Black Flash
The Black Flash is a fictional comic book character from DC Comics. Created by writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, and artist Ron Wagner, the character had cameos in The Flash vol. 2 #138 (June 1998), before appearing in full in The Flash vol. 2 #141 (September 1998). Fictional character background

Original depiction 
The Black Flash essentially fulfills the same role as Death for those who possess super-speed in the DC Universe, returning the speedster to their power source: the Speed Force. It is reportedly seen before the deaths of Barry Allen and Johnny Quick. Max Mercury has also seen the Black Flash while having had several near-death experiences. The specter speedster came for Wally West to draw back to the Speed Force, but instead took Linda Park. Having seen portents of Wally's death, Max Mercury and Jesse Quick intercepted Wally before reaching the museum where Linda was waiting, with Linda thus being struck by the lightning that was meant to kill Wally. It later returns to try to take Wally again, freezing time except for those who possess a connection to the Speed Force. Max Mercury, Jay Garrick, and Jesse Quick all attempt to assist Wally by distracting the Black Flash; Wally finally defeats the Black Flash by racing the creature to the end of time, to a point where Death would have no meaning, causing the creature to dissipate. The Black Flash appears to Bart Allen when the Flash loses his powers while battling the Rogues at the Getty Center. Despite a clash with Inertia (another possible candidate for the Black Flash), Bart is killed shortly thereafter by the panicked Rogues when it appears Bart would win, even without powers. Most recently, the Black Flash is revealed to represent the Speed Force's dark aspect which is responsible for the empowerment of Wally's children. His connection to death is limited to those connected to the Speed Force. While an issue of Captain Atom suggests Death of the Endless, the Black Racer, and Nekron are all aspects of the same force, Neil Gaiman (creator of Death of the Endless) disagrees with this idea, stating that his creation is the ultimate personification of Death. During the Final Crisis, Wally theorizes that the Black Racer pursuing himself and Barry is in fact the Black Flash. A charred corpse, appearing to be the Black Flash, was found in Iowa by two boys in The Flash: Rebirth. When the Force Barrier was destroyed and the other forces were unleashed, the Black Flash was sent to hunt down the unleashed forces' conduits. The Black Flash arrives in the Speed Lab within the Flash Museum and attacks Steadfast, the Still Force avatar. Hunter Zolomon (now as "The Flash") takes Barry into the timestream (called the "Forever Force") built by the Speed Force to which the Black Flash continues to chase the two speedsters in order to kill (in the hopes of healing the Speed Force). Zolomon sacrifices himself to the Force Barrier in order to finally heal the Speed Force and keep the Black Flash from going after Steadfast and Fuerza, as Zolomon had already killed Psych. Due to the sacrifice, the Forever Force broken down which traps the Black Flash inside while Barry escaped. Barry Allen 

The second Black Flash is Barry Allen due to Professor Zoom altering the Speed Force for a time. Eobard Thawne 

The third Black Flash is the reanimated corpse of Eobard Thawne equipped with a power ring as a member of the Black Lantern Corps for a time. Other versions
The Ame-Comi Girls universe version of Black Flash is Jesse Quick. In other media

Television
 A variation of the Black Flash appears in TV series set in the Arrowverse, appearing throughout the second season of Legends of Tomorrow as well as the third season of The Flash. This version was Hunter Zolomon / Zoom transformed to serve as the Speed Force's Grim Reaper-esque enforcer by hunting down speedsters who attempt to change the timeline and erase his targets from existence. Film
A variation of the Black Flash appears in the 2023 DCEU movie The Flash, portrayed by Ezra Miller. This version is the Dark Flash, and is a time-displaced alternate timeline version of Barry Allen, who has devoted his life into saving his timeline despite the destruction of his universe being a fixed point in time. When Dark Flash attempts to kill the prime-Barry to continue his mission, Young Barry (Dark Flash's younger self), sacrifices himself in prime-Barry's place. After killing his younger self, Dark Flash disintegrates, having been removed from existence, allowing the prime-Barry to repair the timeline and save the multiverse. Video games
 The original Black Flash appears in Justice League Heroes: The Flash. When the player dies, Wally West / Flash is chased by the Black Flash. After each death, escaping the Black Flash becomes increasingly difficult. The original Black Flash appears in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. The Eobard Thawne incarnation of the Black Flash appears as an alternate skin for Barry Allen / Flash in Injustice: Gods Among Us. The original Black Flash appears in DC Legends. Miscellaneous
A demonic Black Flash, also known as the Speed Demon and Black Racer, appears in Smallville Season 11. It seeks out Impulse and Jay Garrick's souls, but comes into conflict with the former and Superman. As the fastest of the two speedsters, the Black Flash primarily focuses its attention on Impulse until the latter sacrifices himself to destroy the demonic speedster, which goes on to inspire Garrick to come out of retirement and form the Teen Titans. References

External links
Profile on Black Flash

Characters created by Grant Morrison
Characters created by Mark Millar
Comics characters introduced in 1998
DC Comics male supervillains
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Fictional characters who can manipulate time
Fictional monsters
Fictional personifications of death
Zombies in comics
Flash (comics) characters