Summary
Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Flash #10!The DC Universe has a newReverse-Flashand this time, it’s Wally West. The Flash and his family have found themselves targeted by a vast cosmic conspiracy and at the center of it all is Wally, who’s being turned into a weapon.
Ever since theFlash discovered the SpectraVerseand the hidden layers of reality within it, strange things have been happening. Cosmic disasters are happening left and right, the Flash Family has been torn apart, and a mysterious entity knownas the Crown of Thawneshas taken control of Barry Allen. But now, the Crown has found a new Fastest Man Alive to possess and it could spell doom for the DC Universe.
The Flash’s Mind is Corrupted by Millions of Reverse-Flashes
InThe Flash #10by Simon Spurrier, Ramón Pérez, Vasco Georgiev, Matt Herms, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Wally West is still stranded in the Gallery of Moments with no one to keep him company except the ethereal Resident. Unfortunately, the Resident disappears after noticing that something has changed. She implores Wally to remember the people who love him before disappearing altogether. As Wally wakes up from a nap, he takes in the incomprehensible sight ofthe Arc Angles, who inform the Flash that it’s time.
Wally continues to stand in the presence of the Arc Angles, who describe him as the ‘linchpin’ of their plans.
Elsewhere, Inspector Pilgrim, recently revealed as an adult version of Flash’s son Wade, discusses the current situation with his brother Jai and Pied Piper. Jai thinks back to a conversation he overheard between Nightwing and the Flash and comes to the realization that the Arc Angles have been rewriting reality so that it seems like speedsters are hurting reality. Jai reshapes the Speed Force so that things go back to normal and the speedsters Pilgrim had been holding can go free. The Flash Family reunites,but Wally is nowhere to be seen.
Wally continues to stand in the presence of the Arc Angles, who describe him as the ‘linchpin’ of their plans. Now that the Gallery has robbed Flash of his memory, he is ready for the Arc Angles ultimate weapon: The Crown of Thawnes. The Arc Angles implant the Crown into the Flash and reveal that they will have the Flash act as a ‘syringe’ anduse the hive consciousness composed of Reverse-Flashes to murder the timeline.
The History of the Crown of Thawnes and the Flash
Wally has seen a lot in his time as the Flash, but he saw more than he ever thought possible after he developed his new ‘side-stepping’ superpower. Flash discovered the hidden layers of reality and became obsessed with the Gallery of Moments, a serene environment where he could slow down and find peace (albeit at the cost of his own memory). Outside of the Gallery though, chaos quickly started spreading as the SpectraVerse began bleeding into reality. Meanwhile,Flash Barry Allen began experiencing intense headaches.
The Flash ignored his headaches and focused on keeping the world from falling apart. However, things intensified when Wally and Barry worked together to stop several cosmic disasters. Barry turned nasty and began insulting Wally before stabbing him and stranding his fellow speedster in the SpectraVerse. Barry didn’t know it, but he’d been under the influence ofthe Crown of Thawnes, a psychic collection of millions of different Reverse-Flashesfrom all across the multiverse. Unfortunately for the elder Flash, his time with the Crown of Thawnes was far from over.
The Crown of Thawnes was first revealed inThe Flash #6 (2024)!
As calamities began to build and build, the Flash was attacked by a band of Rogues who were involved in the Arc Angles. They needed a place to hide the Crown of Thawnes until Wally was ready to be weaponized and replanted the Crown in Barry’s mind. Flash was overwhelmed by thoughts of murder and chaos as thousands of Reverse-Flashes screamed at him to commit atrocities. Thankfully, Barry’s fiancee Iris West stood by his side andhelped break the hold the Crown of Thawnes had on the Flash.
The Flash Has Become the Deadliest Weapon Alive
Barry Allen was the first person the Arc Angles chose to host the Crown of Thawnes and the Scarlet Speedster’s experience hosting the entity was quite unsettling. Not only did Barry turn on his most trusted teammates, but the amalgamation of multiple Thawnes and Zolomons tried to get Flash to murder the love of his life. Flash only broke the hold because he had Iris to keep him grounded. Unfortunately, Wally’s memories have all but emptied, making himthe perfect vessel to host the Crown of Thawnes.
Inspector Pilgrim has already confirmed that the future is indeed dead
Wally is unquestionably the fastest man alive, which is why the Arc Angles likely chose him to be the Crown’s delivery system. If Wally turns evil, there’s hardly a person who could catch him. But even if someone like Barry manages to catch up, how can they help him break the Crown’s hold like Iris did for Barry? The Flash willfully stayed in the Gallery of Moments for too long andcleared his head enough for the millions of Reverse-Flashes to operate him.
What’s worse is that the Arc Angles are out to kill the timeline and Inspector Pilgrim has already confirmed that the future is indeed dead. The question is if the Flash Family can stop Wally before it’s too late or if the timeline’s fate is set in stone. Perhaps there’s a chance that the speedsters can band together to stop Wally and the Crown of Thawnes. But it’s hard to imaginewho has the power to stop the fastest Flash now that he’s got millions of psychopaths in his head.
Can Wally West Overcome His New Upgrade?
Barry Allen managed to overcome the Crown of Thawnes, so it’s not like’s impossible for Wally to do the same thing. The Crown of Thawnes is weak when it comes to emotional connection, which is likely why the Resident warned Wally to remember his loved ones. It’s going to be hard trying to get Flash to remember his family now that his memories are all but gone. But reminding the Flash of the people he cares about could be the only way to stop Wally from going fullReverse-Flashon the DC Universe.
