Wally West: Flash Appreciation 2018

[Lee]

But we're not talking 7 characters all names the Flash. We're talking about three. Jay, Barry and Wally.

And Avery Ho, Teri Magnus and Hunter Zolomon.

[WallyWestFlash]

Yes, that makes total sense. Eliminate a bunch of extremely popular speedsters, such as Wally, Jay and Bart claiming that all other speedsters are superfulous and just wastes of space since they already have Barry.

And then proceed to create a bunch of new ones such as Avery Ho, Godspeed, Mina, ect.

Something doesn't add up here.

[WallyWestFlash]

This thread hasn't seen a cool Wally pic in a bit so here.

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[TheSupernaut]

I can accept Wally no longer being the Fastest Flash or being somewhat depowered if that's whats keeping him from being utilized as anything other than a punching bag.

[Dred]

I can accept Wally no longer being the Fastest Flash or being somewhat depowered if that's whats keeping him from being utilized as anything other than a punching bag.

It's not. They got rid of Wally directly after making Barry "the creator of the Speed Force." It's not a power levels thing, it's a creative vision thing. And DC's creative vision, for those running it, is sans our Wally in his proper role.

[WallyWestFlash]

It's not. They got rid of Wally directly after making Barry "the creator of the Speed Force." It's not a power levels thing, it's a creative vision thing. And DC's creative vision, for those running it, is sans our Wally in his proper role.

Good point.

[WallyWestFlash]

The discussion last week on Wally's Rebirth suit got me thinking on my favorite Wally costumes.


1. The classic Wally suit.
8910951_1.jpg
This is THE Wally suit and the one I always think of when I think of Wally.

2. Dark Flash/Walter West
100_flash__walter_west__by_bielero-d7kx1df.jpg
Love this suit. Although very different than the regular bright Flash suits and has more of a Batman type feel it is very creative and a very cool design. And it would actually have a strong influence on future Wally suits. Which I'm not complaining about.


3. DC Rebirth suit.
Rebirth-Wally-West-CD-58c60.jpg
As I said previously, really like the incorporation of the dark red and chrome red. As well as giving Wally his own unique silver lightning, like Walter West, and the Spiderman torso. But it does look a bit too much like the Kid Flash suit.

[WallyWestFlash]

4. Flash Rebirth suit.
3572729-blackestnight5008a.jpg
Probably my favorite Wally suit. A great mix of classic Wally suit with some upgrades to make him stand out. The dark red, different lightning emblem, different cowl is such a cool look. Really wish this would have stuck around longer and wouldn't mind it coming back.

[Darkcrusade25]

Love the DC Rebirth Suit. Though I think Sliver Boots could make it look much better. I don't think he needs to wear a suit that closely resembles Barry's. The Flash isn't a character that needs people to believe that its the same person throughout the years.

[Frontier]

4. Flash Rebirth suit.
3572729-blackestnight5008a.jpg
Probably my favorite Wally suit. A great mix of classic Wally suit with some upgrades to make him stand out. The dark red, different lightning emblem, different cowl is such a cool look. Really wish this would have stuck around longer and wouldn't mind it coming back.

I think this is probably one of the better depictions of the suit I've seen.

[Ascended]

The discussion last week on Wally's Rebirth suit got me thinking on my favorite Wally costumes.


1. The classic Wally suit.
8910951_1.jpg
This is THE Wally suit and the one I always think of when I think of Wally.
.

That's funny, I think that was the very first Flash issue I bought off the stands.

4. Flash Rebirth suit.
3572729-blackestnight5008a.jpg
Probably my favorite Wally suit. A great mix of classic Wally suit with some upgrades to make him stand out. The dark red, different lightning emblem, different cowl is such a cool look. Really wish this would have stuck around longer and wouldn't mind it coming back.

I did like the post-Barry's-return suit; it was still the "Flash" suit but tweaked just enough to make it Wally's. But I always felt it was still a little too close to Barry's and a art team that didn't have any attention to detail might screw it up, especially when he and Barry were together. Obviously the greats like Reis were never a problem in my mind. The differences are definitely there but I thought a few extra (minor) alterations wouldn't be too bad. For the brief time Wally wore the suit I had no idea what those small changes could be, but looking back I think if they had gone with the silver instead of gold it might've been enough.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I did like the post-Barry's-return suit; it was still the "Flash" suit but tweaked just enough to make it Wally's. But I always felt it was still a little too close to Barry's and a art team that didn't have any attention to detail might screw it up, especially when he and Barry were together. .

Blame EVS. He wanted to give a sucky, non-iconic as possible costume to Wally so Barry would look better by comparison. DC was not 100% confident on Rebirth, the complaints about Wally's treatment kept coming, so DC said no to EVS's designs to the point where he ran out of ideas. The post-rebirth suit was then designed sort of by committee, mainly per Johns instructions.

[Vampire Savior]

I don't think I've ever disagreed with a statement on this forum more than this one!!
By your logic everyone would find Batman confusing as there's been five different Robins, 3 different Batmen etc.

The Robin issue IS confusing and it has been stretched so much that it's difficult to believe, even within the context of Batman's superhero universe. And thus, the concept of all these dark haired boys that Batman is hanging out with and consistently putting in danger is stupid from a narrative perspective. I can accept it happening once, but like 4, 5, or 6 times!? No. Fortunately for Batman, most of his fans likely don't even know there are a whole bunch of different Robins. The reason they don't know about this issue is because it's nothing you want to show them if you're smart, because it's confusing, stupid, and difficult to believe. As for different Batmans, the only one that matters is Bruce Wayne. Every other Batman is one that requires explaining. Bruce Wayne needs no explanation, because everyone knows he's Batman.

There has almost ALWAYS been more than one Flash in the DCU.
Jay Garrick was reintroduced in Barry's title back in #123 and was around right up until New 52 blew everything up. Nobody found it confusing, even when Jay existed on a parallel Earth which was accessed by Barry vibrating a different frequency!

Jay Garrick was reintroduced in issue #123. That is a heck of a long time to reintroduce him. By that time, Barry Allen was established as the Flash and Jay Garrick was some other alternate universe Flash that probably didn't show up all that often. There was no way any current reader would be confused as to who is "really" The Flash. Though, I admit, I don't know all of Jay Garrick's appearances off the top of my head back then.

After Crisis we had Jay, Johnny and Jesse, Bart, Max, John, Jenni etc. and still nobody was confused.

None of them were The Flash at the time, just other characters, so there shouldn't be any confusion there.

Wally doesn't present a problem. He opens up another avenue of stories. He's the ultimate sidekick who made good. He took over from his mentor and eventually surpassed him.
Think of all the stories that could be told playing on the dynamic of Barry and Wally!

I mean, from your point of view. But I think it's odd that others can't see things from the other side, or rather, won't see them. Having Wally West, with all his continuity intact, around at the same time as Barry Allen may open up an avenue for some stories, but closes avenues for other stories. DC might be making some other speedsters, but are they making more Flashes? Like, ones that exist in the same time and in the same universe as Barry? Not to my knowledge, and I can understand why.

[BohemiaDrinker]

Jay Garrick was reintroduced in issue #123. That is a heck of a long time to reintroduce him. .

I disagree with your whole point of view (which is like, every excuse Dan Didio ever used) but I'm swamped in work right now and can't take the time to counter it.

But I have to address this little tidbit in quotes: it was not a very long time. Yes, Jay Garrick was reintroduced iin #123, but back in the 50's Barry inherited Jay's numbering. The first Flash issue Barry starred in was #105. There's only 18 issues between Barry taking over The Flash title and Jay coming back.

[Dred]

edit: did not mean to double post