s help to make him confess.

• Reverse-Flash, disguised as Harrison, suggested that someone was stealing Barry’s Speed Force, but Barry blamed Reverse-Flash rather than Smoke Screen.
• Cisco investigated Harrison Wells’s records and dug up a mummified corpse whose genes matched the Dr. Harrison working at the Particle Accelerator Laboratory.
• Barry learned that Dr. Harrison was Reverse-Flash and struggled with the revelation that the man he had treated like a father had murdered his mother.
• Barry activated Gideon in the Particle Accelerator Laboratory’s secret room and learned that he had created the artificial intelligence in the future.
• Barry asked Cisco to help him make Reverse-Flash admit the truth, and Cisco agreed to use his powers to investigate him.

Thawne revealed how he had stolen Dr. Harrison’s identity and explained how his admiration for the Flash turned into hatred when the public praised Barry instead of him. He told Barry and the others that he had seen countless timelines where he fought countless versions of the Flash, and that destiny had fixed his path.

• Thawne cast off his Harrison disguise and recalled traveling back to kill young Barry, losing his Speed Force, and stealing Dr. Harrison’s identity.
• Thawne described becoming a hero after Barry gained the Speed Force, then growing bitter because the public always celebrated the Flash rather than him.
• Thawne explained how his ambition to become a hero shifted into hatred after he realized he could never escape the Flash’s shadow.
• Thawne addressed Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin, calling them his former assistants and declaring that they were enemies.
• Thawne said he had seen countless timelines in which countless versions of himself fought countless Flashes, and claimed an unknown force had fixed his destiny.

Barry confronted Thawne after learning that he had killed Barry’s mother and framed his father, and the Flash and Reverse-Flash began their final battle. Thawne faced Barry and the heroes pursuing him, while both speedsters fought without restraint.

• Thawne admitted to Barry that he knew him better than anyone and urged him to avenge his mother.
• Barry and Thawne launched into a battle at thousands of times the speed of sound, racing around Earth and tearing through the atmosphere.
• Smoke Screen, Superman, and other heroes joined the pursuit, while Kamar-Taj and Shazam the Wizard watched Thawne closely.
• Thawne realized that, like his counterparts across countless timelines, he was destined to lose, but he refused to accept defeat.
• Barry and Thawne traded relentless blows, using their healing and speed to keep fighting as Thawne exhausted his Speed Force.

Barry defeated the Reverse Flash but struggled with the temptation to kill him for murdering his mother. Clark persuaded Barry to capture him alive, and Barry kept the unconscious speedster subdued while questioning the Justice League’s rules about killing.

• The Reverse Flash fought Barry across the ocean while Superman rescued the Flash, and Barry tore off the Reverse Flash’s cowl to reveal Dr. Harrison’s face.
• Barry beat the Reverse Flash and nearly killed him with a vibrating hand, but instead struck his head and knocked him unconscious.
• Clark praised Barry for sparing the Reverse Flash and urged him to accept that the killer would face imprisonment and punishment.
• Barry knocked the Reverse Flash unconscious again when he began to wake, then asked Clark what it felt like to kill someone.
• Clark said killing people from Earth had felt like killing himself and insisted that the Justice League should not kill when other options remained.

Barry imprisoned Reverse-Flash in the Particle Accelerator Laboratory, but Reverse-Flash manipulated him with claims about his mother's death and a possible future version of Barry being involved. Barry left, then returned at night to run alone on the super track and attempt time travel as Reverse-Flash urged him on.

• Barry rejected Reverse-Flash's attempts to persuade him to change the past and vowed to keep him imprisoned.
• Reverse-Flash told Barry that a yellow-lightning speedster at his mother's death might have been Barry's future self and blamed Barry for her death.
• Barry vanished in a flash of yellow lightning after Reverse-Flash's accusations.
• That night, Barry returned alone, activated the super track, and began running without the Cosmic Treadmill.
• Reverse-Flash watched Barry accelerate and urged him to run, saying he would discover the concealed truth.

While Barry traveled through time, the Speed Force Collective Consciousness briefly pulled him into a strange world and warned him that altering the timeline carried a price. After Barry returned to the time tunnel, Savitar attacked the Collective Consciousness and vowed to become a god.

• An unknown force dragged Barry out of the time tunnel and into a deserted world where his Speed Force had vanished.
• A man who looked like Barry warned him that time would punish anyone who altered the timeline and handed him a withered willow branch.
• The strange world collapsed, and the Speed Force Collective Consciousness returned Barry to the time tunnel.
• Savitar barged into the Collective Consciousness’s domain and shattered its current form with a punch.
• The Collective Consciousness reformed in Savitar’s image and vowed to stop him, but Savitar declared that he would become a god.

Barry traveled back to the night his mother was killed, determined to interfere with the past, while Donnie sensed the timeline shift and sent a fragment of his will after him. Donnie knew the main universe’s past was fixed and feared Barry’s attempt would kill him and damage the timeline.

• Savitar escaped the Speed Force Prison and vowed to kill Donnie and take his place.
• Barry raced back to the night he was five years old and arrived on the street outside his childhood home.
• Donnie sensed that Barry had disturbed the timeline while relaxing on Cybertron.
• Donnie explained that he had fixed the main universe’s past, making it impossible to change without destroying the timeline.
• Donnie sent a fragment of his will after Barry, fearing the time upheaval would kill him.

Donnie met with Savitar, who had come to negotiate after helping him against enemies in the God Realm. Savitar removed his armor and revealed himself as a burned Barry Allen Time Remnant who had become an immortal Conceptual Being, while the two sat over tea.

• A strand of will from a Unique God traveled into the past, searching for a way to keep Barry from dying.
• Savitar appeared before Donnie and claimed he had helped Donnie face powerful enemies, but Donnie dismissed his role and offered him tea.
• Savitar withdrew his Speed Force armor and revealed his burned face and ordinary suit.
• The chapter recounted how the rejected Barry Allen Time Remnant became Savitar, killed his creator's loved ones, and slaughtered the Time Remnants sent against him.
• Savitar became a multiversal Conceptual Being who could not be permanently killed, and he sat with Donnie as their tea steamed.

Donnie met Savitar, who asked him to help damage the Speed Force Wall and promised aid in return for help killing the Flash. Savitar left to seek an assassin for a weapon that could make him a god, while Donnie considered how he might use the coming conflict with the Speed Force Wall.

• Donnie and Savitar met face-to-face, and Savitar explained that he kept his facial scars as a mark separating himself from the Flash.
• Savitar asked Donnie to help severely damage the Speed Force Wall, but Donnie refused because Savitar offered him no worthwhile benefit.
• Savitar proposed that Donnie help kill the Flash in exchange for his assistance, and Donnie doubted Savitar could defeat the Ultimate Flash.
• Savitar revealed that he sought an assassin to forge a powerful Lightning Weapon that would help him become a god, then vanished.
• Donnie realized what Savitar was searching for and considered how he might direct his eventual fight with the Speed Force Wall.

Barry returned to the night his mother was killed and tried to stop Reverse-Flash, but Donnie warned him that changing the timeline would destroy him. Donnie released Barry, leaving him to charge toward the fatal confrontation as he declared the Flash dead.

• Barry watched his mother in the living room as his future self fought Reverse-Flash and signaled for him not to interfere.
• Barry's future self rescued five-year-old Barry and placed him on the street, repeating the event from Barry's childhood.
• Reverse-Flash threatened to kill Barry's mother, and Barry rushed toward him to stop the attack.
• Donnie restrained Barry and warned that interfering with the timeline would kill him without changing the outcome.
• Barry struggled against Donnie's restraint until Donnie released him, then Donnie declared that the Flash was dead.

Barry Allen died when the fixed timeline retaliated against his attempt to save his mother, despite Donnie's warning and offer of help. As Reverse-Flash waited for confirmation of his victory in Central City, Barry suddenly appeared before him and Cisco.

• Barry’s body fractured and disintegrated as the timeline’s backlash overwhelmed him, and he died regretting that he had failed to save his mother.
• Donnie’s remaining shred of will faded after he explained that he could not stop the backlash, and he concluded that Reverse-Flash had won.
• Donnie returned to his body in the twenty-first century and wondered whether others had watched Barry’s death or been unable to intervene.
• Reverse-Flash waited outside the prison, telling Cisco that he had only encouraged Barry to do what he already wanted and expecting Barry to die.
• Barry Allen suddenly appeared beside Cisco in front of Reverse-Flash.

A mysterious version of Barry returned to the Particle Accelerator Laboratory and terrified Reverse-Flash with his overwhelming Speed Force. He revealed himself as Savitar, the God of Speed, and gave Reverse-Flash a chance to flee before pursuing him.

• Barry returned and embraced Cisco while Reverse-Flash sensed that he was not the Barry Allen he knew.
• Cisco took Barry and Caitlin to celebrate, leaving Reverse-Flash shaken by the white Speed Force arcs in Barry’s eyes.
• Savitar returned to the underground prison, passed through the cell door, and seized Reverse-Flash by the throat.
• Savitar declared himself the God of Speed, condemned Reverse-Flash, then released him and challenged him to escape.
• Reverse-Flash fled at tremendous speed, but Savitar’s overwhelming power left him facing the shadow of death.

Savitar dragged Reverse-Flash through an azure Speed Force passage and transformed him into a Black Flash, erasing his consciousness and remaking him as a weapon. Donnie watched from afar, while Savitar judged his new creation inferior and considered making a stronger one.

• Donnie watched Savitar carry Reverse-Flash through the multiverse at a speed that produced white Speed Force lightning.
• Savitar slammed Reverse-Flash against the passage barrier and began transforming him into a Black Flash.
• Reverse-Flash struggled as Savitar’s power blackened his body and erased his soul, replacing his memories with obedience and hunting instincts.
• Savitar examined the newly made Black Flash and decided it was too inferior, imagining a more powerful weapon.

Donnie awaited Blackest Night and reflected on his need to reach Level Eight while Starscream secretly tracked the Controllers to seize the Orange Lantern Ring. Starscream and Larfleeze both arrived in the Controllers’ territory and confronted each other, but a third party appeared before they could fight.

• Donnie concluded that Savitar was impersonating the Flash and decided to wait for Blackest Night while seeking a path to Level Eight.
• Donnie wondered how Starscream was faring and recalled that the greedy Decepticon would be drawn to the Orange Lantern Ring.
• Starscream watched the Controllers prepare to develop the Orange Lantern Ring and imagined leading its Corps and challenging Megatron.
• Larfleeze tracked the Controllers to their territory, where he and Starscream argued over who had the right to claim it.
• A third party arrived before Starscream and Larfleeze could settle their dispute.

Loki arrived on a desolate planet with Sif, intending to investigate the Controllers and acquire power rings to strengthen the Asgardians. As Loki began watching the hidden building, Starscream and Larfleeze noticed him and prepared to pursue their own hostile plans.

• Sif brought Loki to the planet and warned him that Asgard would not start another war for him.
• Loki recalled how Hela had joined the surviving Asgardians and beaten him while Thor tried to restrain her ambition.
• Loki told Sif he wanted to find power rings and said the Controllers might have useful information.
• Loki sent Sif away and watched the hidden building alone, relying on his skill at infiltration and disguise.
• Starscream recognized Loki, and he and Larfleeze fixed their greedy, hostile attention on the same building.

Loki, Starscream, and Larfleeze competed to claim the newly born Orange Lantern Ring at the Controllers’ secret base. Loki seized the ring while Starscream and Larfleeze fought their way inside.

• Loki recognized Starscream and questioned how he had learned about the Controllers and the Orange Lantern Ring.
• The Orange Lantern Ring awakened greed in Loki, Starscream, and Larfleeze, and all three rushed toward the Controllers’ building.
• Loki escaped ahead of Starscream and Larfleeze, while the two rivals agreed to target him and then attacked each other.
• Starscream entered the base and raced toward the underground levels, planning to kill Loki before claiming the ring.
• Loki reached the altar, seized the Orange Lantern Ring, and declared it his.

Loki claimed the Orange Lantern Ring, but Starscream overwhelmed him and took it for himself. Starscream acquired the Orange Lantern Forge and planned to build an Orange Lantern Corps by killing people.

• Loki defeated the Controllers and put on the newly born Orange Lantern Ring, claiming it as his own.
• Starscream killed the Controllers, then attacked Loki after the ring refused to provide usable energy entities.
• Starscream endured Loki’s magic with his Original Adamantium body and snapped off Loki’s finger to take the ring.
• Starscream put on the Orange Lantern Ring and received its knowledge and two oaths.
• The Orange Lantern Forge appeared, and Starscream took it, preparing to create Orange Lantern Soldiers by killing people.

Starscream claimed the Orange Lantern Ring after defeating Larfleeze and driving Loki away. He recognized Larfleeze’s fearless greed as a quality suited to the ring and took him into space as his servant.

• Starscream inspected the Orange Lantern Ring after Loki escaped and concluded that Cybertron now had several Lantern Ring corps.
• Larfleeze lunged for the ring, and Starscream kicked him away before threatening to destroy it.
• Larfleeze insisted that the ring belonged to him and kept reaching for it despite his fear and injuries.
• Starscream decided Larfleeze’s relentless greed made him worthy of the Orange Lantern Ring.
• Starscream grabbed Larfleeze by the hair, flew into space with him, and declared him his servant.

The Guardians expelled Ganthet and Sayd after they opposed plans to create Ultimate Green Lanterns and revive Machine Hunters, prompting Ganthet to establish a Hope Blue Lantern Corps. Optimus Prime reached the Blue Lantern Tribe using Abin Sur’s clues, where Qing Nü welcomed him and he grew wary of the ring’s overpowering compassion.

• The Guardians debated how to prepare for the coming Spectrum War, and Ganthet and Sayd rejected their plans to create Ultimate Green Lanterns and revive Machine Hunters.
• The Guardians dismissed Ganthet and Sayd from Oa, accusing them of being changed by the revival of emotion.
• Ganthet refused Sayd’s suggestion to return secretly to Oa and said he would create a Hope Blue Lantern Corps.
• Optimus Prime arrived at the Blue Lantern Tribe, where Qing Nü said Abin Sur had led her to expect his arrival.
• Optimus Prime saw that the tribe’s former criminals had become compassionate Blue Lanterns and wondered whether he could master that power without losing himself.