I’ve never really considered Noble Causes’ Race Noble to be a reference to the Flash beyond sharing the speedster archetype—especially since the Nobles owe a lot to the hero family concept pioneered by the Fantastic Four—but a scene from Noble Causes #6 has me ready to change my mind.

The Nobles are both heroes and celebrities. Race, the middle child, shocked his parents—and the world—by marrying an ordinary bookshop owner instead of another super-hero. At this point, Liz has become completely overwhelmed by the life she has chosen, and needed to take some time off.

Liz: I have to figure out where I fit in all this…in your life. You’re surrounded by super-powered-this and inter-dimensional-that, and I’m just little ol’ Liz.
Race: Where you fit? Are you serious? Honey, you don’t “fit” in my life… you are my life, the very center of it.

This started looking very familiar, and I was immediately reminded of a similar conversation between Wally West and Linda Park. (Tracked down to Flash #83, 1993)

Linda: All your real friends are super-heroes. How do I fit into your life?
Wally: Wrong question. Try this one: How do these other people…fit into our life?

Yes, there were definitely similarities here. I don’t know how much Flash Jay Faerber has read, but I do know he’s a fan of the New Teen Titans from way back, and Wally was a big part of the team until around 1984. I’m sure I’m not the only one who tracked down years of back-issues, or who jumped to The Flash when Wally got his own series.

Of course, the scene goes on, and another section brought the parallels even further.

Race: You save me every day. You’re my anchor. You keep me here, and prevent me from getting dragged into all the nonsense of this life. Without you, I’d be lost. [Emphasis added.]

And that clinches it. Ever since Terminal Velocity, a key aspect of Wally and Linda’s relationship has been the fact that she grounds him in reality. Race Against Time and Chain Lightning made that point very clearly: without Linda in the picture, Wally’s in serious danger of quite literally losing himself.

And here I thought the whole red-headed speedster thing was a coincidence! 😀