When the Riddler decided to test his brain against the Flash, it was a legacy hero who came to the rescue, proving that a hero passing on their mantle can be an unexpected and effective secret weapon against their villains.
The Flash is without a doubt the fastest man alive, and he has an entire rogues' gallery to challenge that speed, with such heavy hitters as the Rogues, Gorilla Grodd, Eobard Thawne, or the entire Legion of Zoom. Meanwhile, Batman has perhaps the most iconic rogues' gallery in all of comic books, with such legendary characters as Joker, Two-Face, Bane, and many more. But with a shared universe, what would happen if their villains decided to switch heroes? Batman has fought Reverse Flash before but things quickly got out of hand when a Batman villain attacked the Flash.
In Van Jensen, Gus Vazquez, and Joe Eisma The Flash #51 (2011) a mysterious benefactor has gifted a bunch of A.I. drones to the local police department that eventually turn on Barry Allen's Flash. It's revealed that the man pulling the strings behind all of this is none other than the Riddler, who has decided to test the speed of his brain against Flash's Speed Force. The Flash and Batman have often debated which of their villains is worse, for example, Mr. Freeze vs Captain Cold, but when Barry Allen comes up against the Riddler in this instance, he is entirely unprepared and quickly defeated. Barry is so resoundingly trounced by Riddler that he is actually unmasked on live TV and forced to stay still while Riddler physically beats him. In the end, only one thing uis able to save Barry, and that is his legacy.
Barry Allen Was Saved By Flash's Legacy
After capturing and beating the Flash on live television, Riddler is eventually alerted to another speedster in the area, who turns out to be Wally West's Flash. Riddler is completely unaware of the existence of two Flashes. Instead, he believes that Barry Allen is an imposter and releases him to go after the "real" Flash, Wally West. With the assistance Rogues members Captain Cold, Mirror Master and Weather Wizard, Barry is able to put a stop to Riddler's plans.
A lot of heroes have passed down their cape or cowls over time, Barry Allen has done it several times, Batman did it with Dick Grayson, and even Jon Kent has claimed the mantle of Superman. Legacy heroes are an unbelievable strength for their older versions and at the end of the day, the only reason Barry is able to beat Riddler at all is due to the help of his own legacy. For as smart as he is, Riddler has no idea that a hero like Barry would pass his legacy and mantle down to someone else.
With DC's Dark Crisis coming to a close, it seems that legacy heroes may play a bigger role than ever in the future. If the past is anything to go by, legacy heroes can make all the difference. It certainly made a difference when the Flash went up against the Riddler.