The following contains spoilers for The Flash #785, now on sale from DC Comics
The very nature of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths reminds readers of past events, some of which went very poorly for the Flash family. And while new events might have restored Barry Allen to his true heroic role in the series, it might also be setting up a dour fate for the Speedster.
The Flash #785 (by Jeremy Adams, Amancay Nahuelpan, Jeromy Cox, and Rob Leigh) sets the stage for a multiversal alliance of Flashes. But with Barry Allen heading off alone in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths while the rest of the Speedsters unite, he might be running into trouble head-on.
The Flash goes back into the apparent paradise of Earth-Flash, which was devised as a trap for the Speedsters who end up there. Both Barry Allen and Wallace West are affected by the facsimiles of their loved ones, while Wally West almost gets killed by his former mentor for upsetting it. But Wally eventually sees through the illusion and breaks Barry free of the influence, too. Likewise, Wallace manages to break through the delusions and escape from the control of the realm. This allows all the Speedsters to reconvene with the rest of their allies and form a new plan. While Barry ventures off on his own to find the other members of the Justice League and confront Pariah directly, the other three are sent back to Earth-0 to reconvene with their allies and start working to save the multiverse.
Notably, the Flash family is poised to inform the rest of the DC Universe of the current circumstances. This could extend to the survival of the Justice League, which could bring the hero community back together. The Flashes seem to be taking the first steps to create their version of the Spider-Verse -- an alliance of Spider-Heroes from across the multiverse. Their hunt for Pariah's worlds led to the introduction of a Mad Max-style Barry Allen and the Batman/Flash hybrid, Night Flash. These variants could easily become major allies going forward. These two -- along with the Earth-0 Flash Family -- could easily become the foundation for a Flash alliance across the multiverse.
However, while the number of Flashes might increase, one of the most famous men to bear that mantle might also be doomed. Barry Allen heading off on his own to confront Pariah leaves him isolated -- something that didn't go well for the character in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. That massive crossover shows Barry being captured by the forces working against the multiverse, and ultimately dying as part of a plan to offset the Anti-Monitor's schemes. With Dark Crisis openly rebranding itself as a direct sequel to the original Crisis, Barry's involvement becomes worrisome -- especially since he's on his own.
The idea that a Flash is fated to die in every Crisis event is so ingrained that it's even been referred to in-universe during storylines like Dark Nights: Death Metal. Barry's prominent death in the original Crisis remains one of his defining moments as a character, and he could easily be on the path to a similar fate -- especially if a Flash-Verse is about to expand. Barry's potential fall could even be a galvanizing moment that unites all the Speedsters from every dimension and propel them into the fight against the Great Darkness.