Will DC reinstate all the Pre Flashpoint Marriages broken in the New 52

[MajorHoy]

God I hate that retcon.
Why does Barry Allen's mother need to be dead?
I really loved the idea that Barry became the Flash simply because he wanted to help people. (Inspired by his favourite comic character Jay Garrick!)
He didn't need the dead mum & persecuted dad bit to inspire him to be a hero. I think it diminishes the character somewhat.

Well, I think "diminishes the character somewhat" may be a tad of an over-statement, but in general it seemed like an unnecessary change that really didn't add anything truly worthwhile.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Since Rebirth we've seen:
Aquaman propose to Mera.
Bruce propose to the Cat (Which is new....)
And Superman's Marriage to Lois restored.

However will we see all the others similarly brought back:
Wally and Linda
Jay and Joan
Barry and Iris
Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance
Ralph and Sue Dibny
Etc

Out of this list, Arthur and Mera are most likely a certainty to tie the knot. We know Bruce and Selina are supposed to be getting hitched in Batman #50 (whether it actually happens or is interrupted remains to be seen.) Reverse Flash revealed to Iris and Barry that they were once married during the Running Scared arc in The Flash. They've been rocky since. However recent issues have seen them mending their relationship. So hopefully that one is restored as well.

I'm a big Green Arrow fan. I love him and Dinah together. However, their marriage wasn't a hit the first time around. Plus Oliver has a notorious history of cheating on Dinah. I just don't see them going there again anytime soon. I'm just glad they are back together. The dark horse is Wally and Linda. She doesn't want anything to do with him in this timeline, sadly. So I don't see that one happening. If it even happens at all...

[KurtW95]

Since Rebirth we've seen:
Aquaman propose to Mera.
Bruce propose to the Cat (Which is new....)
And Superman's Marriage to Lois restored.

However will we see all the others similarly brought back:
Wally and Linda
Jay and Joan
Barry and Iris
Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance
Ralph and Sue Dibny
Etc

I’d vote for all of those except for Wally/Linda. And Batman should stay unmarried. Preferably Damian shouldn’t exist.

God I hate that retcon.
Why does Barry Allen's mother need to be dead?
I really loved the idea that Barry became the Flash simply because he wanted to help people. (Inspired by his favourite comic character Jay Garrick!)
He didn't need the dead mum & persecuted dad bit to inspire him to be a hero. I think it diminishes the character somewhat.

Same here. He had both parents alive until Crisis. Not everybody is Batman. The Kents should be alive too. Nowadays you’ll be hard pressed to find a single A-list character with two living and married parents.

[MajorHoy]

Same here. He had both parents alive until Crisis. Not everybody is Batman. The Kents should be alive too. Nowadays you’ll be hard pressed to find a single A-list character with two living and married parents.

And, in current society, how many marriages end in divorce? How many kids live in single-parent households?

As for the Kents being alive still, don't forget that only dates back to John Byrne and the 1986 post-CoIE era (the same period of time when Barry had died and Wally became The Flash). So you do have the question of what's more "iconic" or not.

[godisawesome]

And, in current society, how many marriages end in divorce? How many kids live in single-parent households?

As for the Kents being alive still, don't forget that only dates back to John Byrne and the 1986 post-CoIE era (the same period of time when Barry had died and Wally became The Flash). So you do have the question of what's more "iconic" or not.

I tend to think the only reason the Kents keep on having one or two of them killed is strictly tradition, unlike what Johns attempted to do with his retcons to Barry's past. Even in the media that ahs tried to make the deaths of the Kents mean something, it's generally fallen apart, because about the only solid message you can really give that doesn't seem stupid is "Sometimes Superman Can't Save Everyone." And that's not a motivating or really even a unique personality shaping element for a superhero; Barry being "driven" to forensic science to try and save his dad and having a feud with Thawne mired in a timey-wimey-wibbely-wobbley mess does motivate him, even if the central premise of being unable to change time like Thawne can seems pedantic in a world where time line changes happen everywhere is. And I think the contrast you get with a dead Kent (or Kents) in Superman is that it doesn't really do that; mostly is just means you don't have a parent to write about. It's an idea that really depends on execution to make the audience think it was a good idea, since in the modern age, most people still have living parents into their late thirties at minimum.

You do have a point about how divorce and separation rates aren't portrayed as often as they exist in real life. But at least that would be different and more complicated than just "my parents are dead" for everyone.

Since Rebirth we've seen:
Aquaman propose to Mera.
Bruce propose to the Cat (Which is new....)
And Superman's Marriage to Lois restored.

However will we see all the others similarly brought back:
Wally and Linda
Jay and Joan
Barry and Iris
Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance
Ralph and Sue Dibny
Etc

Of the 3 Flashes, I feel like Marketing is going to want at least one couple permanently separated. The only reason these characters got retconned apart in the first place is because of how powerful creative conservativism (not politically; I mean in terms of being extremely cautious and risk-averse) is to marketers and executives. Some people involved in the more monetary parts of creativity are still going to be abject servants to the idea of some kind of permanent formula or status quo: a set of circumstances or characterization set in stone so that, no matter what, a safety net of familiarity exists. And traditionally, the idea of a flexible love life for the main hero will be accompanied by a desire to keep the character perpetually young. Because of course, that's the only way to keep new readers coming in, far more than, say quality writing.

The reason none of the Flashes are married right now is basically the same reason why One More Day is still sacrosanct at Marvel. They can try to say that the marriages hurt sales, but the clear monetary data doesn't back that up, exposing the real issue of them not wanting to breach what they believe are core concepts that can't be broken. When a hero's personal life advances, you can't treat every "major change" as a temporary test run you can remove to keep depending on how it works out, and the lack of that safety net frightens them. Still, I suspect we might just end up with the Garrets hooked up (their accepted status quo is as old married folks) and probably at least one of the Allens or Wests married again, if for no other reason than it would act to separate them.

Oddly enough, I think the status quo debate stuff I just mentioned also covers why Green Arrow and Batman may see marriages again, though mostly because of their portrayals as characters. Since Ollie has a reputation as a horn dog and Bruce is all about personal issues causing problems for him, both are character who could conceivably marry and then divorce their significant other without too much consternation. If anything, the idea of Black Canary and Catwoman as independent protagonists who are also the "official" exes of Bruce and Ollie seems like a nice compromise.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Barry being "driven" to forensic science to try and save his dad and having a feud with Thawne mired in a timey-wimey-wibbely-wobbley mess does motivate him, even if the central premise of being unable to change time like Thawne can seems pedantic in a world where time line changes happen everywhere is.

Yes, killing off Barry's mother when he was younger may be a "motivation" for Barry, but was it a necessary "motivation" for his backstory?
What was wrong with his "motivation" just being a fascination with science and his sense of doing what was "right"?

[godisawesome]

Yes, killing off Barry's mother when he was younger may be a "motivation" for Barry, but was it a necessary "motivation" for his backstory?
What was wrong with his "motivation" just being a fascination with science and his sense of doing what was "right"?

No, it wasn't necessary; I'm just pointing out how the method and consequences of Barry's mom being murdered is clearly meant to lead to a major change in who Barry is.

The funny thing is how everything seen in the comics - and the show - explicitly paints the loss of his mother as *not* changing Barry's fate; he's always shown as becoming the Flash regardless of what happens to her. This kind of exposes how his loss is more about how Geoff Johns wants to write the character, similar to how Hal's dad dying in a crash became a huge part of who he was, even if, again, it really isn't needed and Hall always gets the ring regardless.

I *kind* of like the way that Thawne killing Barry's mom makes the Reverse Flash feud more meta-cool, since it means that their feud is effectively played in reverse (GET IT?!?) from both their perspectives. But, kind of like with OMD, it's a retcon that feels like it's an orphaned conflict plotline: something wrong has happened, and it should be resolved.

Which is part of the reason so many of us are certain that Flash War will almost have to reveal what happened to Wally's kids, since their disappearance feels like a similarly orphaned conflict.

[Doctor Bifrost]

God I hate that retcon.
Why does Barry Allen's mother need to be dead?
I really loved the idea that Barry became the Flash simply because he wanted to help people. (Inspired by his favourite comic character Jay Garrick!)
He didn't need the dead mum & persecuted dad bit to inspire him to be a hero. I think it diminishes the character somewhat.

I certainly don't think it was needed, in any sense.

I'll admit that, as a reader, it doesn't affect me very much whether Barry Allen's parents are alive or dead. (Although I can feel sorry for the guy.) It depends what they do with the characters, if they're alive.

But I hated the time-travel nihilism they embraced for the story: an evil time-traveling villain can go into the past and make a malicious change, and a time-traveling hero is, by the hard-and-fast rules of the specific time travel involved, unable to fix it. And if he tries, he just makes things worse. (In the TV show, they push it even further, because it's not tied to a specific, "Negative Speed Force," kind of time travel. It's just how things are, according to Jay Garrick and his coffee cup.) The villains have free reign; the heroes just have to take it.

That I would like to see undone, and Barry's mother brought back to life. I'm surprised Barry didn't spend a moment thinking about it when he was recently infused with the Negative Speed Force.

[Jackalope89]

I see Bruce and Selina marrying, and it actually working long-term.
I would like to see Wally and Linda back, because she was a major part of his return for a reason.
Barry and Iris look to be, if slowly, heading towards getting back together.
Arthur and Mera are just waiting to tie the knot. At some point.
Ollie and Dinah, if we could just toss out the whole cheating on her prior to Flashpoint (DC is picking and choosing what they want and don't want), I could see the two of them working out.

[Zainu]

I will admit, Linda not being able to remember Wally during his first reappearance did tick me the hell off. I don't care what logical reason you can come up with, Barry shouldn't have been the first to remember.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Yeah, I knew about Ollie and Dinah, but could they reintroduce their marriage.
As for Ralph... I dont know if he is- Last I heard he was a Rogue Secret Six member

They are. I think he was only a member of the secret six because he was trying to get Sue back from Riddler, who’d kidnapped her.

[MajorHoy]

I will admit, Linda not being able to remember Wally during his first reappearance did tick me the hell off. I don't care what logical reason you can come up with, Barry shouldn't have been the first to remember.

Even though it was through Barry that Wally gained his powers and first became "Kid Flash"? Even though Barry was the one who knew Wally's secret identity for the longest time?!? And of course, who's name and costume did Wally adopt after CoIE in an effort to honor his predecessor?



Yeah, Barry wasn't at all important to Wally's life!