The Flash Season 4: Wally West Won’t Be In Command Of Team Flash

The finale of “The Flash” season 3 left audiences wondering where Team Flash is heading towards without Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). Will Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale) take on The Flash’s mantle? Towards the end of the season 3 finale, Barry defeated Savitar and went into the Speed Force, thus leaving the reins of Team Flash to Wally. The question of whether or not Wally will be the leader for the next season seems to be the elephant in the room, and Lonsdale might just have the right answer to that.

Grant Gustin and Keiynan Lonsdale in The Flash (2014). Photo by The CW Network, LLC.

Post-Crisis Parallels For CW’s The Flash

Back in the 80’s, DC Comics had a 12-issue run called “Crisis On Infinite Earths,” an inter-dimensional crossover event. Here, Barry Allen used himself as the ultimate sacrifice to save the multiverse.Wally then took over The Flash’s mantle for several years, even joining the Justice League entirely. However, Barry returned in 2008 during the “Final Crisis” crossover story and went on until the “New 52” and “DC Rebirth” reboot. Barry then reclaimed his title as the original Flash.

Keiynan Lonsdale as Kid Flash and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon. Photo by Diyah Pera/The CW Network, LLC.

With this comic book storyline in mind, it could be that the show’s writers are going along this route. Wally might be the main Flash for a few episodes, only to have Barry reappear. It would be very interesting to see how the team will be affected if this is the case.

Wally West Won’t Be The Flash… Yet

We all know that the comic book TV shows under The CW are as secretive as the movies in the DCEU, so it’s unlikely that we will be getting a confirmation any time soon. However, Lonsdale met with Newsweek to discuss the show and if he will be replacing Gustin as the titular character. He had this to say:

“It’s not something that’s on my radar. I feel as though there is so much story to tell and Wally has so much growing to do. I’d like to see that journey continue. That’s what I think is important. We need to see how these characters realistically get to where they are headed for.”

Grant Gustin as The Flash and Keiynan Lonsdale as Kid Flash. Photo by Bettina Strauss/The CW Network, LLC.

So it’s indeed unlikely for Wally to be The Flash, but that doesn’t mean fans won’t be able to see him be temporarily The Flash, given how Barry is currently MIA. Back in the episode called “Flashpoint,” Wally was the only Flash, and so this could still be another way for him to don the mantle.

“The Flash” season 4 premieres Tuesday, October 10th on The CW.