5 Superhero Comic Book Deaths That Didn't Last
2. Silver Age Flash (BARRY ALLEN)
Readers of Crisis on Infinite Earths were still reeling from the death of Supergirl the issue before when they were wrenched off their axes when they saw the Silver Age Flash lay down his life to save the DC multiverse in the eighth issue of that pivotal maxi-series. This was real. This wasnt the death of some d-list character like Kid Psycho or a junior hero like the aforementioned Girl of Steel. This was one of DCs Big Seven. This was the character that started the Silver Age of comics in Showcase #4 in 1956 so it was only fitting he give up his life to start the Modern Age of comics in 1985. The Marvel Revolution began in 1961 when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby unveiled the Fantastic Four and married real world problems to superhero action but five years before that the Distinguished Competition had married science fiction to superhuman feats of derring do by re-imagining the Golden Age speedster, the Flash, as a molecule-controlling, time-travelling, speed of light-running creation in a shiny red costume with lightning bolt highlights and golden boots. This new Fastest Man Alive was created by Robert Kanigher, John Broome, and Carmine Infantino on the page but his spiritual father was editor Julius Schwartz who used his background as a sci-fi geek to update his companys line of heroes after the implosion of the Golden Age following World War II and the rise of the Comic Code Authority which sucked the lifeblood out of superhero comics with its rules about what could and could not be shown. Yeah, DC still had its trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman but Schwartz figured the time was right to introduce old heroes in new skins. The Flash was the first and when he proved a hit, he was followed by Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawkman, and ultimately the Justice League of America which sold so well that Martin Goodwin over at Marvel tasked Stan Lee with creating a team of superheroes to compete with Nationals, as DC was known then, and so the Fantastic Four and the Marvel Universe as it is today was born. The sci-fi revolution over at DC also gave rise to the concept of infinite earths in comic books where on another earth in a slightly different universe the Golden Age Flash and his peers in the Justice Society of America lived and gave way to a younger set of legacy heroes like Infinity, Inc. or yet another earth where the JLA was evil or another where superheroes were fictional characters living only in the pages of comic books. That was heady stuff and also confusing to new readers which is why DC decided to do away with the multiversal concept during Crisis. So it was decreed to get rid of the Multiverse and its discoverer, Bartholomew Henry Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, by having him destroy a super-cannon the Anti-Monitor had pointed at the earth by creating a vortex to draw the energy back to its launch point but doing so killed him with every lap he ran. Supergirl saved her cousin the previous issue but the Flash saved all of creation with only his costume and his signet ring left to mark his noble act. A true and fitting end for a hero but neither the good or the evil seem to rest easy in comics so it was twenty-three years after making his final run in Crisis #8 that Barry Allen was formally re-introduced into the DCU continuity in Final Crisis #2 chasing down a god-killing bullet and outdistancing the Black Racer. Well and good to have the Silver Age Flash back again but his rebirth only raised the question of what about Wally? Wally West, his replacement, who had carved out his own legacy as the Modern Age Flash after Barrys sacrifice. DC still hasnt really answered that question yet but just like it was big deal when the Father of the Silver Age died; it was even bigger when he came back. IMPACT: The death of the Silver Age Flash along with the many others who died in Crisis was significant because it finally made DC characters come across as relatable to comic fans who complained they were just too powerful and perfect to be realistic. Realism in a comic book but run with it, OK? Just like Barry Allen can be called the Father of the Silver Age, so can Wally West be called the Daddy of the Modern Age because he led legacy heroes like Nightwing, the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern, and the Connor Hawke Green Arrow into a new era where the heroes not only had to stop evil they also had to live up to the accomplishments of their fathers, real and surrogate. Who cant relate to trying to be as good or better than their parents? Fans related so good to that idea that there is a very real divide between Team Barry and Team Wally which still hasnt been adequately addressed by DC even in the wake of the company wide reboot last year. Itll be interesting to see how the Flash or Flashes run around that one. OPINION: I loved Crisis on Infinite Earths when I bought it as a teenager at my local convenience store back in the mid-80s because you didnt see characters die like that on such a large scale which let me know this was a series meant to change DCs status quo. Wolfman and Perez pulled it off masterfully but DC failed to have a clear vision regarding the effects of its aftermath on its line of books which is why there have been several Crises in the almost thirty years since. I was heartbroken to see Barry Allen make his final run but just like Supergirl, his best story was the one in which he died because he displayed the mettle of a true hero that few creators had been able to show he had before then. Just like the Norse gods died in Ragnorak to ensure the birth of a new and better world so did Barry Allen die not just to save his world but to make it even better as well. As an amateur comics historian Im happy the Silver Age Flash is back but this Modern Age was Wallys time and even Professor Zoom knows you cant move forward if you continue to live in the past.