Warning: contains spoilers for Jurassic League #2!
DC's latest dinosaur version of the Flash's greatest enemy is far stronger than his human counterpart, and his ability to tap into the Speed Force is just one reason why the Jurassic League face incredible danger. While the Reverse Flash is a formidable for, the Reverse Slash has all the powers of his Earth Prime version and more. Jurassic League #2 only shows readers a glimpse of the Reverse Slash, but it's more than enough to make the Jurassic League tremble.
In DC Comics continuity, Barry Allen's greatest enemy is Eobard Thawne, the evil Reverse Flash (and occasionally known as Professor Zoom). A speedster from the far future, Eobard Thawne is powered by negative Speed Force energy, and is one of the very few characters in DC Comics who can reliably run as fast as the Flash. Among other nefarious deeds, the Reverse Flash is responsible for murdering Barry Allen's mother, causing Barry to travel backwards in time to save her. This created the famous Flashpoint universe, which in turn led to the events of the New 52 and DC Rebirth.
In Jurassic League #2, written by Juan Geddeon & Daniel Warren Johnson with art by Juan Geddeon, the Jokerzard (Batman's mortal enemy and Joker variant) is mortally wounded after a fierce battle. The Reverse Slash uses his phenomenal speed to pick up Jokerzard and deliver him to a healing tree: the Dark Embryo. Though Jokerzard has many wounds, they are instantly healed thanks to the Dark Embryo - but were it not for the Reverse Slash, Jokerzard would have died long before he was able to be revived.
The Reverse Slash clearly has the speed of the Reverse Flash, but he is also Speed Force-powered dinosaur with no regard for property or infrastructure (insofar as infrastructure exists on a world populated by dinosaurs). Imagine a foe with the size and mass of a Ankylosaurus - which stands roughly as tall as the average adult human and weighs up to 18,000 pounds - and grant said for the ability to move many times faster than the speed of sound. This supervillain is clearly the most dangerous of the lot seen in the series so far.
To make matters worse, the Jurassic League has no real way to counter the speed of the Reverse Slash. The Flash proper has yet to be introduced, and the only character who can canonically move at super-speeds that even come close is Superman (and it is logical to assume that the dinosaur version of Superman has the same ability). The Flash's mortal enemy is even stronger and more dangerous in his dinosaur form, and it appears the Reverse-Slash is the only speedster on the planet - for now.
Jurassic League #2 is available now from DC Comics.
DC's new Jurassic League dinosaur version of the Flash's greatest enemy is far more dangerous, and his Speed Force powers are only one reason why.Joshua Isaak