The search for Barry Allen comes to a close in the latest Dark Crisis tie-in issue of The Flash.
The bulk of this issue is split between two of the three parallel worlds, with Wally and his kids being the main focus here. Which considering this series has been about the West family for a while now, feels kind of fitting.
On the Mad Max style world Max Murcury and Jesse Quick help to hold off the marauder forces whilst that worlds Barry takes a magical pearl inside a huge tower structure and smashes; doing...something? It's not really clear what this is going to do; and honestly, it doesn't really matter as this is all just stuff to keep two of the speedsters busy whilst other things happen.
On the dark world inhabited by Night-Flash, the twins learn about this worlds Flash from a kid they encounter, who tells that of how this version of Barry Allen got his powers, and how he has become a merciless dictator. Convinced that this Flash is evil, and that beating him will prove to their family that they have what it takes to be heroes, the kids set out to find him and stop his evil reign.
The only issue with this plan, it turns out that despite the frightening appearance and the way he was acting, Night-Flash isn't a villain; but the kid the twins are with is. Thanks to some help from Jay Garrick, who finally arrives in time, the twins are able to stop themselves from doing anything particularly bad, and help the Night-Flash in time.
I kind of like how this section subverted expectations, as I was convinced that this was going to be an evil Batman/Flash mash-up, but I was wrong. It's also a really good lesson for the kids, to not judge by appearances, to not trust so readily, and to be prepared to think on your feet and change in a moment's notice on the battlefield.
Now, for the important stuff. Barry (our Barry) is continuing to beat the shit out of Wally, thinking that he's the Reverse Flash there to hurt his family. And there's a moment when it seems like Wally is going to get through to him, but it's fleeting, as Pariah's prison world exerts its control over him and puts him back under its spell. Luckily, help comes in a surprising form, as Linda follows her family into the portal thanks to her new speedster abilities; and she knocks Barry off her husband.
This is the shock needed to break Barry out of things, and he gets brought up to speed by the others; and reveals to the Flashes that the League aren't dead, but trapped in fake worlds just like him. So, the Flash family heads back to Earth-0 to try and help against the villains there, whilst Barry heads off to find a way to free the League.
So, it looks like this has become a very important part of the Dark Crisis event, and that people who haven't read it could end up being surprised when Barry shows up out of nowhere in the next issue of the main series. Thankfully, I've been reading this, as it's been absolutely fantastic.
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