Warning: spoilers ahead for The Flash #769!
The Flash is heading back in time to defeat Hitler. The conclusion of The Flash #769 has revealed Wally West's next stop in time. This is one straight from the Golden Age of comic books, literally!
Wally West has been jumping through time using the Speed Force. However, this is not time travel as he - or any other Flash - knows it. The speedster, who was set to retire, is being dropped into random time periods by the Speed Force itself. Wally is intent on fixing problems that have arisen within the Speed Force by occupying the bodies of the Flashes who came before or after him. The Flash #767 saw him in prehistoric times, while The Flash #768 placed him in Bart Allen's body in the future.
Created by Jeremy Adams, Jack Herbert, Brandon Peterson, and Darko Lafuente, The Flash #769 has hurled Wally back in time again. Now, he finds himself in the World War II era, face to face with Adolf Hitler and his Third Reich. More surprising than the speedster appearing in this time is the reappearance of an artifact that has seen its share of time travel: the Spear of Destiny.
According to legend, the Spear of Destiny, also known as the Holy Lance or Holy Spear, was the weapon used to pierce the side of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. It first appeared in DC's comic universe on Earth-Two, in the 1977 comic, Weird War Tales #50. In the DC Universe, the spear came into Hitler's possession while Jay Garrick was wearing the Flash mantle. It would reappear in multiple comics over the years, including in JSA: Classified in the arc, "The Spear and the Dragon." The spear would also pop up in Final Crisis: Revelations. Of most interest, however, is that the spear was recently included in several issues of DC's Future State event.
Future State: Shazam! #2 and Future State: Teen Titans #1 both featured the magical artifact in a very critical role. Shazam! only had a shard, but Teen Titans revealed the full importance of the spear. The Titans planned to find the Spear of Destiny, initially to defeat the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, before believing it to be a way for everyone to come together. Despite thinking it would take weeks, the unified force of Cyborg and Beast Boy located it. By the end of the issue, the spear had been destroyed, but where it was found remains unknown. This mission of Flash's could provide further insight into not just the Speed Force, but also the whereabouts of the Spear of Destiny. DC Comics is far from done using this artifact, and Wally West as the Flash has a big role to play now as he prepares to take on Hitler.