DC Announces Major Change to The Flash's Superpowers

Published Oct 5, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

For the third time in as many years, DC is introducing a radical change to The Flash's powers, putting the Scarlet Speedster in an impossible position - one which is likely to destroy his relationship with his Justice League allies.

As the Fastest Man Alive, the Flash has the most diverse range of superpowers in DC Comics. As well as running at incredible speed, he can phase through solid objects, travel in time, heal rapidly, superheat his body and read at superspeed to give himself a genius-level understanding of almost any topic.

Now, Wally West's Flash is about to lose all those powers when he needs them the most, as he's officially depowered.

Wally West's Flash Loses His Speed Powers

In recently released solicit information for the upcoming Flash #40, DC confirms that Wally West's Flash will officially lose his powers. The timing couldn't be worse, as he's seemingly discovered a hidden threat only those connected to the Speed Force can perceive.

In response, the Flash will be forced to turn to his family as a makeshift superteam, depending on his powerful but amateur children Jai (aka Surge, who draws superstrength from the Speed Force) and Irey (aka Thunderheart, who is one of DC's fastest speedsters of all time), as well as his reporter wife Linda.

The Flash #40
Release Date:	December 23, 2026
Writer:	Ryan North
Artists:	Gavin Guidry
Cover Artist:	Gavin Guidry
SPEEDY NO MORE! Wally West has been depowered - right when the world needs him most! Or does the world actually need him right now? Everyone seems to think Wally's use of the Speed Force may be affecting him and making him believe things that aren't true, but he's certain he can see things nobody else can... and he's seen that they threaten the survival of civilization itself. But what can one barely employed guy without any speed powers do? Well, there is one thing... rely on his wife, Linda Park-West, and their kids to fix everything. He just has to convince them first! And also not die.

Each member of the West family will be required to investigate a superpowered conspiracy seemingly only exposed because of Wally's latest superpower evolution...

Flash's New 'Flash Forward' Superpower Explained

In recent comics, Flash has developed a 'Flash Forward' power. By traveling all over Central City at maximum speed, Wally has been able to take in so much data that he taps into a complex web of causality, experiencing prophetic visions of upcoming events.

Through this power, Flash has totally eradicated all crime and injurious accidents from his city. He's now in the process of expanding his 'Flash Forward' data gathering to Metropolis and Star City, much to the chagrin of the latter city's protector, Green Arrow.

In his latest adventure, Flash failed to prevent a terrorist attack on three bridges, despite arresting the three unconnected perpetrators. The three individuals were inexplicably replaced, seemingly as the first sign of the conspiracy Flash will tackle in issue 40. It's possible these villains will depower Wally, though that attack is more likely to come from his friends...

What Does This Mean for Flash's Connection To The Justice League?

While Flash has been developing his 'Flash Forward' power, Green Arrow has been attempting to gather a Justice League roster against him. Oliver Queen considers Flash's surveillance of three cities to be against the civilian population's civil rights, and has raised concerns that this new ability has unintended consequences - a claim bolstered by the bridge attacks.

Flash #39 will see Flash go up against this Justice League subteam, with heavyweights including Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Jon Kent's Superman attempting to bring him down. In that context, it's most likely that it will be the Justice League who take away Wally's superpowers, robbing him of his speed.

DC's Flash is about to lose his superpowers, as the Justice League seemingly turn against Wally and his prophetic visions - but with an insidious conspiracy playing out behind the scenes, the West family will once again have to become a superteam to protect the planet.