To save his classmates, Kid Flash just entered a dark dimension that resembles the other world of the Netflix hit Stranger Things.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Kid Flash story “Strange Parallels,” in Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #4, by Michael Moreci, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Alex Sinclair and Steve Wands, available now on DC Universe Infinite.
From the beauty of Paradise Island to the wastelands of Apokolips, the DC Universe is filled with fantastic locations. And in a previously unpublished story, Kid Flash got pulled into a new dimension that resembles the Upside Down from Stranger Things.
Wallace West went through this surreal experience in “Strange Parallels,” part of Let Them Live! Unpublished Tales From The DC Vault #4, by Michael Moreci and Bryan Hitch. During an ordinary day in high school, Wallace notices that his science teacher, Mr. Kovacs, has mysteriously gone missing, along with several of his classmates.
As Wallace starts to investigate, Kid Flash runs into Chase, Mr. Kovacs’ daughter. The two of them find a vortex in the center of the classroom, and they both insist on going inside to find Wallace’s classmates and Chase’s father.
On the other side of the vortex, Wallace finds a dark dimension, depicted as a barren wasteland resembling their own world. Wallace’s high school is there, although it’s gray and abandoned. Chase and Kid Flash also find warped, possessed versions of their classmates. At the center of these zombified students is Mr. Kovacs, possessed by the ruler of this dimension.
This new dimension is very much like Stranger Things‘ world, the Upside Down. Even the title of the story, “Strange Parallels,” seems like an allusion to Stranger Things. Both of these realms are much darker versions of the world that people see on an everyday basis, holding the same scenery and infrastructure.
The creature that possesses Mr. Kovacs even points out that this world is a place people aren’t able to see because they “don’t bother to look.” Similarly, the Upside Down is a twisted version of the outside world, connected by a rift between the two dimensions.
The creature that possesses Mr. Kovacs is much like the Mind Flayer, who controls the Upside Down. Both beings control a hivemind of other creatures, in an attempt to take over the world. Indeed, just as the Mind Flayer possesses humans from Hawkins, Indiana, so too does the creature in this new dimension possess the students from Wallace’s high school.
A major difference between the Mind Flayer and the creature in “Strange Parallels,” however, is the power at their command. The Mind Flayer is in possession of grotesque predators known as Demogorgons, who carry out his will. The being who possesses Mr. Kovacs, however, has no such army at his disposal. Instead, this creature simply has to maintain control over the students in Wallace’s high school. Both creatures control a hive-mind, but the Mind Flayer has a greater variety of beings at his disposal.
The Upside Down also seems more sustainable than the dimension in “Strange Parallels.” In Stranger Things, the Upside Down naturally exists, only becoming a problem when a rift is opened into the earthly dimension. The dimension in “Strange Parallels,” on the other hand, seems to be powered by a strange object that Mr. Kovacs possesses. When Wallace gets Mr. Kovacs to destroy the object, everyone has their minds freed and the dimension collapses in on itself.
In the end, Wallace got Mr. Kovacs to free himself by appealing to his love for Chase, his daughter. Chase pleads with her father to break free, which gets through to him. Wallace takes advantage of this opening by asking Mr. Kovacs if he really wants to betray his own daughter.
With this in mind, Mr. Kovacs smashes the object, freeing himself and his students. This appeal to parenthood is pretty similar to certain relationships portrayed in Stranger Things. Particularly, the love between Joyce Byers and her son Will, who becomes trapped in the Upside Down and is later possessed by the Mind Flayer. This love eventually frees Will, much like Mr. Kovacs. Ultimately, Kid Flash manages to lead everyone out of the dark dimension before it collapses and the portal closes, making the kind of narrow escape that the Stranger Things kids would be proud of.
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