I think we just accepted it as kids and teens. Misleading covers were par for the course for most comic books back then. Covers teasing the death of a major superhero were a staple. Superman died pretty regularly before DC conned the entire world into thinking they killed him off permanently.
I used to buy old DC and Marvel comics as a kid (they were cheaper than the new ones, and also more interesting in my opinion), and I remember buying this Flash comic (well the Norwegian version anyway), and being super enticed by the dramatic cover. In the end however, the Golden Age Flash just get’s knocked out and he wakes up as soon as Flash reaches him. There’s pretty much zero drama in the actual scene, and the cover makes it up to be this huge turn of events where a main character dies. It really bugged me as a kid, but now I find it kinda funny.
The original six issue SW adaptation have some of the most misleading covers of the entire series.
I think it’s pretty funny how this is one of the least exaggerated covers Marvel made for the movie adaptation.