67 Years Later, DC Is Turning A Beloved Classic Hero Into An Outright Anti-Hero

Published Oct 4, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT

Mark has been a comic book journalist for over 15 years and has interviewed comic book creators like Gail Simone and Caspar Wijngaard. And when he's not writing, he's working on beating his record of 1,200 comics read in a year.

Writer Ryan North recently gave Wally West a new future-sight power in The Flash called Flashes of Insight. At first, they were things that would happen within an hour or so, like minor crimes or accidents. But over time and repetition, Wally's control over the power improved. Wally could see things further into the future the more he "flexed this muscle." In The Flash #37, Wally sees bridges simultaneously exploding in Star City, Metropolis, and Central City. The weird thing is, this is happening a week later, meaning his visions are getting stronger.

Wally does what any hero would do and tries to stop this from happening. He finds out who causes the explosions, researches them, and learns the exact moment when they decide to commit the heinous acts. Things get bad because, rather than trying to help them, he throws them in jail a week before they have their random meet-up. While this is happening, Justice League members Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Superman (Jon Kent), and Aquaman meet Green Arrow on Mount Everest to discuss what Wally’s doing. At first, they understand the Flash's point, then Wally shows up and explains his actions, shocking and concerning everyone.

As they debate, Jon stops because he hears an explosion in Metropolis. Sadly, Jon couldn’t get there in time. Green Arrow couldn't get to the bridge exploding in Star City, and even the Flash wasn't fast enough to reach Central City in time. This means that Wally West either brought three people to jail for no reason, or this was an event that was always going to happen. Either way, the Flash needs to change how he uses his Flashes of Insight, or stop altogether.

The Flash's New Power Illustrates Another Problem With Time Travel

In this issue, the Green Arrow points out a problem with the Flashes of Insight. He says that there’s a chance that the Flash’s brain may not be physically capable of processing the information he’s getting. It’s an interesting theory, but that's far from the only issue. As we've seen, predicting the problem and stopping it are two different things.

The idea of using time travel or time-related abilities like future-sight to stop crimes isn’t new. The book and movie Minority Report and Marvel Comics’ Civil War 2 all show the gift and the curse of using precognition to stop crime. There’s also the more obvious case study, DC Comics story Flashpoint, that shows the danger of the Flash using the Speed Force to alter events in the past. The one thing that each project has in common is that time isn't predictable, even when the future is seen. But to act in defiance of this seems to be a recurring temptation among those bearing the mantle of the Flash.

Wally West Must Confront His Arrogance Or Pay The Price

Wally West’s hubris has been showing since he started using the Flashes of Insight. It’s understandable because stopping crime before it happens is game-changing for heroes. The problem is that he’s proving Green Arrow right about this being a slippery slope towards fascism, such as in The Flash #36, and putting people in jail before they commit a crime didn’t help. It didn’t help that Flash spoke as if he knew what was right for the world. That arrogance came to an end when the three bridges exploded.

As of now, readers don’t know if the bridges were blown up by the same people Wally had arrested. It may seem like the obvious guess, but time travel is weird. Sometimes, things are going to happen no matter what. Varying forms of this hard determinism are constantly brought up in stories like Marvel Comics’ Exiles and shows like Star Trek. The bridges in Metropolis, Star City, and Central blowing up may have been one of those events.

Another thing that has to be mentioned is that no one knows how these powers work. Wally oversimplified it by comparing it to flexing his chest muscles, but it can't be that easy. As Green Arrow pointed out, it's unclear if his brain can process the information. It could be leading him to see and hear things wrong. Finally, and this may be pushing things, what if the Flashes of Insight are looking into alternate realities?

In the end, it comes down to the Flash taking something good and not taking the time to see how it works. Sadly, when you can move faster than the speed of light, patience isn't something you may be used to.