The Flash season 7 confirmed just how powerful Barry Allen has become having an Easter egg tying to a timeless Justice League comic book storyline. This was revealed through a refined Babel Protocol, designed to neutralize Flash when he ever became a danger to himself or the world.
First mentioned in The Flash season 4 episode”Mixed Signals”, the Babel Protocol was a countermeasure Cisco Ramon invented to cope with a Flash running amok, either going mad with power or being manipulated by one of many metahumans capable of mind-control. The title was a nod to Tower of Babel; a narrative in the Justice League comic book, in which the team has been attacked and neutralized by Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassins, using plans and specialized weapons that was developed by Batman. From the Arrowverse, the first Babel Protocol was a self-destruct apparatus installed in Flash’s lawsuit, which Cisco could trigger remotely. Back in The Flash season 6, the Babel Protocol was enlarged to include a force-field that circulated STAR Labs in the outside world, ensuring that a Bloodwork-possessed Flash could not get into the people most likely to prevent him.
The activity of The Flash incident”The Speed of Thought” is based around Barry Allen’s development of improved cognition (i.e. super rate presuming ) after bonding with a fresh Artificial Speed Force. Unfortunately, Barry’s heightened intelligence came at a cost; the faster he believed logically, the longer emotionally detached Flash became in the people around him. Cisco was the first to detect Barry’s odd behavior when Barry hesitated in stopping Frost from being shot by Mirror Mistress, reasoning he could readily treat her injuries afterward with no real risk. This resulted in Flash facing off against Team Flash, showcasing just how successful Barry Allen is now when he fended them off.
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When it became apparent how far gone Flash was, Cisco unveiled the hottest Babel Protocol; a single which wasn’t”just force fields and tech. ” The scene which followed was the actions high-point of the incident, as Flash had been made to face three of his buddies simultaneously, all of them armed with many means of stopping him. Cisco wielded a modified anti-speedster gun shooting rates of what he called Velocity-Zero, which could temporarily suppress Barry’s powers. Not to be outdone, Frost (whose cold powers could also be used to slow down a speedster) was armed with all the Velocity-X medication that temporarily gave her superb speed and the capability to throw electrically-charged ice blasts. Ultimately, there was Allegra Garcia, a light manipulating metahuman, who was armed with the same teleporting smoke bombs utilized by Nash Wells along with a crystal that, used along with her abilities, enabled her to generate a beam that caused people to relive the worst moments of their lives.
While Flash was ultimately able to win the fight, it was just due to his ability to flawlessly predict what his allies would do after ascertaining how they had been armed. Regardless, the fight showcased exactly how powerful Barry now is in the world of the Arrowverse. It also proved Cisco Ramon’s brilliance as a tactician, as Barry was temporarily left floundering and off-balance thanks to Cisco’s preparation and a group effort worthy of the Justice League.
