WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Flash #77, by Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona and Tomeu Morey, on sale now.
The previous issue of The Flash saw Black Flash making his return after quite a long time away. However, he's not targeting Speedsters this time around. Instead, he's taking aim at the new Strength, Sage and Still Forces. In an attempt to keep Black Flash from being able to kill anyone, Barry Allen unites all four avatars, though infighting and distrust result in a betrayal that could endanger every one of them.
Black Flash struck Steadfast -- the Still Force avatar -- a major blow at the end of the last issue. The Flash #77 reveals that Steadfast survived the attack, which results in Barry, Wallace West/Kid Flash and Avery Ho/China's Flash banding together to save the new character's life. They use sleight of hand to trick Black Flash into attacking Steadfast's cloak. The villain retreats, though Black Flash is revealed to be tracking the new forces through the use of their powers.
Barry leaves Wally and Avery to take care of the rogues while he goes and sees the other avatars. His first stop is Alexa Antigone/Fuerza, the Strength Force avatar. When they previously met, Flash prevented Fuerza from getting revenge against a corrupt police officer named Cauldron, which resulted in the two having a pretty drastic falling out. Although Fuerza still doesn't trust Flash, she decides to trust in Steadfast, who shows his goodness by helping to calm and comfort victims after a battle with shark pirates.
Barry then goes to meet up with Bashir/Psych. During their previous encounter, Psych killed Santiago using his Sage Force powers and revealed to Barry that the forces are fighting for supremacy and for control over something called "The Forever Force," details about which are still scare. The book reveals Psych is still taking a mercenary approach to his powers by using them for blackmail. However, Flash doesn't give him much of a choice, as he grabs him from the side of a building before speeding them to meet the other two avatars.
With the four avatars together, Barry attempts to explain Black Flash and danger the creature poses. However, Psych decides to read Flash's mind before he can explain the situation. Both Psych and Fuerza are horrified by Black Flash's deathly visage. Flash tries to reassure them that they'll be able to beat Black Flash, but Psych knows he's lying and that Barry doesn't know how to beat the Speed Force's version of Death.
Psych, ever the pragmatist, decides to flee, but not before taking control of Steadfast's mind and using him to sneak attack Fuerza. As Psych forces Steadfast to use his powers -- which the Still Force avatar refused to use in the first confrontation with Black Flash -- the monster hunting them is very likely to be attracted to all of his targets being in one place, and they've just given him a way to discover their location, meaning everyone is now in a lot of danger.
Black Flash is an immensely dangerous foe, and he's likely to do a lot of damage if he battles the various avatars. However, Barry, Fuerza, Psych and Steadfast are all quite powerful, and their combined might definitely could pose a challenge for Black Flash.
However, even if they manage to defeat Black Flash, Captain Cold was recently empowered as part of DC's Year of the Villain. Last issue, Captain Cold recruited Mick Rory/Heatwave, and in Flash #77 he brings Marco Mardon/Weather Wizard back, both of whom are much more powerful than previous versions due to Lex Luthor's interference. Empowered Rogues could definitely prove a major threat to Central City, but Barry will probably have to survive the Black Flash before he can deal with them.
The Flash #78 goes on sale September 11.
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