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In the present, the Flash has caught Cobalt Blue, a villain with a hatred of the Flash... who just so happens to by Malcolm Thawne, the long-lost twin brother of Barry Allen the second Flash. When Thawne vows to destroy the future legacy of the Speed Force, the Flash decides on a drastic plan: he ga

Chain Lightning is a 1999 Flash storyline by Mark Waid. It features all three Flashes, starring Wally West with Jack Garrick and Barry Allen in flashbacks.

Synopsis

In the present, the Flash has caught Cobalt Blue, a villain with a hatred of the Flash... who just so happens to by Malcolm Thawne, the long-lost twin brother of Barry Allen the second Flash. When Thawne vows to destroy the future legacy of the Speed Force, the Flash decides on a drastic plan: he gathers up all his allies, and then the lot of them disperse across the future. Their mission: to find all future iterations of the Flash, help them defeat that era's Cobalt Blue, and warn them about the threat of the blue fire.

The speedsters spread across time, gaining help from the heroes of the future, as Cobalt Blue taunts the woman guarding him, Angela Margolin, until she puts on headphones and cannot hear him use his powers anymore.

As the heroes spread, the Flash encounters a strange reversal: Chardaq Allen, a descendant of the Flash, is the Cobalt Blue of the 25th century, and Professor Zoom, a descendant of Cobalt Blue, and a criminal speedster he has faced before, is helping the police to stop him. Although the Flash helps arrest Chandaq, Professor Zoom escapes.

Jay Garrick, meanwhile, warns Iris Allen, the Flash's future daughter, helps her defeat her time's Cobalt Blue, then sends her to warn others as he returns to guard Cobalt Blue. However, when he arrives, he is ambushed by the criminal, who possesses his body and starts the final part of his plan.

The Flash chases Professor Zoom 400 years into the future, where a cult who worships Cobalt Blue informs them that the speedsters of this time are all dead. The Flash shatters the gem they worship into shards, then gets Professor Zoom in a headlock and carries him back to the 25th century for imprisonment.

After the speedsters have warned one another, Kid Flash, Iris Allen and XS all get intimations that the Flash is in danger in the 30th century, and they all race there. They find the Flash being menaced by Cobalt Blue in the body of Jay Garrick, backed up by the Lightning Brigade: all the speedsters they just tried to warn, now possessed by the malevolent energy in the shards of the stone the Flash destroyed.

The free speedsters fight the Lightning Brigade with the aid of Barry Allen, visiting the 30th century from a point in their past. As their powers are stolen by the vilains, the Flashes retreat through the Flash Museum and use the weapons of their enemies to defeat Cobalt Blue.

At this point, the Pariah arrives to tell them of the Crisis. Cobalt Blue uses the distraction to kill Barry Allen. In desperation, the Flash tries to fill his mentor's place in the Crisis, but because of differences in their powers he fails. So he runs back in time, saves Barry Allen, takes the Cobalt Blue gem and runs so hard that the stone is reduced to energy and the Flash merges with the Speed Force!

In the aftermath of the battle, a new Flash arrives in Keystone City.

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This event or storyline is specifically related to The Flash, or any of the individual characters who have taken up the Scarlet Speedster mantle. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Flash Storylines category.
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