Earth-3's Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) hasn't appeared since the beginning of The Flash season 6. So did he survive Crisis on Infinite Earths?
Here's what happened to The Flash's Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Jay Garrick, who lived on Earth-3, hasn't been seen since The Flash season 6, episode 2, when Barry went to him to find out if the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) was being truthful about the Crisis. It was through Jay that Barry gained a detailed map of the multiverse.
In the comics, Jay Garrick is the Golden Age version of Flash, and the first hero to carry the mantle. Jay Garrick was first teased in The Flash season 1 finale when his iconic helmet flew out of a wormhole. Then in The Flash season 2, Teddy Sears' character was presented as the Arrowverse's take on Jay Garrick, but it was revealed that this was all a lie created by Zoom. The real Jay Garrick was in fact the Flash of Earth-3 and a doppelganger of Barry Allen's late father. After saving Jay, he became a recurring ally to Team Flash and was temporarily a prisoner of the Speed Force in season 3, before Barry took his place. Ever since, the character has guest-starred in one episode every season.
Interestingly, Jay Garrick is one character whose fate hasn't been brought up on any of the Arrowverse shows since Crisis on Infinite Earths ended, leaving whether or not he's alive a mystery on-screen. However, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace has confirmed that Jay Garrick is indeed alive [via The Mary Sue]. Wallace has said that Jay lived on Earth-3 prior to Crisis, but the merging of timelines has moved him to Earth-Prime with all the other characters. And he's still with his wife, Joan Williams (Michelle Harrison), the Earth-3 version of Barry's mother.
What happened to Jay Garrick is one of the biggest questions that fans have about the post-Crisis Arrowverse, especially considering that it would make perfect sense if Jay was dead. After all, he's an alternate Earth counterpart of Barry's father, and a different version of the Flash. So his continued existence means that Earth-Prime either has two Scarlet Speedsters, or Crisis on Infinite Earths has made a change to Jay Garrick. It could be that he's not the Flash in the rebooted timeline, and that there's only room for one.
Wallace has said that the characters will eventually cross paths with Jay Garrick, but the circumstances of that meeting (and when it will happen) remains to be seen. With Jay being on Earth-Prime, it will be easier for writers to work him into the show, so he may make more frequent appearances once his post-Crisis whereabouts are established. As for what will bring him into the story, it could be that Barry will seek his assistance in building an artificial Speed Force in The Flash season 7. If Jay is still a speedster, this is certainly something that would interest him as well, and if necessary, they can always use Cisco's technology to restore his memories of being a superhero.
