WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Flash #88, by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands, on sale now.
In The Flash #87, readers witnessed the horrific death of the Scarlet Speedster. However, it wasn't the Barry Allen of the present. No, this was the future Flash, the one introduced in Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter's "The Flash: Year One" arc. In this story, which detailed Barry's revised origin in the Rebirth timeline, the future Flash arrived from a dark future where the Turtle had succeeded in taking over Central City. Luckily, present-day Barry defeated Turtle and changed the timeline and, as a result, future Barry Allen was erased from reality.
But somehow, the character returned, very briefly, in the pages of The Flash #87. There, he warned of the coming of a new villain named Paradox, just before he crumbled to dust. Now, DC doesn't waste any time in revealing the identity of this mysterious Paradox -- and it turns out, it's someone readers met in the pages of "The Flash: Year One."
"The Flash: Year One" ran through issues #70-75 of the series. In it, fans saw how young Central City crime scene investigator Barry Allen was struck by lightning and transformed into a superhero. In The Flash #70, we spent a bit of time with Barry before the fateful lightning storm that would transform him into the Scarlet Speedster. Walking home after work, Barry was lost in thought, overcome with a crippling sense of dread about the crime in Central City. Then, he bumped into a man on the street, who was out playing with his children. The man didn't lose his temper, though, politely telling Barry not to worry about it, and headed back into his house before the rain started falling.
Now, in The Flash #88, we learn this man is the one who would one day become the villain known as Paradox. In fact, the issue opens with the same scene, where Barry bumps into this man -- only this time, it's told from his point of view. After telling Barry not to worry and the rain arrives, we see the man head into his home once again. As it so happens, this man, who for the time being remains nameless, is a scientist fascinated by the universe, time and the theory of the multiverse.
The rain that started falling while Barry and his future enemy bumped into each other would evolve into a storm, and it is then that lightning would strike Barry in his lab. At the same time the bolt struck, Paradox's scientific equipment experiences a power surge that allowed him to briefly glimpse the time stream, as well as the multiverse.
Later in "Year One," during one of the Flash's first fights with the Turtle, the man would be hit by the dueling foes' energies and transported to a realm outside of the known multiverse. There, outside of time and reality, he would be transformed into something else. As Paradox, he has a unique connection to the time stream, one that makes him feel pain every time the timeline is altered. His function is to absorb the energy created by every paradox -- and no one causes more paradoxes than the Scarlet Speedster.
Paradox may be a new villain, but his connection to the Flash stretches all the way back to the superhero's origin. There are multiple villains that can be found on the other side of the Flash coin, such as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, but Paradox is also a perfect dark reflection of the Flash. He was created at the same time, his powers are directly connected, and his function is directly opposed to Barry. It's official: Barry Allen has a new nemesis.