Absolute Flash (2025-) #8

Absolute Flash (2025-) #8

by Jeff Lemire, Travis G. Moore (Artist)

The origins of Fort Fox and Barry Allen’s experiments are finally revealed,but what do they mean for the future of the Flash?!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2025

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[hater ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ooooooooh we got barry allen backstory. this one kinda made me more invested in the story, so that's great.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Barry Allen?
More importantly, why has he teamed up with Thawne to experiment on The Rogues and futz around with the Speed Force?



This answers some (not all) of the questions I had about Barry's involvement in Thawne's (nefarious?) plans in relation to whatever crazy stuff was happening with the experiments that led to Wally getting smacked with powers.



Lots of stuff still dangling, but this is getting really interesting.



Recommended.

[Luca Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great backstory

[MrGlassWontBreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get Barry Allen’s origin story here. He was recruited by Eleanore Thawne, and brought to Forte Fox to help her complete her grand father’s work which involved messing with living inter dimensional energy. And Barry being the genius he is, gets things rolling pretty fast.

Also, is it just me or is there something between Barry and Eleanor. Seemed like they were both giving each other the “fuck me eyes”. Also, was that the Legion of Dooms headquarters in the other dimension ? Guess we’ll find out soon enough

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of world building, I just wish it was a bit more interesting.

[Annemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure this would have been more interesting if I wasn't a new Flash reader. As it is, I don't really care about Barry, and honestly I don't really like him either. which is weird because I usually like scientists. It gives us some background info on what's going on, but it's mostly things things we already kinda new (the alien stuff etc) and a bit of stuff that doesn't seem important.

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good to see Barry again, and the revelations about the secrets behind the base were cool. However, if I were Barry and found out my life’s work was being stolen from me by a boy, I would take the same kind of risk he did in the first issue.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting closer to what is actually going on with Project Olympus but still not there. I’m still interested enough to keep going.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thankful for this perspective on Barry, I hated seeing all the speculation that he was secretly evil which I’m not sure anyone would of wanted. It’s very nice going back and seeing the origins of his involvement with Fort Fox and Thawne. When we meet Barry years ago at the start of this issue, he is a professor at Keystone university teaching physics. Until one day Doctor Thawne set in on one of his classes and paid him a visit afterwards. This was no fluke encounter, she admitted that she has been a fan of his work. Barry can’t help but laugh and wonder if Ray Palmer put her up to saying that (great name drop, absolute atom NOW), but she assures him that she has been following his work since he was at Princeton and thought it was quite a shame they shut him down…so now she has an offer to get him back on track and really discover something. All she is asking is one day to show him what she is offering.

She takes Barry to Fort Fox, Colorado, where the remnants of her grandfather’s blue trinity project srill remain with all of his journals. Blue trinity is another interesting name drop, that was the Soviet Union speedster Trinity they used to carry out assassinations that Wally dealt with post crisis. Red trinity is so much chiller. Barry has of course never heard of her grandfather, Eobard Thawne, and that comes to no surprise as he has been erased from history. She proceeds to walk through the origins of this project, how the US commissioned a secret project operating in the shadowing atomic tests during WW2 where her grandfather was on the verge of making contact with another dimension of living energy. But when his theories went beyond anything that was possible at the time and he stated to use more questionable methods, he knew it was only a matter of time before they shut him down. But her grandfather refused to stop, he wrote in his journals about voices from another time and place calling to him to continue. But then there was a very painful breakthrough. We actually saw glimpses of this in previous issues, Eobard did it he was able to use Blye trinity to connect to the living energy and open a portal. Captain Jay Garrick arrived at the site as he was proceeding with this experiment, but seeing how dangerous it was Jay intended to shut it down…only for Eobard to push Jay into the portal, causing it to backfire and explode in his face all because he didn’t want anyone to take it away from him. What’s strange to me is that Eobard was never seen again, but Jay was the one thrown into the portal. So what really happened to Eobard? I’m not exactly sure when Barry stopped listening, but already he is studying the chalk boards that surround them, jumping right in and erasing things and making corrections. He really didn’t need much convincing to get started.

Two years later and the project is well underway with the safety suits ready to go to begin the first trials and enter the other world. But they are also low on funds, so Elenore sought out funds by partnering with the military, which is specifically being led by Colonel Rudy West. Unlike Barry, Elenore doesn’t see a problem with providing them with either a few weapons in exchange for changing history with their discoveries. She is also not permitting Barry to be in the first trials and team to go into portal, he is much too valuable and I can’t help but think there was something more personally between Barry and Elenore. We also get to see the first interaction between Barry and Wally when they met in the cafeteria. Barry and Wally immediately seemed to hit it off, relating over their shared military brat heritage and both being generally weird guys.

As the first trials went under way we see three people enter the red matter universe. I tried looking it up but it seems like the first three, Hendricks, Kirwan, and Ellis aren’t really references to any characters or they are just going over my head. But with the suits Barry designed the first test is a success, and also where the alien spaceship we keep seeing hidden in fort fox is discovered and brought through. Oooooh. Barry is still persistent about going into himself and Elenore is still adamant that he doesn’t. With the discovery of the alien craft Barry believes Elabore has lost sight of the original purpose of this project, but it’s a loosing conversation either way. As Barry leaves the convo and walks over to the main portal area…suddenly he hears a voice calling out to him and a streak of red energy makes contact! Suddenly Barry’s eyes light up as he sees an elderly figure in a flash suit call out to him to stop and that it must be Wally! WHAT?! What is happening?! Is this some fusion from the future, is this somehow Jay, what’s happening?!

[ალან სკოტი · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the changes made in the Absolute Universe (Circe raising Diana, Batman's rogues being his childhood friends, Clark arriving at the Kent's when he was a teenager, whatever mindfuck MM was) Barry and Thawne having so much chemistry together was not in my list. and I guess it's futile to want them to work out. and I'm pretty sure Jay and Eobard are not dead and just stuck in this alien dimension.

[Alexis Moreno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this issue was pretty interesting. I enjoyed reading about Thawne bother Eleanor and Eobard. Rip all the trans “it was me barry” jokes. This is much more interesting and well written run for the side characters of the absolute universe, where yeah maybe it isn’t super symbolic but it’s written in a way that’s fairly engaging and interesting and I want to know more.

[Powerman61 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading the Absolute Flash series.
The storyline and artwork have been great.
Some of the writing seems scattered ,but I think
that's part of the effect. This issue comes off as
the how it all got started issue, filling in everything
that's been missing up to this point.

[Richard A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy when relatively new books give you a look back at some of the main characters story/history of how they got to where they are when the series started. This was a fine example of that for Barry.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Really fascinating take on Barry Allen and his obsession with science. I’m a little skeptical of the whole “it has to be West” thing, purely because I’m not a huge fan of fatalism tropes in media, but it was a solid issue with very lovely art and I’m looking forward to what’s next.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has really found its footing, and is going from strength to strength. There's elements of a great mystery being set up here, and I can't wait to see how Barry and Jay impact the story going forward.

[AJ Easterday · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars

I think this is my favorite issue in the series so far! It was excellent! It was fascinating getting to learn more about Eleanore Thawne and Fort Fox. I am very eager for more!

[Ushnav Shroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favourite issue so far in this ongoing series.

[Colin Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice backstory, and I like the mad scientist background for Barry, but this issue (like a lot of issues in this series) just feels kind of light. I wish we’d get a bit more story.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dig this retelling. It is scientific without being too much techno bable. The art was quite impressive in this issue.

[Sadiel Giron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last three issues has been interesting to read.

[Myles Gerber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[Pou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this today, and it’s really my first introduction to the flash… so I’m a little lost at some parts, but I’m really really enjoying it. I can’t wait for the next issue

[Magnus Durg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooooh the accident may have been intentional

[scarlet♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

he's gonna be resurrected, isn't he?

[Juliano Stefani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect flashback brings light to Barry involvement with Thawne, her grandfather working with Jay and the secrecy of the red matter.