WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash #87, by Joshua Williamson, Christian Duce, Luis Guerrero and Steve Wands, on sale now.
The Flash recently took a break from the present and transported us back in time to witness Barry Allen's revised origin. In "Year One," we saw how Barry first reacted to his superpowers. We saw him put together his suit piece by piece, time travel to the future for the very first time and take on the might of the supervillain known as the Turtle. What's more, we even saw the Scarlet Speedster meet a future version of himself. This battle-hardened "Old Man" Barry Allen hailed from a dark future where the Turtle ruled over Central City.
However, thanks to his heroic efforts, the young Barry would defeat the villain, and break the loop that would have seen him become this Old Man Barry. As a result, his future self was seemingly erased from the timeline... Or so we thought. Now, in The Flash #87, Old Man Barry Allen makes a surprise return -- but it's incredibly short-lived.
Old Man Barry Allen has a distinct look that sets him apart from his present day counterpart. On top of a gray beard and hair, he wears a new version of his costume that is distinct thanks to its short sleeves and gloves. This signature costume is exactly why there is no mistaking the character that returns in the final pages of The Flash #87.
Yes, as far as we know, Old Man Barry was erased from the timeline after the Flash broke the loop that would have seen him become this version of himself. And yet, the future Flash has somehow returned. Appearing in Iris West's home, Old Man Barry explains that even though the timeline has changed, he and Barry were wrong: "We shouldn't have broken the loop. We created a paradox."
As he speaks, his body starts to decay and crumble. He orders Barry to locate Commander Cold, but upon hearing that the alternate version of Captain Cold is dead, he says: "Then... Then it's too late, Barry. We... made... him... and now... Paradox is coming for us. And our legacy. There is only one thing left to do... Run..."
And with this, Old Man Barry withers away from a skeleton to, eventually, nothing at all. In fact, the death is somewhat reminiscent of Barry's own death in the Speed Force as seen in the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths event. Best we can tell, this future version of the Flash has just died a gruesome death as a direct consequence of the events seen in "Year One."
The details about Old Man Barry's return are still a mystery -- did he somehow survive his initial erasure from the timeline, or is this a separate version of the character created as a result of Barry's actions? Whatever the reason may ultimately be, this has led to the first warning of a mysterious new villain: Paradox.
Whoever this Paradox is, it appears they are responsible for the death of Old Man Barry. Somehow, they were able to erase someone from existence. Perhaps Paradox has weaponized the Speed Force itself. Whoever he or she may be, Paradox has just become the biggest and most dangerous foe in the Flash's rogues gallery.
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