Convergence: The Flash #1 is an issue of the series Convergence: The Flash (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 2015. It was published on April 22, 2015.
Synopsis for "Out of the Running"
Every morning, Barry Allen wakes to find that his wife Iris is not with him, and remembers, once again, that he has been trapped. All of Gotham City has been trapped within a dome for the better part of a year. Barry feels trapped in more ways than just that, robbed of his super-speed by the dome.
He had come back to Gotham from his home in the 31st Century to appear at a paralympics event, and the dome appeared in the hour that he was there. He has been trying to find a way out every day, but with every metahuman's abilities gone, it seems impossible. It puzzles Barry a little how well the people of Gotham have adapted to their new state of affairs. He still runs, as ever, hoping that one day he'll run fast enough and hard enough to access the Speed Force. No such luck. A beeping of his pager prompts him to stop running and call in from a payphone. Some lab results are back at Gotham Central, and he has to be at work.
He managed to get a job with his credentials from the Central City Police Department's crime lab, and he's been paired with Josie Leighton as his chief lab assistant for the last six months. Barry is fond of her - maybe too fond of her. She's fond of him, and he knows it, but Iris is never far from his mind. In another life, maybe he would take her up on her offers to go out for coffee together. Still, he can't help but worry that this is another life, and he might as well start living it. Barry joins Bruce Wayne for coffee in her place, expressing his worries about just how doomed their efforts to escape the dome are. Bruce suggests that he think on this challenge less as a sprint, and more like a marathon.
As Barry cabs back to work, he and his driver sense a tension in the air that is unexpected and unusual. Receiving another page, he exits the cab to make a call back to Josie, who warns of an urgent crime scene investigation he's needed at. Seeing traffic piling up, he just pays off the driver and decides to walk the eight blocks to the scene. However, he is surprised when he looks up and sees that the dome has disappeared, and a voice rings out warning that with the dome gone, champions must rise up from all of the cities on the planet Telos's surface, and fight for the survival of their homes. Seeing his chance, Barry runs to find Bruce and tell him what he heard - but as he runs, he feels himself getting faster and faster. His connection with Speed Force is back. Gleefully, he opens his ring, and dons his uniform as The Flash.
Climbing to a high vantage point on the edge of Gotham, Barry realizes with horror that this isn't Earth at all - and there are other cities out there. Worriedly, he calls out to the voice he heard earlier, begging to know who it was - and what he meant. Knowing that he is to be one of the champions, he calls out that he's ready. A challenger from another city answers him, admitting that while he is not eager to fight, they are supposed to. He too has only just got his powers back. Though he hasn't been sure for some time, Barry's prospective opponent believes that he is The Superman.
Appearing in "Out of the Running"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Bruce Wayne (Earth-One)
- GCPD (Earth-One)
- Josie Leighton (First appearance)
- Detective Lossi (First appearance) (Cameo)
- Ritchie (First appearance) (Cameo)
Antagonists:
- Superman (Tangent Universe) (Cameo)
- Telos
Other Characters:
- Andrew Vinson (Earth-Two) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Emperor Aquaman (Flashpoint Timeline) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Atomic Knights (Earth-86) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Batman (Red Rain) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Blue Beetle (Earth-Four) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Captain Carrot (Earth-C) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Captain Marvel (Earth-S) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Crime Syndicate of America (Earth-Three) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Johnny Quick (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Owlman (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Power Ring (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Ultraman (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Doom Patrol (Tangent Universe) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Doomsday (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Rampage (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Gen 13 (Wildstorm Universe) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Green Arrow (Pre-Zero Hour) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Henry Allen (Pre-Crisis) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- Kara Zor-L (Earth-Two) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Lady Quark (Earth-Six) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Legion of Super-Heroes (Pre-Zero Hour Legion's Future) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Lightning Lass (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Superboy/Clark Kent (Earth-One) (In a vision) (Cameo)* Nora Allen (Pre-Crisis) (In a photograph only) (Cameo)
- OMAC (Earth-AD) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Plastic Man (Earth-Two) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Rogue Hunters (Earth-Three) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman (Earth-One) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman (Kingdom Come) (In a vision) (Cameo)
- God (Mentioned only)
- Iris Allen (Pre-Crisis) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Hypertime
- Blood Moon
- Gotham City of Earth-One
- Barry Allen's Apartment
- GCPD Headquarters
- GCPD Crime Lab
- Royal Bistro
- Driscoll Street Condo (Mentioned only)
- Gotham City of Earth-One
- Iris West's Future (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- 30th Century (Mentioned only)
- Blood Moon
- Speed Force (Behind the scenes)
- Pre-Crisis Multiverse
- Earth-One
- Earth (Mentioned only)
- Central City (Mentioned only)
- Earth (Mentioned only)
- Earth-One
Items:
- Cosmic Treadmill (Mentioned only)
- Flash's Costume Ring
Concepts:
- Crisis (Mentioned only)
- Time Travel (Mentioned only)
- Trial of the Flash (Mentioned only)
See Also