SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Heroes in Crisis #2, by Tom King, Clay Mann, Travis Moore, Tomeu Morey, Arif Prianto and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
As the Flash, Barry Allen is the Fastest Man Alive. And though he isn't always the swiftest speedster around, that title has a cruel irony right now since Wally West, another the Flash who was also Barry's longtime partner, is dead.
While Wally was spending time at Sanctuary, a superhero trauma and recovery center, he and several other heroes were apparently killed in the first issue of Heroes in Crisis. Although it's not clear who attacked Sanctuary, Booster Gold, a hero who recently had a time-travel-induced mental breakdown, is one of the massacre's prime suspects.
RELATED: Here Is Every DC Hero Who Dies In Heroes in Crisis #1
In a somewhat misguided attempt to clear his name, Booster reaches out to Barry, who's a forensic scientist, inadvertently and rather callously telling him about Wally's death in Heroes in Crisis #2. After running off to confirm Wally's demise, the Flash responds by retiring to knock Booster out with a devastating super-speed punch.
As Booster Gold's bloody jaw can attest, the Flash doesn't handle death very well. When Barry's mom was murdered in the past by a time-traveling villain, Barry responded by accidentally creating the dystopian Flashpoint timeline and rebooting the entire DC Universe in a failed attempt to save her. Fortunately for everyone involved, Superman took off at top speed to keep Barry from doing anything quite that drastic in Heroes in Crisis.
Along with Batman and Wonder Woman, Superman built Sanctuary to help address the mental health needs of the superhero community. Since Heroes in Crisis began, those three heroes have quietly been leading the investigation into the Sanctuary attack. Going forward, the Flash will join the investigation and put his forensic skills to good use. However, there could be some friction between Barry and DC's three biggest heroes. After all, while they assured him that Wally would be safe, Barry was never totally sold on sending Wally to Sanctuary in the first place.
RELATED: Tom King Indicates the Heroes in Crisis Deaths Are Permanent
Since he returned to the DC Universe in 2016, Wally has been obsessed with restoring his family to the DCU following their disappearance as the result of some cosmic reality-altering shenanigans. After the recent storyline "Flash War," Wally broke down after failing to rescue his super-powered kids from the Speed Force, an extra-dimensional space that's filled with the energy that fuels the Flash's powers.
In Joshua Williamson and Scott Kolins' The Flash #51, Superman and Wonder Woman took Wally to Sanctuary with Barry's somewhat tentative blessing. While he put on a brave face, Barry privately revealed his doubts about the move to Iris West, his on-and-off girlfriend and Wally's aunt (who also happens to remember the DCU's pre-Flashpoint reality). Although she reassured him, she also told Superman and Wonder Woman that she held them directly responsible for Wally's well-being.
While that could seem like an idle threat, Flash writer Joshua Williamson told CBR that Iris' comment will be followed up on in the upcoming Flash Annual #2, where she's set to find out about Wally's death. He also added that Iris will have some serious conversations with Batman too.
Even before that inevitably tense conversation, the Flash and Batman will probably have to work out some of their own issues, as well. While they haven't always been close, their professional relationship is especially important right now. They're both two of the better investigators in the DC Universe, and, by all indications, they'll start working together on the case in Heroes in Crisis #3. Hopefully, Barry will continue to deal with Wally's death without resetting the DC timeline, again.
Heroes in Crisis #3 is on sale November 28, and Flash Annual #2 will be on sale January 30, 2019.