A crisis is defined as a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. The CW’s crossover is tribute to the 1985 storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths. Arguably the most unforgettable and epic comics event in history, Crisis wiped out all of creation.
An ancient alien scientist from the planet Oa viewed the origin of the universe. This was a strictly forbidden endeavor and his disobedient actions led to the creation of a multiverse. There were positive matter universes and an anti-matter universe. A cosmic being known as The Monitor keeps track of all the happenings of the positive matter universe.
His counterpart, The Anti-Monitor, comes from the anti-matter universe. A scientific accident causes The Anti-Monitor to be able to enter the positive matter universes. He destroys universe after universe to re-create reality with only one universe—his to rule alone!
The Monitor sends his agent Harbinger to collect all the worthy superheroes across the multiverse in hopes to stave off and defeat The Anti-Monitor. Many tragic deaths occur in Infinite Crisis including The Monitor himself and Kara Zor-El (Supergirl). Another death I found equally impactful—the death of Barry Allen. This article will focus on how The Flash’s sacrifice has some similarities with the true and perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
You Cannot Outrun Suffering
The Monitor shows up in The Flash Season 6 Premiere to tell Barry that the Flash must die in the upcoming “Crisis.”
Death looming over Barry’s causes major despair and stress for the first part of Season 6. Barry sees all the possible future outcomes in which the world survives the crisis and they all include a common theme—The Flash dies to save the multiverse. Seeing the broader picture of what is at stake, Barry accepts his fate to die.
Not even the fastest man alive can outrun the inevitable. Our race ends eventually in death. A person accepts this fact and seeks to make the most of life. Others seek to outrun or cheat death. The Fountain of Youth. Elixir of life. Philosopher’s Stone. Deals with the Devil. It has been called many things in literature and history.
The main villain to emerge pre-Crisis is called Bloodwork. Reeling from the recent death of his mother, the scientist Ramsey Rosso sought to find a cure for the disease that took her life. Rosso never came to terms with the fact that his mother gave up the fight and accepted death. His saw it as a weakness. Dark matter mixed with his blood samples during his experiments causing Rosso to acquire powers to control blood. Bloodwork seeks the unnatural—overcoming death by resisting it. Barry’s willingness to accept death brings him the peace and joy that Rosso is longing for.
A Heroes Calling
A hero is someone who does the right thing even when everything else in their life tells them to the opposite. Barry Allen was a hero before he acquired his superpowers—as a forensic scientist he helped the police investigate crimes and bring criminals to justice. As a husband and friend, Barry’s love is enduring. In the CW’s Infinite Crisis Part 3, Barry is ready to sacrifice himself to destroy the Anti-Monitor’s machine, “I could not be a hero without you guys (talking to Cisco Ramon and Kaitlyn Frost).”
Freedom Not Forced
Barry endured the murder of his mother and having to see his father falsely imprisoned. That happened to him as child. Such suffering would break most people. It breaks Hunter Zolomon—the speedster Zoom—and in Season 2 of The Flash he tried to harness that hate to transform Barry into a villain. Savitar and Reverse Flash also attempted to tap into the suffering Barry endured to destroy him. While Barry had moments of doubts, he always remained steadfast in his love.
His wife Iris has been an anchor for Barry in his greatest trials. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1644, “the love of the spouses, requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses’ community of persons, which embraces their entire life.” Good times. Bad times. Even time of great crisis married couples are called to love and support one another. Love endures forever!
Barry and Iris’s marriage shares a similar belief in a lifelong commitment no matter the circumstances. Here is their exchange:
Iris: Our love story never ends Barry, even with Crisis.
Barry: Iris it [Crisis] is inevitable.
Iris: Maybe, but whether you vanish or…worse I’m going to be right there with you. Right there until the very end. Okay? Because the only thing more inevitable than Crisis is us [our love].
Love involves the ability to choose. To select right and wrong. Barry Allen freely chooses to accept his death with grace. He embraced this cross. Only when the Flash freely embraced his purpose did his anxiety over death disappear. His love for Iris, his friends, and the world sustained him in the moments leading up to his decision. Earth 90’s Flash (also named Barry Allen) intervened to save Barry Allen (Earth 1) and buy time for the remaining multiverse.
St. Mother Teresa said, “Love, to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.” Put more simply, love involves sacrifice. Thinking less of yourself and more of others. The Monitor eventually confirmed that Barry Allen was one of the seven Paragons—special heroes to save the multiverse. He was dubbed the “Paragon of Love”.
While the Barry Allen we grew and loved knew most in the comics was spared of death in the CW’s Crisis, Earth 1 Flash did perish in the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths. Standing before the ant-matter cannon, the Flash was shocked as he knew the of the machine was stronger than his powers. “I can feel it weakening me…draining my energy…I- – I haven’t got long before I’m powerless to stop it. Trouble is, I know what’s going to happen to me if I’m successful. But I have no choice. More than my life is at stake. Everything that mattered to me…Everything that’s ever been important…the lives of everyone on earth and throughout our universe…in the past, present, and future…that’s what I’m fighting for now! But I can’t give in to the pain,” Barry ponders as zooms around the Anti-Monitor’s weapon at superspeed.
Love sustained Barry the whole time. St. Paul tells us that love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). Only by giving up of ourselves will we be able to experience true peace, joy, and gratitude. Barry Allen is a character who demonstrates that sacrifice is what makes a person a true hero!
Matt Chicoine
Matthew Chicoine is a free-lance writer, a life-long Catholic, and an avid truth seeker. He earned an M.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 and enjoys binge reading Tolkien, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen and comic books. Visit his blog at https://thesimplecatholic.