The Flash: Will Barry Out Himself?

     
 While I haven't been blogging much lately (I started a new job and it's exhausting and I haven't worked out a work/life balance yet) I have been trying to keep up with my favorite shows. I've recently seen the promo for the next The Flash episode where Barry is being put on trial. Someone suggested that Barry should explain that he's the Flash in order to help his case. I don't think that's a good idea.

Why does no one ever believe Barry when he has a
gut feeling? You know he's not a habitual liar!

1. For one thing, outing yourself as a secret super hero may work if it's to a small group but revealing your identity to the whole world can back fire on a large scale. Barry would be subject to much more scrutiny and criticism especially if they discover that their favorite hero has been messing with the timeline. Through Barry's manipulations Cisco has lost his brother, John's daughter was replaced by a son, and Wally almost died in the alternate timeline. Who knows what else Barry may have changed with his butterfly effect powers.

Stand by your man... even if he's a sociopath destroying
the city's golden boy

2. Being outed as a super hero doesn't mean you'll be exempt from the law. If anything it'll make Barry more vulnerable. Super heroes save the day because they aren't held back by any boundary of law which will make many lawmakers and law keepers uneasy. Oliver is already in hot water with an FBI agent (who is hated so much for doing her job) who brings up a valuable point: if a hero has nothing to hide why wear a mask. While I balked at the sentence I couldn't help but agree to some degree. As we've seen in the Marvel Universe, many people are uncomfortable with the idea of someone with incredible power to not be bound by human law. Barry is essentially a god with the way he can manipulate time.

Barry's in deep now

3. Probably most importantly (though I haven't seen the midseason finale yet; it's on my list I promise) is that Barry outing himself as the Flash wouldn't necessarily get him a non-guilty verdict. As mentioned in 1 & 2, Barry would probably be thrown into a meta prison out of fear. Sure Barry has his fans among the public and he's truly sorry for his mistakes but The Thinker (who deserves his own blog post on why he's the best Flash villain ever) has done something no villain has ever done which is far more damaging: attacking Barry's reputation. This will be a factor if Barry comes out and the public may more likely turn against him.

So if The Flash is the new "Superman" is the Thinker the new "Brainiac"?

   Now I know some may have asked what about Barry getting a key to the city and getting his own holiday? Wasn't he also honored by the president? Politics and public opinion shift like the tide unexpectedly. Individual people are smart sure and would conclude that Barry truly is a good guy who's made mistakes but bends over backwards to try and make something right but a mob would believe the worst. I see more bad than good coming if Barry decides to out himself.