Question for Wally West fans...

[Hol]

First I would like to preface this with letting you all know that Wally West is my all time favorite character. In and out of comics so this thread comes from a place of love. I'd like to see what you all think.

So, I think it is fair to assume at this point that Wally will never be the lead Flash again. Due to the success of the Flash show and the fact that Barry is getting a movie in a couple years. I think it is very unlikely that he will ever be the main Flash again or get more than a mini series written by a meh creative team now and again or a cool moment here or there in an event or a Titans book. And that is at best. He will most likely be cannon fodder at some point because to DC he is the redundant Flash.

So, if you agree with this, would it make you happy if Wally got a really good send off instead? For me when some of my favorite characters got sent off in a great way it left me satisfied (even if I missed them). Examples are Jack Knight, Barry Allen in Crisis #8, etc.

So, would you be more content with Wally either getting one last great story and a retirement ala Jack Knight or a memorable death that shows him as the hero he is and is important like Crisis #8. I think I would be happy with one of these. I think one of the reasons some fans reacted so badly to Barry Allens return is the way Wally was treated. First replaced as the main Flash, then erased from history and then HIC.

Opinions?

[Waterfall]

That's what I've been saying in this forum for the past 3 years. Wally's gimmick in the extended Flashfamily is the same as Nightwing's as long as Barry is the main Flash. You clearly can't commit to it when his fans want to make him a 40 years old family man.

I think he should have been retooled as a 24-25 year old young adult college superhero and had more "fun" adventures compared to Barry. I suppose we can say he suffers from Peter Parker syndrome in that sense.

He is completely pointless at the moment because writers just had to pander to Y generation fans for some reason. Retire the character with his kids so they can shut up forever.

[Hol]

That's what I've been saying in this forum for the past 3 years. Wally's gimmick in the extended Flashfamily is the same as Nightwing's as long as Barry is the main Flash. You clearly can't commit to it when his fans want to make him a 40 years old family man.

I think he should have been retooled as a 24-25 year old young adult college superhero and had more "fun" adventures compared to Barry. I suppose we can say he suffers from Peter Parker syndrome in that sense.

He is completely pointless at the moment because writers just had to pander to Y generation fans for some reason. Retire the character with his kids so they can shut up forever.

Well, I disagree that some fans want him to be a 40 year old family man. He can be in his mid to late 20's with kids...especially because they were aged up. This might seem boring to you but it isn't to me and I assume other fans.

Personally I do not want to read about a younger Wally in college. A BIG part of why people love Wally is his history and character growth. I do not want Wally to be a character like Barry, Bruce or Clark who , IMO, have little character growth or change or any chances taken because they always have to be put back in their toy box basically how they were picked up. I guess thats why I tend to like the 2nd, 3rd tier characters better.

But yeah I say give his story an end like Jack Knight and let people remember him fondly and keep him safe from stories like HIC.

[Rend20]

He is completely pointless at the moment because writers just had to pander to Y generation fans for some reason.

The thing is it was DC's desire to justify Heroes in Crisis that forced writers into the current situation.

Once Wally remembered the kids for Flash War and HiC, they had to bring them back. Otherwise he's basically even more Barry 2.0 where the kids are his Nora Allen. And I don't think anyone wanted Wally to be constantly mourning his kids. The kids coming back were apparently never part of the original plan in Rebirth.

[Waterfall]

Well, I disagree that some fans want him to be a 40 year old family man. He can be in his mid to late 20's with kids...especially because they were aged up. This might seem boring to you but it isn't to me and I assume other fans.

Personally I do not want to read about a younger Wally in college. A BIG part of why people love Wally is his history and character growth. I do not want Wally to be a character like Barry, Bruce or Clark who , IMO, have little character growth or change or any chances taken because they always have to be put back in their toy box basically how they were picked up. I guess thats why I tend to like the 2nd, 3rd tier characters better.

But yeah I say give his story an end like Jack Knight and let people remember him fondly and keep him safe from stories like HIC.

But it’s what it is as long as Barry is in the charge. The eventual outcome of “character growth” makes him pretty much a replica of Barry Allen and we’re seeing the problems in the current comics already. The family is already bloated and nobody wants write about two Barries when they have the real deal.

Let’s face it: we love reading about Wally’s growing pains. If this was a novel, his story would have been long over.

The thing is it was DC's desire to justify Heroes in Crisis that forced writers into the current situation.

Once Wally remembered the kids for Flash War and HiC, they had to bring them back. Otherwise he's basically even more Barry 2.0 where the kids are his Nora Allen. And I don't think anyone wanted Wally to be constantly mourning his kids. The kids coming back were apparently never part of the original plan in Rebirth.

Yeah, it’s pretty shortsighted. We have now two impulses, two Kid Flashes and two Flashes filling the same gimmicks. The only way to correct the course direction is a- retire the character or b- send the kids to future.

Otherwise I feel like he will just pop up for events to bring in readers and disappear again afterwards.

[Lightning Rider]

I guess I could live with a beautiful send-off, but I'd much prefer they do something else with him. There may not be room for both Barry and Wally as equally important Flashes, but that doesn't mean Wally can't have a satisfying niche of his own. Make Keystone feel like a real place again and have him operate there while developing his own rogues, or have him and the kids move to the future where he has to deal with a totally different and technologically advanced society, or make him a multiverse traveller who Earth-hops to protect Earth from cross-dimensional threats. You could even ascend him into a Speed Force god who only shows up during crazy events, or have him lose his powers (either in epic sacrifice or by choice) and let him live the life he deserves while still maintaining his friendships and training his kids (I'm not really a fan of the last one, but it has some potential.)

Plus, as long as he's around, moviemakers have an incentive to retell his story in other media. I was grateful for Young Justice, I'd love to see Wally fit into a Flash movie down the line or a Titans movie, or appear in the TV show or an animated movie.

[LAWtoyoto 432]

Yeah, it’s pretty shortsighted. We have now two impulses, two Kid Flashes and two Flashes filling the same gimmicks. The only way to correct the course direction is a- retire the character or b- send the kids to future.

Otherwise I feel like he will just pop up for events to bring in readers and disappear again afterwards.

If this is an excuse you create, then tell that story to Marvel Comics, who own 23 spider man characters, 2 hawkeyes, 2 wolverines, 2 wasps and 2 Novas. They don't seem have problem with multiple characters owning the titles.

[Dark Falz]

First I would like to preface this with letting you all know that Wally West is my all time favorite character. In and out of comics so this thread comes from a place of love. I'd like to see what you all think.

So, I think it is fair to assume at this point that Wally will never be the lead Flash again. Due to the success of the Flash show and the fact that Barry is getting a movie in a couple years. I think it is very unlikely that he will ever be the main Flash again or get more than a mini series written by a meh creative team now and again or a cool moment here or there in an event or a Titans book. And that is at best. He will most likely be cannon fodder at some point because to DC he is the redundant Flash.

I don't know that is even the case. It may look like that now, but who knows how things may flip flop in the future. I definitely think there is a problem with Flash redundancy, and I believe Wally calling himself the Flash and wearing a costume like or even very similar to Barry's is a bad idea, because we don't need two guys like that, but it's possible to retool Wally West to work in the current landscape of things without stepping on Barry's toes...for creative people who would actually really care to do such a thing.