Wally West: The Flash Appreciation 2020

[Frontier]

Sounds amusing. So that story was supposed to be the actual return of Barry?

It was a response to fans who wanted to bring Barry back, if I recall correctly.

[Dred]

In the early drafts Barry was originally going to be Bart instead of Thawne, amusingly.

But yeah Waid recounts getting constantly harassed by Barry fans about bringing Barry back, and the same was true for WML and Baron, and ROBA was in part designed to say that no, Barry wasn't coming back, and doing so would be a bad idea, here's a story touching on the topic and rejecting it. And we got the best Flash comic ever out of it as a bonus.

[Ascended]

Shame DC forgot that lesson.

I like Barry. I do. He's a great character, and I've enjoyed most of the runs since the New52. But odd as it may sound he was better dead. The Flash mythos was enriched by it, and Barry has never, and will never, be as good as our memory of him was. Saint Barry had such a presence in not just the Flash but the whole DCU. As much as I've enjoyed Barry since his return I feel like DC lost something when he came back.

[Kyer]

Shame DC forgot that lesson.

I like Barry. I do. He's a great character, and I've enjoyed most of the runs since the New52. But odd as it may sound he was better dead. The Flash mythos was enriched by it, and Barry has never, and will never, be as good as our memory of him was. Saint Barry had such a presence in not just the Flash but the whole DCU. As much as I've enjoyed Barry since his return I feel like DC lost something when he came back.

Absolutely adored it when Barry would show up in a story to help Wally. Of course it was always a 'past' Barry barging into the current timeline via his Cosmic Treadmill. (Can I say I miss the CT? Much more fitting for a speedster than a chair.)

[Restingvoice]

Where was Wally and Bart before Flashpoint?

[Dred]

Where was Wally and Bart before Flashpoint?

Bart was acting as Barry's disgruntled sidekick in the comic. Wally was nowhere, having been kicked out of every comic.

[Restingvoice]

Bart was acting as Barry's disgruntled sidekick in the comic. Wally was nowhere, having been kicked out of every comic.

Okay, where was he before getting kicked out and what's he doing?

[Frontier]

Bart was acting as Barry's disgruntled sidekick in the comic. Wally was nowhere, having been kicked out of every comic.

It was more that Bart didn't know what to do in a world where Barry was back. They seemed to be settling into a dynamic before Flashpoint happened.

Wally was around, but he had very sporadic appearances (like Blackest Night, last few issues of the Johns run, I'm not sure if he popped up in a League book).

[Ascended]

Okay, where was he before getting kicked out and what's he doing?

Let's see.....

In Infinite Crisis, Wally and his family get lost in the speed force trying to stop Superboy Prime. I think they traveled the multiverse a bit and returned about a year later. Bart became the new Flash, and had internalized the speed force somehow. The kids' aged up considerably, and their powers were haywire (maybe because of Bart? I forget) and manifested in weird ways, like super strength. During Barry's return, Zoom fixed the twins with the result being that Irey gained all the speed (and a normal speedster powerset) and became the new Impulse while Jai lost his powers and was maybe being set up to become the next Turtle. Bart went back to being Kid Flash.

I think Wally went back to being a mechanic in Keystone and Linda went back to reporting....or maybe she went back to medical school (she had been the one helping the kids with their messed up powers after Infinite Crisis). Wally was being a part-time Flash, showing up for a few stories, but largely we didn't see any of the Wests and it's been a decade so I don't fully remember.

[WallyWestFlash]

It's a shame Wallys appearances became rare since he just got that awesome Rebirth suit. Would have loved to see more of that .

[WallyWestFlash]

flashtp+2.jpg

I surprisingly haven't picked this up yet but really want to. Looks good. One of the few Wally comics I dont have yet.

[Restingvoice]

Let's see.....

In Infinite Crisis, Wally and his family get lost in the speed force trying to stop Superboy Prime. I think they traveled the multiverse a bit and returned about a year later. Bart became the new Flash, and had internalized the speed force somehow. The kids' aged up considerably, and their powers were haywire (maybe because of Bart? I forget) and manifested in weird ways, like super strength. During Barry's return, Zoom fixed the twins with the result being that Irey gained all the speed (and a normal speedster powerset) and became the new Impulse while Jai lost his powers and was maybe being set up to become the next Turtle. Bart went back to being Kid Flash.

I think Wally went back to being a mechanic in Keystone and Linda went back to reporting....or maybe she went back to medical school (she had been the one helping the kids with their messed up powers after Infinite Crisis). Wally was being a part-time Flash, showing up for a few stories, but largely we didn't see any of the Wests and it's been a decade so I don't fully remember.

Okay I found the scene where Thawne caused Irey gaining power in the fandom wiki, and it ends with this

"Wally managed to catch up to Barry and helped him journey into the past to stop Reverse-Flash from killing Iris. They managed to stop him from hurting Iris and tried to bring him back to the future. During the fight, Thawne revealed to Wally that one of his children would destroy him."

[Dred]

Which was kind of a self defeating prophesization for Thawne because if he had succeeded in killing Iris before she ever dated Barry then Wally would've never been The Flash, never having super powered kids.

Lots of plot holes in that terrible story, though.

[married guy]

Yeah, I do my best to pretend it never happened.

[Ascended]

Absolutely adored it when Barry would show up in a story to help Wally. Of course it was always a 'past' Barry barging into the current timeline via his Cosmic Treadmill. (Can I say I miss the CT? Much more fitting for a speedster than a chair.)

Exactly. When Barry would run out of the timestream to lend a hand, it was always this awesome thing like the ultimate backup arriving to turn the tide of battle single handedly. It was bittersweet because obviously, but also heart warming and a great "stand up and cheer" moment.

Okay I found the scene where Thawne caused Irey gaining power in the fandom wiki, and it ends with this

"Wally managed to catch up to Barry and helped him journey into the past to stop Reverse-Flash from killing Iris. They managed to stop him from hurting Iris and tried to bring him back to the future. During the fight, Thawne revealed to Wally that one of his children would destroy him."

Zoom isn't a reliable narrator so Jai going evil was never a sure thing, but I did like the idea of hanging the threat of it over the Wests' heads. And if you look at that one page from Doomsday Clock, you can see Irey and the other Flashes running with someone who looks like Jai in a turtle mech. I suspect Johns intended on Jai becoming the next Turtle....but a heroic version. And that could be cool. I'd be down with that. But in typical fashion, Johns didn't stick around long enough to establish anything.