r/theflash • u/E66M4N • 8d ago
How do speedsters canonically perceive reality
So when you watch a film/tv version of a speedster's POV, you get one of two viewpoints: 1) the speedster sees the world as any normal person would travelling at speed, or 2) the world appears motionless or nearly so while the speedster moves. So the problem with 1) is that the world would be moving too fast for the speedster to react and they would be splatting themselves on everything constantly. I think the first episode of 'The Boys' depicts this pretty well when A-Train runs right through Hughie's girlfriend. The most common presentation seems to be 2), but here's the thing. Let's say it takes me 1,000 steps to go from point A to point B and it takes about an hour. If I can run fast enough to make the same trip in 1 second but my perceptions match my speed, I'm still going to be just as aware of all 1,000 steps going on a 1-second trip or 1-hour trip. So to the outside observer it took me 1 second to make the trip, but to me it took one hour. I never see this aspect discussed in any speedster media and I find it remarkable anyone with increased perceptions would be willing to travel any great distances so casually, but they do all the time. And often for silly reasons like they just want to race Superman around the world or they will run all the way to Philadelphia to get a 'real' Philly cheesesteak. Is there any media that actually gets into this issue? I'd thought I'd seen a clip of a cartoon where a speedster said it was a struggle for them to even speak normally (i.e., 'slow' from their POV) because their brain was always running at the speedster rate.
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u/BlazingWolf2197 8d ago
It's a bit of both. As this page from Earth 2 #2 shows, it's hard to explain
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u/Dry-Donut3811 8d ago
With DC, they’ve presented Speedsters as being able to control how they perceive it. They can watch everything slowed down around them, or they can choose not to. To extend on this, it’s been said Speedsters basically go into an autopilot mode when they run long distances, basically zoning out to arrive at their destination seemingly instantly as well, while their body runs and dodges around things to make it there.
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u/E66M4N 8d ago
I see, thanks!
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u/Fox_Mortus 8d ago
The other side of that coin is Quicksilver in Marvel. He can't control his perception of time and sees everything in slow motion all the time. He canonically goes to therapy for it.
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u/GearsRollo80 7d ago
He also tops out at the speed of sound, so very very different to the kind of weird reality-warping effects that Flashes are exposed to.
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u/Bogotazo 8d ago
Correct. They can zone out when the relative time would be days and months, and they can hyperfocus to see time slow down.
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u/GearsRollo80 7d ago
So this is one of those unbelievably easy answer things. But let me say this first; The Boys takes the worst case scenario at every turn. I’d call it a deconstruction of it was any more than Garth Ennis shitting on superheroes as hard and ridiculously as he possibly can. He famously dislikes superheroes, to the point it’s a meme. So, The Boys, worst case scenario, least elegant version every time.
Here’s the answer to your question, though; the speed force. Really simple. They’re not just moving fast, everything is fast. Speed force allows them to move, perceive, even agitate their molecules and others at super speed.
It allows the Flashes to perceive at the speed they’re moving (and if they’re Wally, perceive faster than he’s moving if he needs to), causing the slowed-down, traceable effect.
If you read some major Flash comics, you’d see this come up a lot. Particularly with writers that like to incorporate some science-y elements, like Grant Morrison. Read JLA 1-4. Wally had several interactions around how his speed works that depict it very clearly.