Rating and thoughts on Flash Rebirth (2009)

[Dboi2001]

What did you guys think of Flash Rebirth by Geoff Johns and how would rate it from 1-5?

[Hol]

I voted 2. For the reasons I have stated in the other thread. It isn't a total disaster as I like some of the artwork. I hate to give EVS credit but he is a good artist.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I thought it was probably one of the better Flash family stories that celebrated what went on before since probably Waid. I just wish it wasn’t delayed constantly.

[Lightning Rider]

Bad.

-Giving Barry a tragic backstory where his father is framed and jailed for murdering his mother goes against the spirit of the character and saddled him with poor stories and mopey characterizations for years since.

-Bart was written out of character for the sake of meta-commentary

-Barry (despite already being a saintly figure) was made the all-important Flash across all time, and the "creator" of the Speed Force.

-Thawne suddenly drew from the "Negative Speed Force", a hammy concept with no real purpose

It wasn't a total disaster in and of itself because the art was cool, Thawne was menacing, the Flash family was emphasized, and "those were for charity, Clark" is an all time great moment. But you could easily call the repercussions of that story disasterous.

[Dboi2001]

Bad.

-Giving Barry a tragic backstory where his father is framed and jailed for murdering his mother goes against the spirit of the character and saddled him with poor stories and mopey characterizations for years since.

-Bart was written out of character for the sake of meta-commentary

-Barry (despite already being a saintly figure) was made the all-important Flash across all time, and the "creator" of the Speed Force.

-Thawne suddenly drew from the "Negative Speed Force", a hammy concept with no real purpose

It wasn't a total disaster in and of itself because the art was cool, Thawne was menacing, the Flash family was emphasized, and "those were for charity, Clark" is an all time great moment. But you could easily call the repercussions of that story disasterous.

Why do people thing Barry having a tragic backstory changes his character?

Also Barry came back in Final Crisis so Barry was coming back with or without Johns and Flash Rebirth and then just 3 short years later the whole universe is rebooted

[Holt]

It was lame.

[Hol]

Why do people thing Barry having a tragic backstory changes his character?

Also Barry came back in Final Crisis so Barry was coming back with or without Johns and Flash Rebirth and then just 3 short years later the whole universe is rebooted

Actually Grant Morrison was going to use an alternate Earth Barry Allen at first and Dan and Geoff asked him to actually bring the real Barry Allen back because they were planning Rebirth. I do not have the interview out there but Johns has said it a few times in interviews.

[Robanker]

Bad.

-Giving Barry a tragic backstory where his father is framed and jailed for murdering his mother goes against the spirit of the character and saddled him with poor stories and mopey characterizations for years since.

-Bart was written out of character for the sake of meta-commentary

-Barry (despite already being a saintly figure) was made the all-important Flash across all time, and the "creator" of the Speed Force.

-Thawne suddenly drew from the "Negative Speed Force", a hammy concept with no real purpose

It wasn't a total disaster in and of itself because the art was cool, Thawne was menacing, the Flash family was emphasized, and "those were for charity, Clark" is an all time great moment. But you could easily call the repercussions of that story disasterous.

My thoughts as well. The only moment I recall fondly is that interaction with Superman in issue #3 which is an all-time rad Flash moment and a real feather in Barry's cap.

Otherwise, Flash: Rebirth did far more harm than good.

[Hol]

[QUOTE=Lightning Rider;5114199]Bad.

-Giving Barry a tragic backstory where his father is framed and jailed for murdering his mother goes against the spirit of the character and saddled him with poor stories and mopey characterizations for years since.
-[QUOTE]

Yeah that is the thing...I feel like the Barrys dead mom thing is never going to go away now...especially because of the shows success.

[Lightning Rider]

Why do people thing Barry having a tragic backstory changes his character?

I've read a lot of Flash. I can tell you that Barry's dead mom is frequently cited whenever he's confronting a villain with some sort of tragedy, like Godspeed, or when he's teaming up with Batman, or when he's trying to relate to someone else about losing someone. It was true during several New 52 arcs (including a botched Zoom arc), and after a repireve, was also back after the Rebirth initiative. It's all over the show too. "I've lost so much....I've had a lot of pain in my life..." etc.

Even in Rebirth itself, Barry is given a bit of a hard-on-crime attitude implicitly attributed to his mother's murder. "Savitar is a murderer. He's guilty." Now there's a way to justify that choice for other reasons, but it was clear that this man was obsessed with his mother's case throughout his life as a young CSI.

Yeah that is the thing...I feel like the Barrys dead mom thing is never going to go away now...especially because of the shows success.

Right. I got behind on Flash in the last year or so and am only now catching up (though I might not pick the rest of Williamson's run since I'm thoroughly unimpressed with this nonsense about forces.) I walked into my local store and saw one of the most recent issues on display, and behold, the cover itself features someone talking about Barry's dead mom. Not really an incentive to continue reading for me. It has overshadowed everything for over a decade.

I agree with folks that say the story could have been saved by Barry being able to save Nora. I hope he gets tha closure one day. The killing definitely did make Thawne more menacing and personal villain. But I don't know if we'll get it. The show cemented it, the movie will continue to explore it. Every time mass audiences think "Flash", they think "sad brown-haired kid with a dead mom". Really pisses me off.

[Dboi2001]

I voted 2. For the reasons I have stated in the other thread. It isn't a total disaster as I like some of the artwork. I hate to give EVS credit but he is a good artist.

Why what did EVS do?

[Hol]

Why what did EVS do?

That, my friend, is a whole thing. I don't want to get into it but Google ComicsGate and Ethan Van Sciver or go to his Twitter and have a read.

[Dboi2001]

I voted 2. For the reasons I have stated in the other thread. It isn't a total disaster as I like some of the artwork. I hate to give EVS credit but he is a good artist.

Also why do you think GL Rebirth worked where Flash Rebirth didn’t?

[king81992]

Too much reliance on the Speed Force, introducing other forces that were totally unnecessary and Barry continues to be incompetent. Quality improved recently, but I can't get over Eobard possessing Barry's body. The writer must've confused him with Jericho.

[Dboi2001]

Too much reliance on the Speed Force, introducing other forces that were totally unnecessary and Barry continues to be incompetent. Quality improved recently, but I can't get over Eobard possessing Barry's body. The writer must've confused him with Jericho.

I’m talking about Flash Rebirth the 6 part 2006 series not DC Universe Rebirth Flash