Warning: Spoilers for The Flash #13!The Flash may be the fastest man alive, but he hasn't been able to outrun some of DC's greatest tragedies. Whether it's Barry Allen, Jay Garrick, or Wally West, the Flash is a family man, and being a superhero means the lives of loved ones are threatened by supervillains. But Wally West is done letting his family be hurt, and he will do anything to save them this time.

The Flash is more than just a super-powered hero. He channels the power of the Speed Force, but in The Flash #13 by Simon Spurrier, Ramón Pérez, Pete Pantazis, Matt Herms, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the Speed Force has a poison within itself. Declaring that time itself must die, these nefarious Arc Angles make one fatal mistake by threatening Wally's family.

Descending into the time stream, Wally comes out unscathed with his family intact as they stand in the very in-between space of time itself. He then declares to these seemingly unstoppable cosmic forces that he will never let his family be hurt again, showing comic fans that Wally West isn't backing down as the Flash any time soon.

The Flash's History Is Framed by the Loss of His Loved Ones

The Park-West Family Hasn't Had It Easy

A Flash's legacy is more than just the death of Barry Allen always linger, but Flash family often meet gruesome ends, too. In pre-Crisis, Barry Allen's arch-enemy Reverse-Flash killed his wife, Iris West-Allen, and in a later continuity, Zoom did the same with Wally West's twins.

Thanks to DC's always-changing continuity, these deaths are often righted and rectified, though some other consequences take place - like when Barry Allen created Flashpoint and thereby erased Wally West and his entire history from the DC Universe. After this change, the New 52 came into being with no red-haired Wally West. It took Wally many years to get back to reality - and even then, it was even harder to bring his family back.

Wally West's Famous Return to Comics as the Flash

A Man Out of Time With a Nonexistent Family

DC's Rebirth era ushered in a return to well-known heroes and a beloved era of nostalgia for many comic fans. One of the most important moments to come out of this era was when it was revealed that Wally West had been lost in the Speed Force for the last several years in DC Universe: Rebirth #1 by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, and Phil Jimenez. Wally appeared to several characters until his own uncle and mentor Barry Allen pulled him back into reality with a that nearly healed all the years of hurt Flash fans had been through.

As a fan-favorite character with decades of history, Wally West's erasure from the DC Universe was one of the most controversial elements of DC's New 52 era. Wally's return in the Rebirth era is considered the essential catalyst for the publisher's more upbeat storytelling that followed.

The only problem was that after Wally West's return to continuity, he had memories of his family before they were retconned, and it would be many years before his children returned to comics. Suddenly, Wally was stuck in a world with a woman who didn't know him but was supposed to be his endgame love: Linda Park. This time, instead of saving his family from a speedster villain, he had to save his family from nonexistence.

Wally West Saves His Family from the Destruction of the Multiverse

The Flash Reunites With His Twin Children and Wife

During the events of Dark Knights: Death Metal by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, the Dark Multiverse was clashing with the Flash's own, and Wally's involvement changed everything about his Rebirth status quo. In the end, it took Wally West ascending to godhood, which is just one of love story that rivals Superman and Lois and a family-first life with their super-powered twins.

Wally West is not about to lose his family again.

Wally West is not about to lose his family again. As many times as he has reset the timeline, he still holds the grief of the years when his family was erased from the world. This pain has only made him faster, stronger, and a better hero - or, as his children say in The Flash #13 about him being a Flash, a father, a friend, and a husband:

They're all the same hat, Dad. They all say "hero."

The Flash Is a Hero Because of His Love - Not His Speed

Wally West's Life Flashes Before the Speed Force's Eyes

As the Speed Force heals itself, Wally learns that his love for his family is the cure for what ails it. Speedsters are not just parasites feeding off an invisible source of creation; they literally nourish the Speed Force with their love and goodwill. Wally West's love for his wife and his children is the engine for time. Long gone are the days of Wally's mere existence breaking the timeline. Now, his legacy is its source of life and energy. The Flash does more than just save his family - he saves all of time.

Wally West fans can rest easy knowing that there are no current plans to kill off his family again and no erasing their favorite Flash from the timeline. Wally and family are here to stay, and the Flash has a message for any villain, any god, and any Dark Multiverse out there: do not mess with the Flash's family.

The Flash #13 is available now from DC Comics!