The Flash’s Death May Be A Good Thing For Barry On ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’

Since the beginning of Season 6 of “The Flash,” Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) has been told by The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) that he would die in the Crisis in order to save the multiverse. However, during part 3 of the epic crossover “Crisis On Infinite Earths,” it was not Barry Allen who met his demise.

In “The Flash” episode of the crossover, Barry and his team find the machine responsible for the anti-matter wave destroying countless Earths across the multiverse. Earth-90 Flash, portrayed by John Wesley Shipp whom we last saw during “Elseworlds,” was operating the machine. In order to stop the anti-matter device, Flash had to use his speed to reverse its effects, but it would mean the foretold prophecy of him vanishing would come true.

However, it wasn’t the same Flash fans were expecting to do the deed. In a twist, Earth-90 Barry chose to sacrifice himself to save the multiverse. With this new development, it means that Earth-1 Barry has been spared from his fate.

Ever since the beginning of the series, fans knew that at some point, Barry would mysteriously vanish during the Crisis event. Once he saw the treadmill that was needed to stop the cosmic machine from operating, Barry knew it was time to fulfill his role to save the multiverse. However, Earth-90 Flash ends up taking his place after temporarily stealing Earth-1 Barry’s speed to stop the cannon.

With that sacrifice, fans saw his character turn to dust. It was never specified which Flash would vanish, so it was quite a turn-of-events to see the '90s version make that choice. It was a heartbreaking moment for fans of the original series, especially after seeing that brief clip from the 1990 TV show as his life flashed before his eyes.

With Earth-90 Flash gone, it's revealed that Barry won’t be facing his untimely demise in Crisis as we originally thought. This was a nice way to conclude The Flash of the '90s ever since it was canceled after one season. With one problem averted, Barry and his team still have to face off against the Anti-Monitor when the crossover returns for the final two hours in January.

The “Crisis On Infinite Earths” crossover will conclude on Jan. 14, 2020 on The CW.