| “ | Bear witness to a coming Armageddon that you create ten years from now, one that destroys your own planet. It's already happened, Flash, that's why I, Despero, have to kill you. It's how I save our world. | ” |
Armageddon is an apocalyptic event caused by The Flash's enhanced superhuman speed, which led to the total destruction of Earth. Unbeknownst to Despero, the event was, in fact, the reversal of the Reverse Flashpoint, which resulted in the timeline reset and Armageddon never occurred in the current timeline.
History[edit | hide | hide all]
Despero's Misconception[edit | hide]
In 2031, Despero was banished to Earth after a failing to kill an oppressor on his home planet, Kalanor. However, as soon as he arrived on the planet in Central City, he witnessed The Flash running at an exceptional speed and cracked the Earth open. Despero then travelled back to 2021 and attempted to prevent the apocalypse from happening.[1][2] This event was later erased when Barry reset the timeline, albeit Despero claiming letting Thawne live could lead to such events once more.[3]
The Beginning[edit | hide]
In November 2021, The Flash was encountered by Despero, who travelled from the apocalyptic 2031 in order to kill him before he could cause Armageddon. However, Despero was thwarted by the duo of The Flash and Atom. Eventually, The Flash was able to summon Despero to the Speed Lab and decided to understand his motives. The latter explained how The Flash's speed led to the planet's demise, while The Flash voluntarily allowed Despero to read his mind.[2]
While Despero only saw honor in The Flash's mind, he chose to keep an eye on him, not letting any possibility for Armageddon to happen. Despero also informed The Flash that the entire event began from The Flash losing his sanity. Team Flash soon attempted to preserve his mind and discovered a telepathic Metahuman criminal, Xotar. The Flash successfully located her and was then affected by her powers, turning him against his team before they could restore his mind. Despero suspected that it had already begun and appeared in Barry's mind through a psychic projection, revealing his past and the reason he wanted to protect Earth.[1]
After defeating Xotar, Barry returned to his team and proposed to have a meal at Joe's. However, they reminded Barry that Joe had died six months prior. Barry did not retain any memories of the event and sped to the West House for evidence. Confused, Barry was encountered by Despero, who attacked the team using the Flame of Py'tar. Chester P. Runk and Allegra Garcia arrived in the nick of time and bought time for Barry's escape. The latter sought refuge in the Hall of Justice, in which he met Jefferson Pierce.[1]
Going to the Future[edit | hide]
With the help of Jefferson Pierce, Barry removed a portion of his connection to the Speed Force in order to prevent Armageddon from happening. However, Despero was able to locate him and battled Pierce before Deon Owens boosted Barry's abilities for him to travel to the future.[4] As soon as he arrived in 2031, Barry discovered that Armageddon was a result of Eobard Thawne's Reverse Flashpoint. He then worked with Damien Darhk to find a way to reset the timeline to thwart Thawne's "infection" to the timeline. Unfortunately, by Barry's calculations, the only way to restore the timeline is to use Earth as his runway and could result in Armageddon.[5]
Barry, using the Time Stone, was able to reach the required speed while evading Thawne, destroying several world cities and landmarks (such as Paris and Shanghai), but eventually opening a portal back to the Speed Force and reset the entire timeline. Armageddon was then erased from the timeline completely but Despero retained his memories of the erased timeline due to his psychic abilities.[5]
Appearances[edit | hide]
| Appearances | ||
|---|---|---|
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Armageddon, Part 1 | Appears |
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Armageddon, Part 2 | Flashback |
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Armageddon, Part 3 | Vision |
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Armageddon, Part 4 | Appears |
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Armageddon, Part 5 | Mentioned |
|
Impulsive Excessive Disorder | Mentioned |
|
The Fire Next Time | Mentioned |
|
Keep It Dark | Mentioned |
|
The Man in the Yellow Tie | Mentioned |
|
Negative, Part 2 | Mentioned |