It was the destiny of The Flash to sacrifice his life to stop the Anti-Monitor during DC’s original Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. Although Barry Allen was resurrected many years later, his death proved one of DC’s longest lasting, emphasizing the extent of his sacrifice. What many readers don’t know, however, is that Barry wasn’t alone in his final moments – or even the ones beyond them.

Although that story wouldn’t be told for many years, the unseen spirit Boston Brand (aka Deadman) did everything he could to save Flash from his grim fate. One of DC’s lesser-known characters, Deadman is the ghost of a circus performer imbued with the ability to possess the bodies of living people.  This allows Deadman to interact with the living and even save lives by taking over a potential victim and getting him or her out of harm’s way. On other occasions, Deadman has even possessed the bodies of heroes and villains to help guide them through a proper course of action.

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Unfortunately, this power isn’t absolute, as Deadman discovered to his dismay during the Crisis when he saw a time-traveling Flash appear before him, warning people about the world dying. Wanting to help, Deadman dove into Flash’s body and journeyed with him to the Anti-Monitor’s realm. Once there, he was ripped out of Flash’s body and learned the Anti-Monitor was about to destroy the positive matter universe with his antimatter canon. Thinking he could stop the impending disaster by simply taking over the Anti-Monitor’s body, Deadman attempted to possess the villain’s body, but was thrown out. At the same time, Flash began attacking the Anti-Monitor with more success, by forcing the Anti-Monitor’s lacky Psycho-Pirate to use his mental powers to turn the villain’s guards against the Anti-Monitor.

As Flash went after the Anti-Monitor, Deadman saw the guards were shaking off the Psycho-Pirate’s influence and preparing to attack the Flash. Finding he could still possess the Psycho-Pirate, Deadman gave Flash some anonymous backup by driving away his attackers. This gave Flash the time to use his super speed to tear the antimatter canon apart, but the effect began to kill the Scarlet Speedster.

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Deadman rushed to help – but it was too late. The antimatter canon blew up, taking the Flash with it. Yet, this only led to a new adventure for The Flash when he appeared as a spirit in front of Deadman. Still wanting to help, Deadman began guiding Flash to the afterlife, when suddenly his old enemy Darius Caldera blocked their way. Thinking Caldera was after him, Deadman attacked the magic user, telling Flash to run toward the light. Instead, Flash attacked Caldera, who revealed Flash was his target all along before trapping the speedster in his “Soul Cage.”

Tragically, Deadman soon lost all of his memories of Crisis, and it would be many years before he was able to recall Flash’s imprisonment and launch a plan to prevent Caldera from ever taking Flash’s soul. The entire affair left Boston Brand feeling useless for not being able to prevent the Flash’s death – but considering all of his efforts, it’s very possible that Deadman still gave The Flash a chance to stop the Anti-Monitor, making him partially responsible for saving DC’s multiverse!

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About The Author


Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

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Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

Visit Michael Jung’s website for information on how to hire him, follow him on Twitter Michael50834213, or contact him directly: michael(at)michaeljungwriter(dot)com.

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