WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Flash Forward #6, by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Luis Guerrero and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
Information about the Free Comic Book Day Generation Zero book revealed Wally West would merge with Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan, though just how wasn't particularly clear. However, we now know just what happened to make this possible. Flash Forward #6 reveals why Wally and Doctor Manhattan are now one -- and it might make the Flash one of the deadliest villains in the DC Universe.
Earlier in Flash Forward, Wally learned that he was the only one capable of destroying the Incursion Point and stopping the Dark Multiverse from invading his universe, as the entire planet is the embodiment of the hero's fears and anxieties. However, the presence of Jai and Iris West -- Wally's long-lost children -- at the Incursion Point complicated things, making the hero unwilling to do what was necessary. In Flash Forward #6, Wally strikes a deal with Tempus Fuginaut -- who broke the hero out of prison so he could deal with the Dark Multiverse -- to save his children in exchange for getting into the Mobius Chair, which will essentially result in him losing his sense of self.
Once Wally sits in the Mobius Chair, he gets a makeover that causes him look a lot like Doctor Manhattan. And the text makes clear the two have actually merged minds and powers, since Doctor Manhattan interacted with the chair after killing Thomas Wayne, Jr./Owlman at the end of Justice League: Darkseid War. That's when things get really sinister.
"He is creation. He is doomsday. He is the clock ticking on the multiverse," Wally's monologue reads. "We share his vision." From there, Wally uses the Mobius Chair to jet around the universe. However, the ominous last page indicates the Mobius Chair -- which has primarily been used for observation -- will now take a more active role in events going forward. Just what this new version of Wally is planning is unknown, but there's a good chance it's going to have something to do with fixing the DC Universe's many continuity problems, which are the result of numerous reboots and relaunches over the years.
As for the transformation itself, Doctor Manhattan hasn't really been a good guy in DC Comics, though he's always more a force of intellectual curiosity than malice or evil. Still, he's done a lot that's seriously morally questionable, if not outright wrong. In Doomsday Clock, he went toe-to-toe with Superman while also working to make sure heroes such as Alan Scott/Green Lantern never became heroes.
Although Superman triumphed over Doctor Manhattan and, thus, stopped him from tampering with reality anymore than he had, Flash Forward #6 indicates Wally will continue down that same path. Depending on his intentions, gaining Doctor Manhattan's proclivities might just make Wally the newest, and most dangerous, villain in the DC Universe -- and he's got the power to do whatever he wants.