The Deep Change is a sentient being which resides in the Omniverse alongside The Source of All Existence.
History
The Deep Change is presumably an omniversal being that was shaped by The Source of All Things with its own function within the Greater Omniverse.[1][2] It is the very source of Time itself, with the concept of Time described as its "dreams." The cosmic forces such as the Speed Force or Still Force are not, as many had believed, discrete and separate; rather they are all aspects of the universal constant of time and emanate from the Deep Change.
As an all-powerful being, the Deep Change is unable to feel its creation from a grounded perspective; thus it allows conduits to leech its raw temporal energy and grants powers to them in exchange for being able to use them as a "sensory organ" and receive experiences of the physical Multiverse through them in a symbiotic relationship. Throughout history, the Deep Change has used the Speed Force to reach out and alter those with its wondrous gifts, usually in the form of interdimensional lightning storms.[3]
The Deep Change has periodically created beings of immense power and knowledge, a process similar to giving birth. The latest of these left it weaker and caused fluctuations in the "Forces", making the powers of conduits on Earth 0 unstable. The Deep Change's first creations, the Arc Angles, took advantage of this in an elaborate scheme to destroy the Deep Change and therefore time itself, leaving all of reality frozen in an instant of perfect order.
The Arc Angles were foiled by the Flash Family and their allies. The "birth" proceeded as planned and the Deep Change's "baby" was merged into the timeline Earth 0 in the form of the West Family's pet dog, Foxy.
Powers
The Deep Change is an omnipresent and infinite source of energy throughout the Omniverse. The powers it grants to its conduits often revolve around a single concept or aspect of reality. These were mistakenly believed to be separate cosmic "forces" which empowered their own conduits, rather than a single "ocean" of energy.
- Some such as the Flash Family gain powers mostly related to velocity and movement, and describe the source of their powers as the Speed Force.
- Some like The Turtle or Circuit Breaker gain powers related to entropy and inertia, believing that they come from a Still Force.
- Others gain powers related to the mind and intellect, and call the source of their power the Sage Force.
- Still more gain powers based around force and gravity from what they mistake to be a Strength Force.
It was not understood that the Forces were in fact all part of a single field until the fluctuations in the Deep Change itself began to affect not only speedsters, but the conduits of other Forces. Most conduits simply channel one aspect of the energy of the Deep Change. However, some individuals such as Jai West are known as "shapers" and possess a more direct connection to the Deep Change which allows them to use its energy to reshape reality itself.
Notes
- The events of The Flash (Volume 6) #13 imply that, like The Hands, the Cosmic Raptor, the Transmuters and Chronicler, the Deep Change is another higher being shaped by The Source.
- The Flash Family mostly refers to the Deep Change as a "Cosmic God".[4]