Summary
TheFlashhas just come face-to-face with one of the most dangerous anti-speedster contingenciesBatmanhas ever created. However, it’s not Bruce who’s out to take out the Fastest Man Alive, but rather, the Dark Knight’s most sinister alter ego.
The Scarlet Speedster has had enough on his plate with several high-profile Rogues teaming together to launch an all-out assault on reality. Between Wally disappearing and Barry becoming possessed by his worst nemesis, things continue to getworse for the Flash Family. Now DC’s iconic speedster is facing a terrifying new weapon that serves as an omen for the dark days ahead.
The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is Out to Destroy Flash with a New Mech
InThe Flash #9by Simon Spurrier, Ramon Perez, Vasco Georgiev, Matt Herms, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, things have gone from bad to worse. Speedsters are being blamed for the recent cosmic phenomena that are tearing apart the DC Universe. While the Flash Family is on the run from Amanda Waller’s forces, Barry Allen is dealingwith the Crown of Thawnesbeing placed inside his head. Millions of different Reverse-Flash personalities scream at Flash,doing their best to sway Barry to commit awful atrocities against the people that Flash loves.
Flash makes it to a beach where he comes face-to-face with a giant bat-themed mech.
The Flash finds Iris West at a park with Linda Park-West and her baby Wade. The Flash implores them to try and get to safety, but Iris refuses to leave Barry’s side, knowing that he can handle whatever’s going on with him. Barry fights back and the Crown of Thawnes’ influence begins to slip just as Harley Rathaway and Inspector Pilgrim arrive on the scene to get baby Wade somewhere safe. With one final bit of encouragement from Iris,Flash purges the Crown of Thawnes from his mind.
Free from Reverse-Flash’s influence, Barry talks with Inspector Pilgrim and tells him speedsters aren’t to blame for the recent cosmic disasters. During their talk, a missile is caught by Flash, triggering a warning telling him to get away from any civilians. Barry Allen heads out to get as far away from people as he can. Flash makes it to a beach where he comes face-to-face with a giant bat-themed mech.Flash presumes the mech to be one of Batman’sbefore the suit of armor prepares an attack.
Why is Batman Attacking the Flash with a Mech?
Despite what Barry thinks, this isn’t Batman, or at least, not the one he knows. Unbeknownst to the Scarlet Speedster, Batman’s backup personality has taken on a life of his own. While designed as a backup to help Bruce deal with extreme trauma, Zur-En-Arrh was inspired to take over as the dominant personality in Batman’s mind after his encounter with Failsafe, another of the Dark Knight’s contingencies.Zur-En-Arrh pushed Batman to isolate himselfand finally succeeded in the wake of “Gotham War”.
Zur-En-Arrh’s rise to power begins inBatman #125 (2022)!
Zur-En-Arrh attempted to take over Batman’s body in a dramatic confrontation with the Joker, but Bruce was able to fight back and keep his physical form from being claimed. However, Zur-En-Arrh transferred his consciousness into Failsafe’s body, giving Batman a chance to retire while Zur-En-Arrh continued as the DCU’s sole Batman. Bruce refused, of course, leading Zur-En-Arrh to imprison him in Blackgate Penitentiary.With the real Batman out of the picture, Zur-En-Arrh began his crusade to end crime in all formsand started arresting Gotham’s criminals en masse.
However, Zur-En-Arrh isn’t the only one interested in creating peace by any means necessary. Amanda Waller, the newly appointed head of the Bureau of Sovereignty, has been on a mission to eliminate the world of metahumans. From accruing powerful assets to seizing the island nation of Gamorra, Waller has been preparing for war. But after noticing what Zur-En-Arrh has been up to, she attempted to lure him over to her side, saying they both want the same thing,a message that resonated strongly with the new Batman.
Zur-En-Arrh is Prepping For His Bigger Attack inAbsolute Power
It seems odd that Zur-En-Arrh is attacking Flash now. It’s already known that he’s going to be leading a crew of Amazo robots in DC Comics' upcoming summer eventAbsolute Power. Thanks to solicitations, fans already know that Zur-En-Arrh will have one designed to specifically take down Flash using the combined speeds of other speedsters (a sinister-looking Amazo named Velocity). It’s also odd that Zur-En-Arrh is acting on behalf of the Bureau of Sovereignty whenthe twisted Dark Knight has only begun to consider Amanda Waller’s offer in the pages ofBatman.
WhileThe Flash #9is playing it a bit fast and loose with the timeline, it makes sense that Zur-En-Arrh is going after the Flash. Right now, Batman’s alter ego, along with thousands of others, erroneously believes that speedsters are damaging the fabric of reality with their powers. What Zur-En-Arrh is missing is thatit’s actually several of Flash’s Rogues that are responsible for the metaphysical disastersas part of an assault planned by an as-of-yet unidentified cosmic threat.
But if Zur-En-Arrh believes Flash is a threat, then he’s obviously going to deal with it. Thankfully, fans already know that this battle isn’t going to shake out the way Zur-En-Arrh wants. He might be one of the most prepared Batmen around, but Flash is still going to be running around duringAbsolute Powerwith his speed intact. This mecha likely isn’t going to give Zur-En-Arrh the victory he desires, butthe upcoming fight could provide decent intel for the robotic Batman’s upcoming plans.
Zur-En-Arrh’s Mecha Will Help Him Create the Ultimate Flash Destroyer
Zur-En-Arrh has all of the real Batman’s best assets, including his strategic mind. While Zur-En-Arrh’s new mecha likely won’t defeat the Flash, it will serve as a good opportunity to study the Flash in battle. Whatever Zur-En-Arrh learns here, he can easily apply it to Velocity. Unfortunately for Barry,Batmanrarely makes the same mistake twice, so while this mecha might not be the biggest obstacle the Scarlet Speedster has ever faced, it’ll help Zur-En-Arrh construct an even worse weapon to finally take down theFlash.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
