The recent promo for The Flash season 4 gave us our best look yet at what’s next for Barry Allen when the show returns. Fans will recall that the Scarlet Speedster disappeared into the Speed Force at the end of last season, leaving everyone wondering just how and when he’d be back.

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In the new teaser, it’s revealed that Barry will re-enter Central City pretty much immediately, although he’ll be left disoriented and confused by his otherworldly experience. Not only that, but judging by the brand new photo below, he’ll also be sporting a different look. Depicting an off-kilter Barry, we see Grant Gustin in character as the hero, looking forlorn and sporting some very un-Flash-like facial hair.

This image tells us a lot about Barry’s situation once he’s reborn out of the Speed Force. Due to the fact that he’s grown a beard, we can assume that some time has passed for him in the other dimension. Alternatively, maybe he slipped back into a coma once he returned, echoing his initial transformation into the Flash back in season 1. Also of note are the symbols that look to be drawn on the wall behind him. Were these scribblings done by Barry himself as he tries to process the new information and knowledge he’s gained from the Speed Force?

Yes, though Barry is initially put out by his return to the real world, it looks like he’ll come back more powerful than ever before. In fact, one moment in the trailer showed Barry with his eyes blazing with electric energy, suggesting his speed has been pumped up thanks to his time in the Speed Force. Plus, with Cisco mentioning that he’s made him a new suit, it looks like Barry’s about to become much closer to the Flash that fans know from the comics.

Exec producer Andrew Kriesberg had this to say recently on where Barry’s head is at at the beginning of the season:

“The way I see it, when he was in the Speed Force, he experienced his whole life laid out in front of him from start to finish. So in some sense, he comes out very wise, kind of knowing everything, but he has no understanding of what he’s seen, so he comes out very jumbled and talking what he thinks makes complete sense, but just nonsense to the rest of the crew.”

The Flash returns for its season 4 premiere, titled “The Flash Reborn,” on October 10th.