10 Comics Heroes Who Lost Themselves (But Saved The Universe)
2. The Flash (Barry Allen) - Crisis On Infinite Earths
Speaking of sacrifices in DC's first ever Crisis, the most prominent and shocking death in the earth-shattering event would be Barry Allen's.
The Scarlet Speedster played a key role in foiling the Anti-Monitor's plans and his overwhelming speed played a role in ensuring his success at saving all of creation at the expense of his own life.
Following the events of the last entry, the Flash is captured by Psycho Pirate (another of Mobius' henchmen) and is trapped in a ship headed to the Anti-Monitor's homeworld of Qward. There, he witnesses the creation of an antimatter cannon that was created with the intention of destroying the remaining five Earths.
Fortunately, he is able to escape imprisonment and defeat the Anti-Monitor's army before discovering the cannon. He runs around the cannon, moving faster than ever before to redirect the antimatter towards the weapon and destroy it.
The effort sadly proves too much for Allen, who is shifted across various points across time, before losing his place in his reality and dying, only to return some 30 years later in the pages of Final Crisis.