CHAPTER 24
Legacy
The Hero’s Journey Ends
One of the lasting characteristics of the DC Universe is the concept of the “legacy hero”: an ascension of another character to the rank and title of a hero in the mythology, the beginnings of a new hero’s journey, the realization of the ideal of the hero as more than a man, but a symbol (Christopher Nolan plays with this idea to great effect in his Batman trilogy).
The concept of the hero’s death and the ascendancy of another character, thus perpetuating the heroic identity (and bringing change and modernity to a storyworld in need of updating), was demonstrated most viscerally during the fallout to the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series. In Issue #8, Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the universe ...
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