Legacy vs Original Characters

[Captain Nostalgia]

While I voted original, it's a case-by-case issue. To me, the original Dr. Fate is unsurpassed, but Holt far surpasses Sloane as Mr. Terrific.

I second Mr. Terrific, I hadn't thought of that.

I like the new DR. Fate, but as someone who has had to live with the heart felt pain of having most of my favourite male characters replaced, I'll roll with Kent fans.

I like the Mal Duncan as the Guardian as well, so I guess I'd be case by case basis to.

[MajorHoy]

I’m okay with Jay being Earth 2 Flash and Barry being Earth 1 Flash, but in certain circumstances what would be so bad about just calling Barry The Streak or something? They already call him the Red Comet or whatever sometimes anyway.

Because for about thirty years (pre-CoIE), Barry was the first/ONLY "The Flash" on his Earth. He earned that name and has a right to use it.

[TheRay]

And he still would be for all intents and purposes, but he has quite a few different names already. Why not just make one of them more official?

[Johnny]

Original.

10char.

[Alpha]

Original.

10char.

Lol what? You prefer Alan Scott and Jay Garrick?

[Johnny]

Lol what? You prefer Alan Scott and Jay Garrick?

I don't but there's nothing wrong with those that do. Alan isn't connected to the GLC mythos anyway, but the legacy concept in general has become incredibly watered down imo. Companies don't want to invest in new or forgotten properties and instead they choose to use any character with some level of recognizability to replace them with a "new and improved version".

[Alpha]

So you prefer some original characters and some legacy characters. I'm sure you also prefer Ted Kord or Jaime Reyes to Dan Garrett. My point is that this question is too simplistic. Nobody prefers one or the other.

[The Darknight Detective]

And he still would be for all intents and purposes, but he has quite a few different names already. Why not just make one of them more official?

If Barry weren't at the forefront among the speedsters at the moment, that might be an option for him (as well as the others, come to think of it).

[SiegePerilous02]

So you prefer some original characters and some legacy characters. I'm sure you also prefer Ted Kord or Jaime Reyes to Dan Garrett. My point is that this question is too simplistic. Nobody prefers one or the other.

In the case of Barry and Hal, they are weird cases where describing then as either a "legacy" or "the originals" is too simplistic. They are both and neither because they started out as alternate Earth revamps of the original concepts before later being retconned into being legacies.

Same with Ray and Katar. So there is truth to saying Hal is the original to an extent because he was the first GL published related to all the Corps stuff that informs the entire franchise to this day. While Alan doesn't have much to do with any of it

[Alpha]

In the case of Barry and Hal, they are weird cases where describing then as either a "legacy" or "the originals" is too simplistic. They are both and neither because they started out as alternate Earth revamps of the original concepts before later being retconned into being legacies.

Same with Ray and Katar. So there is truth to saying Hal is the original to an extent because he was the first GL published related to all the Corps stuff that informs the entire franchise to this day. While Alan doesn't have much to do with any of it

Yeah but Barry Allen was aware of Jay Garrick right from the beginning wasn't he? He just thought it was a fictional superhero, but it still inspired him. And legacy doesn't mean that they had to know about their predecessors. Jamie Reyes didn't really know about Ted Kord at first.

[The Darknight Detective]

Yeah but Barry Allen was aware of Jay Garrick right from the beginning wasn't he? He just thought it was a fictional superhero, but it still inspired him. And legacy doesn't mean that they had to know about their predecessors. Jamie Reyes didn't really know about Ted Kord at first.

But nobody on Earth-1 considered him a legacy, just like nobody thinks of Batman as a legacy of Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel. The same goes for Jay himself - is he a legacy of Mercury?

[Johnny]

Max Mercury is a curious case, he's a speedster that precedes the rest but since he's never called himself The Flash he is not usually treated as a member of the Flash family, either by the company or the fandom. He's affiliated with them but not really seen as a core member.

[SiegePerilous02]

Yeah but Barry Allen was aware of Jay Garrick right from the beginning wasn't he? He just thought it was a fictional superhero, but it still inspired him. And legacy doesn't mean that they had to know about their predecessors. Jamie Reyes didn't really know about Ted Kord at first.

It doesn't, but that's how the majority of the fans use the term at least on sites like this: characters who inherited a mantle from another character in the same continuity as them (this is why Jamie is a legacy in this sense: he existed on the same world as Ted). Barry was inspired by the identity of another hero that from his perspective was fictional, and in the context of his reality, he was the first "real" person to be called the Flash. So both he and Jay could definitely be called "the" Flash and the respective fastest men alive on their Earths. It's why things get flimsy when you factor in the Earth-1 versions of Superman, Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman vs. their Golden Age selves. Are they legacies of...themselves?

There is also that Barry's origin doesn't rely on Jay all that much. His being inspired by the comic is a fun bit of comic trivia, but it can be removed and nothing really changes. You can do adaptations of Barry without ever referencing Jay. Whereas doing Wally would be difficult to make truly authentic to the character if Barry isn't present in his story as his mentor and the person whose shadow he needs to get out from under.

Basically: it's a big mess, and always has been a big mess.

[The Darknight Detective]

It doesn't, but that's how the majority of the fans use the term at least on sites like this: characters who inherited a mantle from another character in the same continuity as them (this is why Jamie is a legacy in this sense: he existed on the same world as Ted). Barry was inspired by the identity of another hero that from his perspective was fictional, and in the context of his reality, he was the first "real" person to be called the Flash. So both he and Jay could definitely be called "the" Flash and the respective fastest men alive on their Earths. It's why things get flimsy when you factor in the Earth-1 versions of Superman, Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman vs. their Golden Age selves. Are they legacies of...themselves?

Is Dick Grayson a legacy, since Bruce wore the costume as a kid working with Harvey Harris? Maybe everyone is a legacy and just leave it at that.

There is also that Barry's origin doesn't rely on Jay all that much.

Personally, that part of the origin should be mothballed.

[SiegePerilous02]

Is Dick Grayson a legacy, since Bruce wore the costume as a kid working with Harvey Harris? Maybe everyone is a legacy and just leave it at

I guess so lol, but that's another weird bit of trivia that can be lifted right out and not miss out on anything. The Robin identity was created for Dick first and foremost, Bruce having it for a bit when he was a kid and then it being retconned out/barely being mentioned afterward shows that we shouldn't put much stock in it.

Clark being Nightwing and Dick taking on a mantle inspired by it holds more weight.