I trust Johns to write a good story, but it’ll be tough, since Barry, like Hal Jordan, is BORING. And Wally has long been the true Flash. He’s been the Flash for more years and more issues than Barry (not even counting all his years in Titans and the fact that he was in many of Barry’s stories.) I dare you to read both Barry’s entire series and Wally’s, and see which one comes off better. A lot of great ideas were invented for Barry, but the Silver Age looks absurd when you look back at it and don’t have your rose-colored glasses on. Those ideas have been improved upon in the modern age. And barring the animated series, Wally hasn’t been used for “comic relief” since the late ’80s and JLI. If some of his recent stories have not been up to par, blame poor writing, not a poor character. With Barry’s return, following on Supergirl, Jason Todd, Bucky, Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, and more, there will officially be NO death in comic books. Bringing him back cheapens his character and his life story.

I was not in favor of bringing back Barry Allen…but since they are, I’m interested to see where they go with it. But I do hate what it does to Wally, who is my favorite of the Flashes (followed by Jay).

I really don’t see why Barry Allen has to come back. He had the perfect “heroes death” in Crisis on Infinite Earth’s. Bringing him back now doesn’t sit well with me. Wally has been a great Flash for 20 years, notwithstanding, the post OYL problems in his title.

What about him returning, but Bucky remaining Cap?

DC has tons of alternate universes, why can’t they go back to telling Earth-Barry/Earth-Wally stories if they want to have multiple versions of a character?

Killing Steve — pulling him from the core MU because we’ll always have a Marvel Adventures Steve Rogers or whatever — that makes what he stood for even greater than the man himself: We didn’t know what we had until he was gone, and neither did Tony Stark or Peter Parker or the everyday citizens of the Marvel Universe. It’s gotten a lot darker since ol’ Cap went away.

(Pun intended…?)

Seriously Troy I with you on most of these….and to the multitude of fans who are gonna get mad at the above paragraph..lighten up..lol

Now I going back to cut down on my 4 dollar books…

2. Yeah, if Bucky’s going to stay Cap that costume needs some fixin’.

3. Sorry, Barry Allen is the Flash. If you’re the character that kicked off the superhero continuity that has been ongoing and evolving for over 50 years now you should at least get to hold onto your mantle. Maybe Wally can be the one to get a new identity like Kyle did when Hal came back.

4. The other main reason I’ve mostly dropped out of superhero comics. Comics should be cheap. Bring on the age of digital downloading!

5. If the movie doesn’t suck I think I could easily overlook a missing giant squid.

I agree with all of the above:

1. There is way too much violence spread over the reg DCU books. Video games have E, T, an M ratings system, why can’t DC do something like that.. maybe not, it would be like Sarah Palin promoting library books.

2. Rogers back as Cap can wait. Interesting times at Marvel…

3. It’s a shame it give up on Wally like this. He was the most prefect example of the “legacy hero”, plus Uncle Barry’s death was one of the most meaningful ever in comics… but that happened during the first Crisis, something DC seems to be undoing.

4. I started buying funnybooks when they were $1.25/$1.50 (weren’t the ‘Baxter’ titles $1.75/1.95?). Boy have things changed… I know I will be buying less tiles from now on, but I feel this is DC/Marvel’s loss, a loss of a reader, than my own.

5. I have to see the finished film first. After that, there will be hell upon thee!

#5 – is a squidless Watchmen worse than a Watchmen with Rorschach’s narration having a lot of emphasis?

Although, if lower prices on monthlies meant lower production values, I would continue to buy. It’s the story that keeps me coming back, not the shiny paper and card stock cover. At 3.99 a book, I’ll be hard pressed to find titles worth keeping up with; Daredevil, New Avengers, and Astonishing would probably be the only ones. If prices dropped to, say, 1.99 or 2.25 (both reasonable prices to me), I would add more titles and be willing to try new ones.

Kimota94: good points regarding the differences betwen Waly and Barry.

As for Barry vs Wally… I’ve read a ton of Wally West stories as the Flash (and quite a few of Wally as Kid Flash, too) and I just don’t find him any more appealing than Barry. They both have had their share of snoozers, but Barry at least represented nobility and selflessness whereas Wally’s more often used for comedy (see his animated appearances, for example, as indications of how he’s perceived in the mainstream). I’m happiest if they’re both around, and I’d even throw in Jay as well, since I think having the legacy of speedsters still operating, all at the same time, is a pretty cool concept.