You can blame this one entirely on Twitter in general, and Justin Aclin and Ben Morse in particular, but after various tweeted conversations this morning, I feel like I have to come clean and admit something to the comics internet as a whole: I am a Wally West fan.
I feel much better having admitted it to you all. Be warned: There’s a “Why did we bring Barry back, again?” rant ahead, in light of the end of Flash #12 from last week.
I know, I know; Wally West doesn’t have the historical significance of either Jay Garrick or Barry Allen, and he’s been almost entirely absent from the DCU since the end of The Flash: Rebirth (Seriously, he’s appeared, what, twice since then? And both times, pretty much as quick cameos to back up Barry in some form or another), but that doesn’t lessen my love for the character one bit. Y’see, Wally is just a far, far more interesting character than either Jay or Barry (Not so hard in Barry’s case, considering he lacks inner conflict so much that Geoff Johns was forced to retcon in a murdered parent and Barry’s culpability in said murder in order to generate some, but the less said about that the better); he’s an essentially uncomplicated hero – Remember when he used to start each issue with “My name is Wally West. I’m the Flash – The fastest man alive”? No conflict over who he is there, refreshingly – whose life, nonetheless, gets complicated around him, whether it’s juggling family life and superhero duties (Hey, remember that his daughter Iris became the new Impulse? Of course you don’t, considering that she, too, has been pretty much absent from the DCU since Rebirth) or managing to struggle to live up to the legacy of his fallen mentor, only to end up surpassing him and dealing with all the emotional mess surrounding that.
And that’s just it: Back before Barry was brought back to life, Wally was unique in the DC Universe: He was the kid sidekick who was actually living the dream, the one who had grown up and grown into the mantle he was left behind. Dick had been Batman once already by that point, but only temporarily, same with Donna’s short stint as Wonder Woman, but Wally was the Flash – he’d been accepted by Barry’s peers, and was no longer living in the shadow of the legacy he’d inherited. Heady stuff… and all of it, wiped away when Barry returned.
I would be less upset, I guess, if Barry’s return has led to more than the twelve issues of delayed gratification that the most recent Flash series turned into (Five of those twelve were lead-ins to Flashpoint, and a sixth was Brightest Day bait; only the first six issues were really a Flash story, as such, and even that was pretty much a tease for something that may or may not happen later), or if Wally had continued to have any real presence in the books at all. Logically, he should really be a member of the current Justice League, formed by two of his oldest friends, because… well, what else is he doing these days? He had previously been a member of the Justice League in Dwayne McDuffie’s run, until he, weirdly and suddenly, wasn’t… but why, beyond a need to underscore Barry Allen as the Flash, can’t he join his friends now? Why can’t he appear anywhere, it seems, unless he’s telling Barry how much he loves him (The Flash #11) or running around in general chaos (Blackest Night)?
I have no inherent problem with the idea that Barry Allen is back and he’s the Flash getting all the focus now, but only if he earns it; I want Barry Allen to be as interesting – or, at least, his stories to be as interesting and entertaining – as what we got from Wally, and I want to see why Barry deserves to be there instead of Wally (or Jay, or even Jesse Quick or Iris or XS or Bart, for that matter). Change can be great, as long as it’s additive and brings something worth reading; this particular change, however, after, what, almost two years or so, just feels reductive to the characters involved (Even Barry Allen. I mean, c’mon: is Barry really a better character because his mother died when he was a kid? Wasn’t he better as the noble hero who sacrificed everything, instead of the guy who came back, whined about it and acted like your grumpy uncle complaining about texting and the internet?) and to the Flash concept in general, and I admit to kind of wishing that it’ll be undone as one of the magic changes brought on by the end of Flashpoint.
Okay, fanboy rant over. I’ll go back to hoping that Barry can earn his place in my heart again, now.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Right there with you, pal. Wally is by FAR the more interesting of the two characters.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
It’s because Geoff Johns hates redheads.
Also, it’s because the original plan was for two Flash series to come out of Flash: Rebirth. However, when sales sputtered on the Flash (in part due to the lousy state the Flash franchise has been in since Johns left the book a few years back), the powers that be were forced to scuttle that title and try to boost the Flash franchise with a new Flash-centric event which was originally planned as a arc on the book…similar to how Blackest Night was originally a Green Lantern arc.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Totally agree. Wally is one of my favorite comic characters, and I think he’s been unjustly and unnecessarily neglected lately.
It’s my secret hope that Barry dies during Flashpoint and that Wally resumes prominence. If that doesn’t happen, DC should at least find a good place to showcase the character.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Give me 3 things:
1: Barry needs to have more personality. Brooding and reclusive is not a personality. Let him mouth off once in a while. It doesn’t make him look like a jerk, it makes him someone willing to stand up for himself.
2: Wally needs a happy ending. No new super hero identity, no ‘kill a family member’ to bring him back to crime fighting. Just let him have his kids back to normal and give him a break.
3: More Flash vs ‘Rogue of the month’ based stories.
I do like Johns’ writing, but I feel his idea of character is focusing on a stereotype and going from there.
May 17th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Always preferred Wally. Maybe it’s because he was the character used in all the old cartoon series, but I’ve always found him to be more entertaining than Barry in every Flash story that I have read.
May 17th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Excellent piece Graeme, I agree with you (these two clauses may be linked). It’s ridiculous that DC spends a couple of decades developing Wally, then drops him with no apparent plan beyond ‘let’s bring Barry back’. I really hope he finds his place again in the DCU, and sharpish.
May 17th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Yes to all of this.
Honestly, I feel the same way about Hal Jordan, but I don’t feel as strongly about Kyle Rayner, and I also think that Jordan’s final days really did need to be changed.
But I’ve never enjoyed a Flash/GL team as much as I enjoyed Wally and Kyle in Morrison’s JLA.
Would it be too much to ask that Barry sacrifice himself to return the world to normal at the end of Flashpoint?
I just don’t understand what he adds to the DCU.
May 17th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Aside from the “no inherent problem” comment, I agree wholeheartedly. (Although I guess it would help if there seemed to be a narrative purpose behind Barry’s return beyond the current PTB wanting to restore their childhoods.) Personally, I think Barry’s return diminishes him as a character. He went from the Saint of the DCU where every appearance was an event to “one of the Flashes.”
May 17th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Yeesh. I read the first issue of Flashpoint and found myself completely uninterested in Barry. Rebirth was fun, but I was disappointed that they brought Barry back. I got into comics just after Crisis of In. earths, so I’ve literally grown up with Wally.
I think Barry was a more effective and interesting character when he was dead; like an old uncle that you remember fondly after he passes away, instead of dwelling on how boring he was. He seemed more inspiring, that’s for sure.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
The only thing that will make this fanboy happy if barry is dead after flashpoint (that won’t happen). Geoff thought he could do what he did with hal but difference is Wally shoved into back-up. That got canceled then as you said Wally just been thrown into limbo pretty much. Geoff couldn’t make barry as interesting as Wally has been and Rebirth is great example.
May 17th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
I agree with every word you wrote. He’s boring, whiny, out of touch, and he removed a genuinely interesting character. If FlashPoint was happening with Wally, I would be much more interested, but since it’s Barry, I’m kind of indifferent. Worst thing that happens is he dies at the end. Which isn’t so bad. I have a funny feeling, some or all of the other “Flash Family” (likely Wally) will die in his stead.
The best thing about his return so far is his entries as FlashBarryAllen on twitter. Kinda funny.
May 17th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more! Wally lived the dream and became even better than Barry on several memorable occasions. I liked Barry as a kid but Wally West had so much more inner conflict going on. I was surprised that they totally dumped Wally and we have not seen or heard from him since Barry Allen’s return.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Cisco Kid’s comment got me thinking. I would be more interested if Wally was the lead on Flashpoint. Yikes.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:05 pm
If Wally was the lead in Flashpoint, and the person that suddenly wasn’t dead was Barry.
That would be an actual good read.
May 18th, 2011 at 2:15 am
It’s really ironic that: 1) the writer who made sure that Kyle Rayner had a place in the new GLC can’t do the same with Wally; 2) the writer who kept Wally interesting for close to a decade can’t find a place for him; and 3) the writer who did such good with almost every other hero he’s written can’t do anything with Barry that isn’t a depressing cliche.
May 18th, 2011 at 5:58 am
I’ve never been a big Flash guy, but the currently ended series, I liked. At least the first few issues were great. I think the biggest problem is that bringing Allen back has turned the direction of the book backwards, which for the Flash, is beyond ironic. Jordan’s rebirth moved the GL stories forward, even while retconning like crazy. Plus the GL corps provides a place for all the GL’s. With Wally, there was, seemingly, no place for him. But then again, we have two Batmen running around now, so it was doable.
May 18th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
@Simon
True, he found a purpose for Kyle, but before we give too much credit… Let’s not forget, he’s also the same writer who has been completely a loss as to what to do with John Stewart for years.
Promises of “Big Plans” for the character that always turn out to be just a two page cameo to deus ex machina wrap up a battle or plot point, then back to limbo.
Let’s coin the phrase now: Wally West has been John Stewart’ed
May 18th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
When I heard that they were bringing back Barry the first word that came to my head was “why” all that has transpired since has convinced me that my first thoughts were right.
May 18th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Then the Crisis happened, Wally took over the Flash role, and that dislike turned to hate. I was never a huge fan of Barry Allen, but still. Wally could’ve at least made himself a new costume, for crimeney’s sake. Fourteen year old me was still having a LOT of trouble accepting the Crisis, and Wally as Flash came to symbolize everything that I despised about the changes DC was making. So I stopped reading his series.
Fast forward about ten years to Waid’s second run on Flash. I was looking for stuff to read then and had heard good things about Waid’s first Flash run, plus Paul Ryan’s art was pretty neat, so what the hey. I came onboard at 142, and it wasn’t bad. But the thing that struck me the most was how much the character of Wally had changed. He was unrecognizable, with none of the douchiness of old. Now he had responsibilities and a sense of duty, and even a long suffering girlfriend. Wally was essentially Barry now, except for a few cosmetic differences. It made the character more tolerable, so I stayed with his book until Waid left.
But… Even at his best Wally never felt like more than warmed over Barry to me. And when you consider how bland Barry was to start with, that’s like being the day-old leftovers from a TV dinner. I know he’s grown and changed over the years, following a character arc from the 80s to now, but… Eh. If it comes down to a choice between Flashes, I’ll take the original TV dinner Barren Allen style, thanks. Hold the leftovers.
May 18th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Stupid copy and paste! The first paragraph was supposed to read:
“Never was much of a Wally fan. In comics we tend to react most strongly to things we read as kids, and when I was a kid in the 80s Wally was the reactionary douche of the New Teen Titans. He had a thing for Raven, but couldn’t get close to her because she was eeeevil. I really didn’t like him.”
May 19th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
“What is the DCU like if Barry Allen’s mom had never been murdered?” Um, just like it did before Flash: Rebirth.
May 19th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Kevin Street:
I agree that Wally was a douche in New Teen Titans. But I disagree that he’s a “warmed-over Barry”. The fact that he grew and matured over time (both personally and in accepting/expanding his role as the Flash) is what makes him such a great and interesting character.
I don’t dislike Barry, but he’s never had a character arc like that. And that, for me, has made him a lot less interesting than Wally.
Also Linda > Iris.
July 10th, 2011 at 10:57 am
“Warmed over Barry” Have you really read any of the issues really with Wally? He not only took over when Barry was dead he made the mantle of the flash his. He is the flash. I was upset when they killed Barry but I stuck with Wally because I thought I would give him a try and I loved Waid and Johns run with Wally. Those issues were the best. Then they bring back Barry? Why? Because DC screwed up with the flash franchise. Geoff left and they never had a really good writer, then they made Bart the flash and I gave Bart a chance with the flash and I didn’t like him till the end when he died. Now they bring back Barry who I really loved as the flash but they should have kept him dead. His sacrifice in the first crisis should have stuck. Now everyone is coming back to life and making the stories told worthless. Wally came into his own and should still be the flash or Bart. Barry is the past and so is Hal Jordan. I grew up with them and loved them but they had their adventures. Now, how are the sidekicks suppose to take over if the old guys won’t die or retire. Wally surpassed Barry as the flash and deserves to be the flash. Like I said Barry was great now they bring him back and change his history. He was a boring character when he was around that is why DC killed him the first time now when they bring him back only to change things because he would have been boring, plain and simple.