The Flash Vol. 2 #74

This volume is The Flash Vol. 2 #74—issue 74 of the second volume of The Flash (the Wally West main series that began in 1987), published in March 1993. It is the opening chapter of the six-part story arc "The Return of Barry Allen," titled "Trust." The story begins a week after Christmas: Wally West is still unsettled by the news that his mentor Barry Allen has suddenly "returned," and he recalls how Barry sacrificed himself to save the universe and how he himself therefore took up the mantle of the Flash. Green Lantern Hal Jordan is overjoyed at his best friend's return, while Wally is full of doubts; what disturbs him more is that Barry moves against the Pied Piper, a former arch-enemy who is now Wally's informant in the underworld. Barry seems not to know that Wally has long since inherited the Flash identity, and shows no surprise at seeing Wally in costume. The two join forces to find the crime boss "Handsome" Jack Giacomo, who claims to have been threatened with assassination, and on New Year's Eve at the Central City amusement park they capture three gunmen. Afterward, however, Barry slips away; Wally tracks him to a cemetery and finds Barry standing weeping at the grave of his late wife Iris, remembering the moment he proposed on the Ferris wheel. Wally feels guilty for his earlier suspicions, while Barry says he wants to seize this chance at rebirth and run alongside Wally. This issue lays out the characters' psychology in fine detail, planting the seeds for the startling reversal to come.