How I would have handled the resurrection of Barry Allen from 2009-2010.

[Buried Alien]

One of the most controversial developments in DC Comics during the past decade was the return of Barry Allen, the Silver/Bronze Age Flash, in DC UNIVERSE # 1 in April, 2008. Barry’s return has driven some of the most contentious divides in DC fandom, including the sidelining of Wally West and other speedster heroes (e.g. Jay Garrick, Bart Allen, Max Mercury, Jesse Quick, etc.), FLASHPOINT, the New 52 reboot, etc.

The point of this post is not to explore what would have happened if Barry had not returned to life, but how I (if I were a writer at DC Comics given carte-blanche to handle Barry’s return any way I wished) had been tasked with restoring and reintegrating Barry into the continuing story of the DC Universe as a living character.

Here are some of my ideas: Barry would have returned during FINAL CRISIS, as we saw in 2008/2009, but what would happen afterwards would differ in the following ways:

• Barry’s personal past is unaltered. His mother was never murdered and his family was intact throughout his lifetime, as originally published in Silver/Bronze Age DC comics and still occasionally referenced in Post-COIE DC continuity.

• Barry, having perished in the antimatter universe *before* the merging of the parallel universes in COIE # 10, returns with FULL MEMORIES of the Pre-COIE DC Multiverse and its continuity. Thus, he is the only individual (other than Superboy-Prime) to be aware of the Pre-COIE timeline, which causes his memories to be different from those of his friends/loved ones in the Post-COIE DC Universe in which he returns to the realm of the living. This will become an important character/plot point in future developments.

• Barry, having originated in the generally less brutal Pre-COIE DC Multiverse, initially has difficulty adjusting the new kinds of threats that he faces in the Post-COIE DCU. The threats in this universe/timeline are tougher and meaner than what Barry remembers dealing with in Pre-COIE times. Thus, at least initially, he frequently consults Wally (and Jay, Bart, Max, Jesse) on these new threats and how best to deal with them.

• Leaving the classic Flash costume and name to Wally, Barry adopts a new costume (perhaps similar to the one that Wally got in FLASH: REBIRTH, but a brighter shade of red) and the name FLASH PRIME.

• The first year/twelve issues of Barry’s new FLASH PRIME series deals with Barry adjusting to living in the Post-COIE DC Universe, with frequent appearances by Wally (who is almost a costar with Barry in the series, at least in the first year of issues) and the other speedsters, along with Barry meeting and teaming up with newer heroes who had not yet appeared when Barry disappeared in COIE # 8 (e.g. Tim Drake Robin; Kyle Rayner Green Lantern; Connor Hawke Green Arrow, etc.). We’d see Barry’s reaction to these younger heroes who knew him as a legend, as well as his reaction to this new generation of heroes who have emerged during his absence. They would help Barry’s adjustment to this new world to which he has returned.

• There would be a story some time in the first year when Barry visits his parents’ graves and laments that he wasn’t around to see them off, and they had died thinking that they had outlived him. This is as close as we’d get to the “dead parents” concept in the way I would develop Barry’s story and character. The Allens died of old age/natural causes during the time when Barry was believed dead after COIE, and his lament is only that he was not there to say goodbye to them.

• Towards the end of the first year, Barry and Wally discuss the many discrepancies between their memories (Pre-COIE vs. Post-COIE) of their past experiences, and the subject turns to Ralph and Sue Dibny. Barry is shocked when Wally recounts the events of IDENTITY CRISIS because Barry does *NOT* remember any such event occurring.

• Upon investigating the matter further, Barry learns that IDENTITY CRISIS occurred not merely as a chronal hiccup of the transition from the Pre-COIE timeline to the Post-COIE timeline, but because Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash, had been screwing with time to alter various events in the past (yes, this is my equivalent to FLASH: REBIRTH).

• Realizing this, Barry takes no chances, but recruits Wally, Jay, Bart, Max, and Jesse to help him defeat Thawne and set time right.

• The speedsters pool their resources and fix Thawne’s meddling; the events of IDENTITY CRISIS are retconned away and Ralph Dibny, Sue Dibny, and Jack Drake return alive and well. Even Jean Loring and Dr. Arthur Light are restored to their Pre-IDENTITY CRISIS status quo.

The biggest problem I foresee with this plan is no New 52 reboot, leading to no eventual REBIRTH. I have no idea what consequences following my plan for Barry would have had for DC overall from 2011 onwards.

If you think these ideas are garbage, well...there ARE reasons I'm not paid big bucks to write for DC Comics.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Jokerz79]

Not bad really good ideas. I never understood why they didn't use the already created out for him from Crisis. His fading and showing up to people in Crisis was also meant as a way to bring him back basically Barry would pop up on Post Crisis DC Earth and would know his time is limited he has to one day continue his run in Crisis and die so he would treat each day as his last because he could be.

[Buried Alien]

One thing that I forgot to mention is that the FLASH PRIME series I would have written would have been comparatively lighthearted: at least once in each issue, there would be an LOL moment stemming from Barry's Pre-COIE naivete coming up incongruously against the "grimmer and grittier" Post-COIE DCU, played mostly for laughs. Barry's original FLASH comic took a grimmer turn during its final years in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and his apparent death in COIE was a dark (though heroic) moment, so it would have been cool to restore the lighthearted humor that characterized Barry's earlier days.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Everything you say is so, so much better than what we got, it's a really pity they never gave it to you to write!

[Elmo]

You could still do Flashpoint with this. Reverse Flash could have threatened to destroy Barry's past and the story could have been a chase through time, resulting in the creation of Flashpoint and the New 52

[TheSupernaut]

Not bad at all BA. Definitely better than what we got and the Flash family remains intact. Funny thing is your idea almost mirrors that of Rebirth Wally's journey only that Barry wasn't forgotten.

[Buried Alien]

You could still do Flashpoint with this. Reverse Flash could have threatened to destroy Barry's past and the story could have been a chase through time, resulting in the creation of Flashpoint and the New 52

One of the things I was aiming to avoid was the controversy erupting from how FLASHPOINT and New 52 were handled. I *do* have a workaround for that, but for better or worse, it would minimize the impacts of the New 52. Namely, the battle between Barry and his fellow hero speedsters against Reverse Flash restores their proper timeline, but ALSO creates the FLASHPOINT universe and the New 52 universe. The difference being that instead of being replacements for the original timeline, they would coexist along side it as ELSEWORLDS-type scenarios. That would make FLASHPOINT and New 52 stories accessible to anybody who wanted to read them, but they do not replace the original continuity (of course, no way to really know how this would have affected the popularity of the New 52: would it have become a niche thing, or widely embraced - the way INJUSTICE has been widely embraced?).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[KC]

I can't say I am a fan of your ideas. Barry earned the name and costume as much as Wally did, so I don't think he should change. And the idea that Barry has to continually consult other heroes for help is emasculating and embarrassing. I am honestly glad that they went in the direction they did.

[Buried Alien]

I can't say I am a fan of your ideas. Barry earned the name and costume as much as Wally did, so I don't think he should change. And the idea that Barry has to continually consult other heroes for help is emasculating and embarrassing. I am honestly glad that they went in the direction they did.

It would only be for the first year of issues. It fits the idea that Barry is a man out of time, with many changes having taken place during the years that he was away and him needing to gradually get up to speed with the things that have become different during the time he was gone. After a year of such stories, Barry would likely be more-or-less adjusted to the new circumstances.

As for the name of the Flash and the costume, I think Barry wouldn't feel right taking that away from Wally, and his final months before COIE with that name and in that costume were quite harrowing, so Barry might be looking for a fresh start - without getting too far away from who and what he had been. An alternate name to "Flash Prime" (which admittedly is uncomfortably similar to "Superboy-Prime") would be Silverflash, which would reflect Barry's "silverback" veteran status and a sort of meta-joke on his being the Silver Age Flash (with a corresponding exchange of color from yellow/gold to white/silver in his new costume).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[KC]

It would only be for the first year of issues. It fits the idea that Barry is a man out of time, with many changes having taken place during the years that he was a way and him needing to gradually get up to speed with the things that have become different during the time he was gone. After a year of such stories, Barry would likely be more-or-less adjusted to the new circumstances.

As for the name of the Flash and the costume, I think Barry wouldn't feel right taking that away from Wally, and his final months before COIE with that name and in that costume were quite harrowing, so Barry might be looking for a fresh start - without getting too far away from who and what he had been. An alternate name to "Flash Prime" (which admittedly is uncomfortably similar to "Superboy-Prime") would be Silverflash, which would reflect Barry's "silverback" veteran status and a sort of meta-joke on his being the Silver Age Flash (with a corresponding exchange of color from yellow/gold to white/silver in his new costume).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It would still be emasculating and embarrassing. And doing that to a character is not the best way to tell their story (even if it is not permanent) because it would make them look incompetent. you might as well just not bother.

Barry has still earned the name and title, and something would be off with the character if his superhero name and costume was changed. I am not a fan of the "Flash Prime" name because it sounds like something out of Star Trek, not the name of a Superhero. "Silverflash" would be better if Barry had a silver costume but the reasons you gave for the name sound more corny than clever.

[Jcogginsa]

Silverflash works better than Flash Prime. Flash Prime makes it sound like he's supposed to be the main flash, which doesn't seem to be your intent. And also would still create that divide you're trying to avoid

[Jekyll]

Love it! I think we would have had the best of both worlds if that was the way it had been handled.

[Dred]

So how do you write around the fact that Barry Allen is hanging out in the present with no intention to ever go back to when he sired his children and, you know, raise them? Especially with his grandson being around as a constant reminder that he had children whose lives he was only not a part of because he was dead.

This is my personal, biggest issue with Barry Allen's revival -- or at least this is a major symptom of it. The entire universe was built on the back of his death being permanent, especially the Flash franchise, and bringing him back isn't just about trying to acclimate a 50s goody two shoes to grimmer times but to all the story beats that require his staying dead.

[BohemiaDrinker]

But if you did that, how could DC make it's readers hate each other? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Buried Alien]

But if you did that, how could DC make it's readers hate each other? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There's plenty of material to burn over in the GREEN LANTERN franchise...even Superman's trunks would provide sufficient fuel for years and years.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)