The Flash: Wally West May Be Innocent, Framed By [SPOILER]
Warning: SPOILERS for Heroes In Crisis #9 and Doomsday Clock #10.
Could Wally West be innocent of the killings for which he was jailed in the finale of Heroes in Crisis? Not only does it seem like the younger Flash was framed for the multiple murders that shocked the DC Comics universe, but the conspiracy that put him behind bars may tie into the story of Doomsday Clock.
Heroes In Crisis detailed the existence of Sanctuary - a secret clinic which offers the specialized mental health care that superheroes sometimes require. After several patients were killed despite Sanctuary's top-notch security, both Harley Quinn and Booster Gold were accused of the crime. However, it was ultimately revealed that Wally West was the killer, with the murders caused by an uncontrolled burst of Speed Force energy. But for the fans who long to believe Wally West is somehow innocent - or are upset to see The Flash be made a killer - there may be evidence he's been set up all along.
Heroes In Crisis #9 ends with a team of heroes unraveling just how Wally West caused the deaths and faked his own demise. At the end of the issue, Wally surrenders himself into the custody of his fellow heroes. The issue ends with the younger Flash imprisoned and an odd image of the The Flash symbol enveloped in blue lightning.
While Wally West's current costume features silver-white lighting bolts instead of the usual golden ones, his lightning has maintained the usual golden-white hue we see when The Flash and other Speed Force users run... except during the Speed Force explosion in Heroes In Crisis #8 and Wally's subsequent attempt to frame Harley Quinn and Booster Gold for his crime. This suggests that someone was responsible for triggering the sudden release of Speed Force energy. But what being could possibly be powerful enough to arrange such a thing and have a motive for doing so?
The answer lies in Doomsday Clock #10, which reveals how Dr. Manhattan has manipulated the reality of DC Comics. The biggest revelation to come out of this issue is that Dr. Manhattan had not been manipulating one aspect of DC Comics' Multiverse, but a Metaverse - a reality detached from the multiverse that determines the status quo of reality and certain key constants. For instance, while the year in which Superman is first revealed to the world and the precise date when his foster parents died may change, Superman will fundamentally remain the same person because the Metaverse dictates that Superman act a certain way.
By altering the Metaverse so that The Kents died while Clark Kent was still a teenager, and stopping the Legion of Superheroes from ever existing, Dr. Manhattan eliminated every touchstone that humanized Superman as a young adult. This created a new Superman (i.e. The New 52 Superman) whom Dr. Manhattan related to better.
Doomsday Clock #10 also revealed that the Metaverse was not a passive reality and that it had begun to fight back against Dr. Manhattan's alterations. One way it did this was by bringing Wally West - the most powerful version of The Flash to have ever existed and one of the few heroes with the power to potentially match Dr. Manhattan in a straight-up fight - back into the Metaverse, after Dr. Manhattan had removed him along with most of the classic Teen Titans.
While Wally West did not remember his first encounter with Dr. Manhattan once he resettled into reality, it was clear that Dr. Manhattan did not forget him. Creating a power surge that caused Wally to lose control of his powers would be well within Dr. Manhattan's capabilities, as would using his power to see the future to find the best point at which to attack Wally West and make the surge look like a result of Wally's losing control in a moment of weakness. This would further serve to undermine Wally's confidence in himself and his status as an avatar of Hope - a force Dr. Manhattan seems to hold in both fear and disdain.
It is also worth noting that Dr. Manhattan's energy is blue - the same color as Wally West's lightning in Heroes in Crisis. This theory provides a motive, a means and an opportunity for Dr. Manhattan to have framed Wally West for murder, but this theory will remain just that until the next issue of Doomsday Clock is released.
Doomsday Clock #10 and Heroes in Crisis #9 are available now at your local comic book store.