Impulse: Bart Allen 2020 Appreciation Thread

[Jekyll]

An appreciation thread for our favorite impulsive speedster! From my search we haven't had an appreciation thread for Bart since our friend Assam departed the forums. I am currently re-reading and ultimately finishing this fine series from the 90s and one of my top five comic series and it is so much fun!

Impulse.jpg

[Jekyll]

Also, if you have not seen there is a fan made series that is trying to get off the ground. Looks GREAT!

[Tzigone]

An appreciation thread for our favorite impulsive speedster! From my search we haven't had an appreciation thread for Bart since our friend Assam departed the forums. I am currently re-reading and ultimately finishing this fine series from the 90s and one of my top five comic series and it is so much fun!

I didn't like how most of his supporting cast was ditched and never seen again.

[sifighter]

Honestly amongst the Flash family Bart is probably high up there for me amongst Jay and Wally, plus he’s amongst the Young Justice/John’s Teen Titans team of characters who I grew up reading so probably some extra appreciation there.

[Jekyll]

I didn't like how most of his supporting cast was ditched and never seen again.

Agreed, Max Mercury in particular. What a great character.

[Jekyll]

Honestly amongst the Flash family Bart is probably high up there for me amongst Jay and Wally, plus he’s amongst the Young Justice/John’s Teen Titans team of characters who I grew up reading so probably some extra appreciation there.

Definitely an integral part of the 90's Flash Family, that sadly, doubt we will see again.

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Yeah, apparently when Didio became Executive Editor he issued some editorial mandate about how the role of 'young/teen-age speedster hero connected to The Flash' was, by definition, to be called Kid-Flash and nothing else. That and his infamous dislike of lighthearted or even comedic takes on super-heroes led to Bart being stripped of his identity, costume, personality, and everything else unique just put him in a Kid-Flash costume. I know there are some who think it was a 'natural' progression for him to become KF; I say there was nothing natural about it.

[married guy]

Yeah, apparently when Didio became Executive Editor he issued some editorial mandate about how the role of 'young/teen-age speedster hero connected to The Flash' was, by definition, to be called Kid-Flash and nothing else. That and his infamous dislike of lighthearted or even comedic takes on super-heroes led to Bart being stripped of his identity, costume, personality, and everything else unique just put him in a Kid-Flash costume. I know there are some who think it was a 'natural' progression for him to become KF; I say there was nothing natural about it.

To his credit, Geoff Johns (amongst others) argued against it, but ultimately lost. That said, I thought he did a good job making the change.

[sifighter]

I mean I still liked him as Kid Flash, can’t say whether it was good or not for the character to make the change overall but I personally think it wasn’t bad. At the time no one else was going by Kid Flash and in a way it felt like Bart made a move from being a “side character” or a “redundancy” (I don’t think that by the way, just using some of the words we hear) in the Flash legacy to saying he will be the next Flash one day.

I do like the design of the impulse suit more though, as much I like the Geoff Johns era of Teen Titans there was always something weird about Bart’s boots.

[Masterff]

Agreed, Max Mercury in particular. What a great character.

Max Mercury exists in REBIRTH!!!

He was in The Flash Rebirth #4......

[Tzigone]

I mean I still liked him as Kid Flash, can’t say whether it was good or not for the character to make the change overall but I personally think it wasn’t bad. At the time no one else was going by Kid Flash and in a way it felt like Bart made a move from being a “side character” or a “redundancy” (I don’t think that by the way, just using some of the words we hear) in the Flash legacy to saying he will be the next Flash one day.

I can't agree. But then I don't like Impulse becoming Flash one day, either. He was his own person, and they even talked about how his code name reflected that. I think anyone giving up their (non-kid-lad-girl) code name to take someone else's hand-me-down name is a demotion/downgrade. I think they should make their own names as synonymous with "hero" and "greatness" as those first-genners did. Didn't like Steph giving up her own identity to take orders from Babs with her old name (a technically grown woman if she was 18 taking on a name with "girl" in it when she already had a perfectly good name that could age with her also wasn't great). I really, strongly prefer everyone forge their own identities instead of getting hand-me-down-ones. I know a lot of people love legacies, and I understand them from a business perspective, but I like all (at least adult, I've given up on Robin) heroes to have their own names. Reducing fan "teams" and infighting, clearer on tag searches, and doesn't reduce code names to a job title that can be anyone.

I just really hate the idea that "being Batman/Flash/Superman" is deemed the height of aspiration for all these young ones instead of making their own names just as great. Not to mention, the ages really don't work out - Bart is only 10ish years younger than Wally. So he goes by "Kid Flash" for 20-60 years until Wally's ready to retire (which is ridiculous), Wally dies young so he can get the role just as Barry did (wasn't a fan of it for either Barry or Wally), or he then picks another code name after Kid Flash and after 15+ years of using it, it still just isn't as "worthy" or "awesome" as The Flash (kind of an insult to Bart's accomplishments there) and he discards it for Flash when Wally retires.

[Jekyll]

Yeah, apparently when Didio became Executive Editor he issued some editorial mandate about how the role of 'young/teen-age speedster hero connected to The Flash' was, by definition, to be called Kid-Flash and nothing else. That and his infamous dislike of lighthearted or even comedic takes on super-heroes led to Bart being stripped of his identity, costume, personality, and everything else unique just put him in a Kid-Flash costume. I know there are some who think it was a 'natural' progression for him to become KF; I say there was nothing natural about it.

Probably why Bart was knee-capped by Deathstroke, because we must have DARKNESS!!!!

[Jekyll]

I can't agree. But then I don't like Impulse becoming Flash one day, either. He was his own person, and they even talked about how his code name reflected that. I think anyone giving up their (non-kid-lad-girl) code name to take someone else's hand-me-down name is a demotion/downgrade. I think they should make their own names as synonymous with "hero" and "greatness" as those first-genners did. Didn't like Steph giving up her own identity to take orders from Babs with her old name (a technically grown woman if she was 18 taking on a name with "girl" in it when she already had a perfectly good name that could age with her also wasn't great). I really, strongly prefer everyone forge their own identities instead of getting hand-me-down-ones. I know a lot of people love legacies, and I understand them from a business perspective, I like all (at least adult, I've given up on Robin) heroes to have their own names. Reducing fan "teams" and infighting, clearer on tag searches, and doesn't reduce code names to a job title that can be anyone.

I just really hate the idea that "being Batman/Flash/Superman" is deemed the height of aspiration for all these young ones instead of making their own names just as great. Not to mention, the ages really don't work out - Bart is only 10ish years younger than Wally. So he goes by "Kid Flash" for 20-60 years until Wally's ready to retire (which is ridiculous), Wally dies young so he can get the role just as Barry did (wasn't a fan of it for either Barry or Wally), or he then picks another code name after Kid Flash and after 15+ years of using it, it still just isn't as "worthy" or "awesome" as The Flash (kind of an insult to Bart's accomplishments there) and he discards it for Flash when Wally retires.

Bart becoming the Flash could have been an interesting idea if executed properly, but of course it wasn't nor were the events leading up to Bart taking the mantle.

[AdamFTF]

One of the issues with making Bart into Kid Flash was that he was largely developed as a comedy character before that. And it's easier to move a serious character into a comedy milieu for a while and play them as funny than to take a comical character and move them into a more dramatic milieu. It's probably why most "funny" superhero characters aren't inherently comical, but instead characters who make wisecracks (I'm looking at you, Garfield Logan. You too, Peter Parker). Anyway, it's probably why Bart seems right at home in his own sitcom-style book or in the dramedy that was Young Justice but can seem like an odd fit elsewhere. To use an example, there was an early Impulse comic where Mark Waid had Bart drive a car off of a cliff. And it was funny, because the entire book was funny. The world of the Impulse comic was one where things usually didn't have to be taken seriously. Fast forward to the Teen Titans series, which had spent the first few issues showing just how serious it was going to be. Then Geoff Johns had Bart drive a Batmobile off of a cliff. My reaction wasn't "This is funny", it was "Bart's recklessness is going to kill everyone". Because the world of the Teen Titans comic was a serious world where such actions had dangerous consequences.

[Frontier]

Probably why Bart was knee-capped by Deathstroke, because we must have DARKNESS!!!!

Not that he became a particularly dark character after it happened (in my opinion).

One of the issues with making Bart into Kid Flash was that he was largely developed as a comedy character before that. And it's easier to move a serious character into a comedy milieu for a while and play them as funny than to take a comical character and move them into a more dramatic milieu. It's probably why most "funny" superhero characters aren't inherently comical, but instead characters who make wisecracks (I'm looking at you, Garfield Logan. You too, Peter Parker). Anyway, it's probably why Bart seems right at home in his own sitcom-style book or in the dramedy that was Young Justice but can seem like an odd fit elsewhere. To use an example, there was an early Impulse comic where Mark Waid had Bart drive a car off of a cliff. And it was funny, because the entire book was funny. The world of the Impulse comic was one where things usually didn't have to be taken seriously. Fast forward to the Teen Titans series, which had spent the first few issues showing just how serious it was going to be. Then Geoff Johns had Bart drive a Batmobile off of a cliff. My reaction wasn't "This is funny", it was "Bart's recklessness is going to kill everyone". Because the world of the Teen Titans comic was a serious world where such actions had dangerous consequences.

I don't know if I share the same issue if only because there can still be levity and fun even in serious Superhero settings, so it didn't really bother me that much.