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Gothic-Cowboy writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman. In a recent question (circa mid-November, so by that time you have time for this, it will probably not be so recent) you said that you don't "get" the Speed Force concept. At the risk of seeming presumptuous, I thought I'd try to explain it, at least as far as I get the concept.
The Speed Force is, at it's heart, an attempt to make the Flashes' powers make more sense, from the standpoint of traditional physics. A lot of superpowers are a lot more complex than they might seem at first glance. Superspeed is one of them. The most basic problem is the forces involved. Assume that a person can somehow run at the speed of sound. Now let's assume that they can instantly start and stop at at least that speed. The problem (apart from how they were able to run that fast in the first place) is that the sudden acceleration and decceleration, from the speed of sound to or from a complete stop, would subject the human body to more stress than it can handle. None of the Flashes, as far as I know, have ever been depicted as having superhuman strength and/or durability. The use of their powers, as frequently depicted, would kill them. Then there's the intense friction caused by moving at these speeds. That would also kill them. There are other problems, but these are probably the most outstanding, since they would quickly end any speedster's career.
Under the Speed Force model, the Flash's power is not the ability to move a great speeds. That is merely the most obvious side-effect of his powers. The Flash can access, or, if you prefer, shift himself to the Speed Force. This Speed Force, which is admittedly nebulously defined, is some sort of "additional dimension" where the laws of physics are not quite the same. The best analogy I can come up with is that it's kind of like the Warp Drive from Star Trek (or any similar Sci-Fi property). By shifting himself/accessing this extradimensional space, the Flash may perform superhuman feats by taking advantage of the different ways that physics works there and how it interacts with the "normal" world. He's not really "drawing his speed from an outside source." He's shifting himself along dimensions not normally observable and performing feats that would otherwise be impossible.
In another, behind the scenes, way, the Speed Force allows the creative team to justify increasing numbers of speedsters. Given that the comics were up to Jay, Barry, Wally, Bart, Max Mercury, Jessie Quick, and others, there needed to be a justification.
This is all the Speed Force really is, a new interpretation of the nature of the Flash's powers, in a manner that at least makes a show of addressing the real-life physics involved. Admittedly, it may be overthinking, but few superpowers are as easy as "he just runs really fast," or "he can shrink/grow (don't get me started on the many problems there)." It's what happens when kids who love comics get older and take physics classes, they create the Speed Force to explain why the Flash can survive his powers, or "tactile telekinesis" to explain how Superman can lift things that should collapse under their own weight (or fly without having any clear means of doing so).
Thank you for your time. I don't mean to instruct you or suggest that you take any course of action. It's your show (at least partially) and clearly not mine. I just felt compelled to submit this entry. As a disclaimer, a lot of what I've said was at least inspired by James Kakalios's The Physics of Superheroes, easily the definitive guide to physics in the comic book universe(s). It certainly changed the way I look at a lot of characters.

Greg responds...

I haven't read James' book, but I've met him, talked with him and attended some of his panels. And I admire him and his work. What I love most is how he infuses his panel discussions with HUMOR.

(Likewise, I DO appreciate the tone of your post. It's informative without being confrontational or condescending. Thank you.)

Personally, I think there's an element of over-think to all this Speed-Force stuff, especially if one takes it too seriously. (I could argue that the physics of super-strength don't make a hell of a lot of sense either. But I would never advocate for a "Strength-Force".) But to each his or her own. Again, if folks want to think that Earth-16 has the speed-force, but no one on the planet knows about it, then I'm fine with that compromise.

Response recorded on February 10, 2012