DC fans have had quite a lot to process in Future State, as the two-month event has revolutionized a lot of what readers are expecting from their favorite heroes and villains. Nowhere is that quite as evident as in the pages of Future State: The Flash, which has offered some drastic takes on the publisher’s various speedsters. At the center of it all has been Barry Allen/The Flash, who went to some great lengths to try to hold out hope — only for things to end in a very unexpected way. Spoilers for Future State: The Flash #2 by Brandon Vietti, Brandon Peterson, Will Conrad, Mike Atiyeh, and Steve Wands below! Only look if you want to know!
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The issue sees Barry dealing with the consequences of his years-long fight against Wally West, who has been acting out in villainous ways after being revealed to be possessed by Famine. Following the surprising deaths of Jay Garrick, Max Mercury, and Bart Allen — as well as Barry losing his Speed Force powers — the Scarlet Speedster was forced to take matters into his own hands to try to defeat Wally. Armed with various weapons and gadgets from the Rogues, which Barry and the Flash Family had been collecting over the years, Barry created a new suit for himself, and prepared to fight Wally by himself.
While the various gadgets and gizmos did somewhat help Barry in the fight against Wally, Famine quickly got the upper hand. After separating itself from Wally — allowing Wally and Barry to have a proper heartfelt reunion — Famine joined back together with Wally. In an emotional moment, Famine-as-Wally also handed down the gauntlet to Barry, turning him into what is referred to as “an immortal ghost”. As Famine puts it, this will force Barry to be “an incorporeal witness” to the desolation and hopelessness that they are going to feast on — with no way of being able to fix it.
Even with that somber note, the issue didn’t end in an entirely hopeless way, as Cybeast found Barry’s Flash ring, which was loaded with the data he had chronicled about how to stop Wally.
While Future State does exist slightly outside of the main DC timeline, the idea of Barry Allen dying in such a macabre way is definitely significant. It will certainly be interesting to see if and how future DC Comics installments deal with what happened to Barry — and maybe try to rectify it.
