'The Flash' and 'Arrow' crossover 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' may not see Earth-1's Barry Allen die
Hearts broke when season 5 of Flash saw Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) daughter, Nora-West Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy) die in the season finale, 'Legacy'. Hearts also broke when Gustin himself announced during the San Diego Comic-Con 2019, that the show could go on were he to die in the much-awaited 'Crisis on Infinite Earths.'
The 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' was a much-teased battle since the first season of 'The Flash'. It's been built up slowly through crossover episodes in 'The Flash', 'Arrow', and 'Supergirl' each season. The epic battle sees these heroes join forces to take on supervillain named the Anti-monitor.
Parallelly, hearts also broke when Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) death was foretold in the 'Arrow'. The eighth and the final season may probably see the emerald archer sacrifice himself to save earth, but more on that later as we have theories as to why Barry doesn't necessarily need to die in the "Crisis."
Before we delve into the theory about the scarlet speedster laying down his life, here's a quick explanation of what the "Crisis" is all about. Going by the comics, 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' was a 12-issue mini-series that focused on the greatest battle in cosmic history.
The Anti-Monitor (the Monitor's evil counterpart), played by LaMonica Garrett, is unleashed on the DC Multiverse and begins to destroy the various earths it comprises. This leads the Monitor to build an army of superheroes and villains who team up to save all that existed.
If The CW is to stick to the comic plotlines, then Flash's death would be pretty sad. The story follows him being imprisoned in the anti-matter universe. But he manages to break free and realizes the Anti-Monitor was building an anti-matter cannon that would destroy multiple universes in one blow.
In an attempt to sabotage and destroy the cannon, Flash runs at a speed he's never run before to create a vibrational frequency that destabilizes the cannon's core. While the ploy works, it comes at a price and that is Barry's physical form disintegrating leaving only his costume.
However, there are a couple of theories that may also see the Flash survive the event after all. For starters, the "Crisis" sees heroes and villains of multiple earths unite to take down the Anti-Monitor. It was established that each of these earths has their versions of the Flash, Arrow, Batgirl and Supergirl.
So far, we have seen three Flash's from different timelines in 'The Flash' series and it is evident these heroes will be part of the mega-battle that will decide the fate of the universe. This means it is entirely possible a Flash from a different earth (played by Gustin again) could be one of the heroes to be the one to die rather than the Earth-1 hero.
This theory of multiple Flashes in the dimensions stems from Amell's confirmation during the comic-con. Amell spoke about multiple Oliver Queens that may appear in season 8 and it is possible that theory could hold true for Barry as well. How about the possibility of the Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh) to get a heroic death? He's an anti-villain after all.
While we are talking about the Arrowverse, have a quick glance at season 8 of 'Arrow':
The second theory is that 'The Flash' is not ending anytime soon. Barry and his team may still have one more season to go before they hang up their capes and boots. So, it's likely that Barry will be kept alive for one more season. It's already established that the hero has always been ready to die if that meant restoring balance to the world, so the sacrifice part may just not be the way to make him bow out.
While this further adds to the fact that Oliver may be the one to valiantly die, the "world's fastest man alive" may not have to necessarily zoom to his death after all.
'The Flash' season 6 will premiere on The CW October 8.