The following contains spoilers for The Flash #795, now on sale from DC Comics.
The Flash is one of DC's most iconic mantles, with numerous heroes over the years filling the role. But one of the most infamous events in the history of the character recast them as an accidental murderer, who threatened the entire hero community in the process. Since that turn of events, DC has steadily backtracked from them -- and may have finally settled the catastrophe once and for all.
The Flash #795 (by Jeremy Adams, Roger Cruz, George Kambadais, Fernando Pasarin, Wellington Dias, Oclair Albert, Luis Guerrero, Matt Herms, and Rob Leigh) sets the stage for "One-Minute-War" to undo the last of the lingering effects of Heroes in Crisis. The storyline was especially rough on Wally West, and various stories chipped away at its impact for years now. But this latest turn might be the final nail in the coffin for one of DC's most controversial storylines.
One-Minute War Brings Wally Back to Heroes in Crisis
"One-Minute War" has pitted the Flash family against the Fraction, agents of an interdimensional expansionist empire hoping to extend their conquest to Earth. There have been many casualties in the conflict, most notably Wally West himself, who was seemingly vaporized during the battle. The Flash family (notably his wife Linda and their heroic daughter Irey) are doing their best to deal with the apparent loss. However, it turns out Wally survived the event thanks to the intervention of his ally Gold Beetle.
The time-traveling hero recently worked with Wally while he was unmoored in the timestream, and her advanced technology allowed her to save him from the jaws of death. She reveals to Wally that they're in a mysterious place known as the time point, otherwise dubbed Planet Flash. There are also ten other heroes there, all of whom Wally knows very well - as they're the other people he and the rest of the DC Universe believe were killed during Heroes in Crisis. This reveal comes with a lot of additional weight, as all the heroes present were initially thought to be killed by Wally -- the guilt of which has haunted him ever since.
DC Reverses Heroes in Crisis' Big Deaths
Heroes in Crisis (by Tom King, Clay Mann, Mitch Gerads, Travis Moore, Lee Weeks, and Jorge Fornés) focused on the investigation of the slaughter at Sanctuary, a secret clinic for the superhero community. The final issues of the story placed the blame for the deaths on Wally, who'd briefly lost control of his powers and unleashed a burst of energy that seemed to kill Arsenal, Blue Jay, Commander Steel, Hot Spot, Lagoon Boy, Gunfire, Red Devil, Gnarrk, Protector, the Tattooed Man, and Poison Ivy. The event was controversial for its subject and presentation. But much of the vitriol after the event stemmed from making the Flash a killer. It also wouldn't take long for DC to start reversing the effects of the situation.
Poison Ivy was resurrected before the end of Heroes in Crisis, and Arsenal was eventually brought back in the aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal. Wally's darker presence in the event was retconned to be partially Reverse-Flash's fault, and the surge of power that apparently killed the other heroes was caused by the Speed Force. But now, "One-Minute-War" might have found a way to reverse the only remaining effect of the storyline and quietly restore all the casualties that occurred in that story. In doing so, it more or less negates one of Wally's greatest tragedies and mistakes.
The turn of events in "One-Minute War" could also allow the characters killed off in this manner to eventually make their return to the core-DC Universe alongside Wally (so long as this doesn't turn out to be another fake-out). The previous attempts to mitigate Wally's part in the Heroes in Crisis storyline steadily removed the darker take on the character, but this discovery could completely wipe the slate clean. In essence, it would more or less retcon the only major lingering effect of the storyline.