The Flashes' Secret Ids Going Public: Part Five - The Museum Knew
By CuryMay 6, 2003 - 18:06:00 PM
Once the trial was over and the Flash (Barry) was declared innocent, he went to the future with his then- presumed-dead- wife- returned-from-the- future Iris, his identity still a secret to the world (he was unmasked by his Attorney during the trial, but thanks to a Gorilla City plastic surgery, his face was altered and no one recognized him. Once he got to the future, his looks were restored).
So after the Crisis the world knew the Flash was dead- but what about Barry? Barry had been declared a missing person by the Police, being missing since his almost-wedding to Fiona Webb (when he, as the Flash, killed Professor Zoom in self-defense).
Back to Flash #1, "He [Barry] died owning thousands of Dollars in legal bills. The Justice League had to pay for his funeral. He left me his costume- and a picture of what a hero should be."
So the League paid for his funeral, eh? But whose funeral was that- the Flash's, or Barry's? Or was his identity revealed to the world as soon as he died?
Once again, let's take one more look at the quote from Brian Meltzer's Green Arrow #17 of 11/02:
Green Arrow: "It actually started with Barry. When he died, we all lost a friend. But Hal [Jordan, Green Lantern] lost a brother. It was Hal's idea to gather Barry's keepsakes. Not just to honor him... but to protect his identity and those close to him. Unlike Barry, though, we weren't fast enough. The [Flash] Museum opened its newest exhibit six months later, and the whole world knew. Take it from me... that's the real reason Wally went public."
And now hang on to your winged hats, Flash-fans... for the final, and most troubled leg of our journey: Flash Annual #8 (1995, written by Mark Waid).
All DC's annuals of 1995 all had the same theme- "Year One". The Flash's issue told the reader a never-seen-before period of Wally's life- the period between Barry's death and the Legends mini/Flash v2. Series... namely, Wally's last adventure as Kid Flash- his last adventure wearing his yellow costume before he took on Barry's mantle.
A few months after the Flash (Barry) died, the Flash Museum in Central City was preparing to set up an exhibit honoring the late hero- as the world mourned.
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