The Flash Season 3’s finale left fans with a lot of questions about what might happen next. But by far the biggest questions: What comes next for Barry Allen? And will there be a different Flash for Season 4?
SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of The Flash.
At the conclusion of an epic final battle, which left Savitar dead and Iris alive, the celebration was cut short by the Speed Force itself which showed up to claim Barry Allen for his crimes against time. The source of speedster power returned with the ultimatum that Barry leave the Earth behind in order to stabilize its energy, or he would put the entire planet at risk of destruction.
So, of course, the Scarlet Speedster did his heroic duty and entered the Speed Force which had taken the early form of his mom.
Looking ahead: Does this leave Earth-1 without a senior speedster to protect it? Maybe not.
Could Wally West Be “The Flash” of Season 4?
Iris didn’t let Barry go without a fight, and made an appeal to his sense of duty as the Flash of Central City. However, Barry seemed to have the same idea as us when he turned to his crimefighting partner, Kid Flash and said, “They’ll have one, right?”
Yes, it does seem Barry intends for Kid Flash to step up and adopt the mantle of Central City’s protector. And ICYMI, this actually happened in the comics once, too (actually, more than once, but that’s a story for another time).
What Could Wally West Be Like as The Flash?
Wally West, following the seminal DC Comics “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event, takes over The Flash mantle. If the show follows this path it could actually change things a lot.
For the past 3 seasons of the show, it’s gone with a pretty straightforward plot. Flash faces ridiculously fast speedster. Flash has to get faster. Flash finally gets faster. The end.
But putting Wally West in the big shoes of Barry Allen will introduce us to a bit of a different sort of story: What’s it like to graduate from sidekick to hero?
In a previous article, we examined the possibility of DeVoe being Season 4’s villain. This theory makes even more sense if Wally West is The Flash for Season 4. A non-metahuman like DeVoe would pose much more of a threat to a beginner speedster like Wally, and even more so without Barry Allen at his side.
What Happens to Barry Allen in Season 4 of The Flash?
No matter how much of a break-out star Keiynan Lonsdale has been for The Flash, Grant Gustin is here to stay.
However, much like how Flashpoint took quite a few episodes to resolve at the beginning of this season, this storyline could take place over the first few episodes of Season 4. We could see a solo Wally battling of his own rogues from DC Comics history such as Cicada, Fallout or Spin.
Even if Wally is only The Flash for a few episodes, this scenario raises an issue that the writers will have to tackle eventually; Wally West can’t be Kid Flash forever. The comics answered this dilemma by simply having two Flashes. How the writers of The Flash will address it remains to be seen.
