A Beloved DC Hero is Now a Major Villain

The Absolute Universe has made a name for itself in changing the mythos of beloved characters in major ways, and Absolute Flash is racing ahead at full speeds with that philosophy in mind. Not only has the Speed Force been removed and replaced by some unknown energy source, and not only have two iconic speedsters like Barry Allen and Jay Garrick been killed, but the newest issue just revealed that a foundation hero might be a villain after all. Barry Allen’s death came as a shock to everyone, but what might be even more insane is that before he died, Barry was a total villain, and he might be one well after that, too.

Barry Allen the Villain

Our first clues to Barry not being the hero we all know and love go back as far as issue #1. He seemed happy and nice to Wally, offering to show the bored kid around and standing up for him when he was harassed for coming in after curfew, but there were just a few moments where he seemed to be pushing a bit hard. Like how he came into conflict with Wally’s dad for showing him around, for instance. It was easy to write those off as Barry seeing potential in Wally and being a bit pushy in cultivating it, but looking back in a villainous light, they’re a bit creepy. 

Of course, the biggest clue didn’t come until issue #6, where the history of the Rogues was revealed. They used to be a military team that served under Colonel West, until they took a bribe from an enemy and were caught. They were all dishonorably discharged, but Colonel West found them years later to offer them a chance to get back on the saddle with Project Olympus. Barry Allen and Elenore Thawne greeted the soon-to-be super-people, explaining how the tech they used would transform them into gods. When asked about the origin of the tech, Barry thought about how Elenore’s ancestor and Jay Garrick worked on the project, and the old Thawne murdered Jay to keep the experiment going. With a smile, Barry just said the information was classified.

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Colonel West challenged Barry, saying that if the Rogues were going to risk their lives, they had a right to know, but Barry immediately went cold. He said that the Rogues and Colonel West were chosen because they had no other choice, and if the Rogues didn’t want to go to jail they would sign the waivers. Barry was effectively blackmailing these people into being human test subjects without any explanation, and he didn’t care one iota how they felt or even if they lived or died. This is not the Barry Allen we know. He is much colder, and far more mad scientist. This is only corroborated by the fact that Colonel West found what seems to be preserved alien bodies, which Barry definitely knew about and desecrated for his experiments.

Barry Isn’t Who He Seems

Barry is clearly uncaring about almost everything except making a breakthrough with his strange experiments. This is not to say he’s entirely evil, as he did show what seemed like genuine concern for Wally when he got mixed up in the experiment that wound up killing him, but that could have easily been faked to gain his trust. Barry definitely isn’t gone from the story forever and seems to be attached to Wally somehow, so if he is a villain, this only gives more credence to the idea that he’ll be returning as the Black Flash sometime in the future. Of course, there is one other possibility that could explain Barry’s very out-of-character behavior, and it could change everything.

Barry Allen could very well be being impersonated by Eobard Thawne, his obsessed stalker from the future. It could be very likely that Eobard came back from the future and killed Barry, taking his place and attempting to recreate the experiment that was meant to give Barry his powers, only to accidentally give them to Wally. There is precedent for this, as Eobard has stolen Barry’s face and identity in the main continuity before, and this universe’s Thawne family has been working on Project Olympus for decades. Who is to say that they won’t work on it for centuries more? The powers seem very tied to time travel, after all. This would be a very easy explanation for Barry being evil in this universe, but given that the entire Absolute Universe is built around the evil of Darkseid, it’s also equally likely that this Barry is just less heroic than the original. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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