My issues with Wally R. West

[Evergreet]

I know he's a beloved character, but why do people ignore the fact that Wally is, I don't know... sort of selfish, sleazy, and a bit of a slob?

There is evidence.

In his 1987 run, he went to a future where he was worshipped as a god and enjoyed it. He didn't do much to downplay his role AT ALL. You can say that future didn't matter, but at the time those were real people with thoughts and feelings and what he was doing was unethical.
FlashGod.jpg

During the human race, he sat on a a small planet... crushing who knows how many people? He says "their atmosphere," suggesting that it is DEFINITELY POPULATED.
FlashPlanet.jpg

People already know this one, but he's unabashedly smelly. This is referenced many times, which is just gross. Immature, crass, and childish. People look up to him?!
FlashBoots2.jpg

There are other examples of Wally just being a jerk. For example, anyone recall how nasty he was to Kyle Rayner in the 1990s JLA? Just because Kyle became a hero in adulthood rather than during his youth like himself. He immediately hated Kyle because he wasn't a born hero. Yes bad stuff happened to him, but please don't forget the fact that Wally is a smelly and often sleazy slob.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, it's usually New 52 Wally who had his middle initial used (look at the Fandom wiki), not classic Wally.

[Evergreet]

Yeah, it's usually New 52 Wally who had his middle initial used (look at the Fandom wiki), not classic Wally.

Fixed. Points still stand.

[Lightning Rider]

Those are some pretty mild examples. But even at his worst, he was never truly a bad guy. Just flawed, in an insecure and relatable way.

And it's fairly obvious nobody is dying on that small planet; he says he can't stay long for risk of messing up their ecosystem, so he'd also be making sure he wasn't sitting on populated areas (to say nothing of the obviously barren landscape).

[M L A]

We love a flawed king

[Dred]

Yeah, it's usually New 52 Wally who had his middle initial used (look at the Fandom wiki), not classic Wally.

I've never seen to him referred to as that way. They have the exact same name.

[Evergreet]

We love a flawed king

Even though he seems to constantly smell?

Screenshot_20201007-191654.jpg
FlashBoots.jpg

[superduperman]

What's weird is he wasn't portrayed this way in the Teen Titans comics. It wasn't until he became the "official" Flash that all of a sudden he was either a selfish jerk or comedy relief. He was much more serious during the Perez/Wolfman run. It tends to depend on the writer but this has clearly been a part of his personality for so long, it's expected he act that way. The JL cartoon was the worst about it.

[Dred]

He was kind of a stick in the mud when Wolfman wrote him. That's really where it started.

[married guy]

I know he's a beloved character, but why do people ignore the fact that Wally is, I don't know... sort of selfish, sleazy, and a bit of a slob?

While this was definitely the case during Baron's run, it certainly wasn't by around #30 with writing by Messner-Loebs.
And yes, one of his traits is he's a bit of a slob. But when it takes approximately 2 seconds to clean up, who can blame him??
I liked that line in JLA about the boots. It makes perfect sense when you think about it.

[manwhohaseverything]

But, he does smell just like batman does. He is pure evil.The devil doesn't even wash his hands after doing the deed.

[Waterfall]

He used to be a multi-layered, flawed character, yes. People love him because he outgrew it. Unlike many heroes who were "born as an angel" Wally learned the meaning of being a hero through the hardships he faced.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Yeah, Wally's always had a little bit of jerk to him. So what?

Its called character.

[Stanlos]

I know he's a beloved character, but why do people ignore the fact that Wally is, I don't know... sort of selfish, sleazy, and a bit of a slob?

There is evidence.

In his 1987 run, he went to a future where he was worshipped as a god and enjoyed it. He didn't do much to downplay his role AT ALL. You can say that future didn't matter, but at the time those were real people with thoughts and feelings and what he was doing was unethical.
FlashGod.jpg

During the human race, he sat on a a small planet... crushing who knows how many people? He says "their atmosphere," suggesting that it is DEFINITELY POPULATED.
FlashPlanet.jpg

People already know this one, but he's unabashedly smelly. This is referenced many times, which is just gross. Immature, crass, and childish. People look up to him?!
FlashBoots2.jpg

There are other examples of Wally just being a jerk. For example, anyone recall how nasty he was to Kyle Rayner in the 1990s JLA? Just because Kyle became a hero in adulthood rather than during his youth like himself. He immediately hated Kyle because he wasn't a born hero. Yes bad stuff happened to him, but please don't forget the fact that Wally is a smelly and often sleazy slob.

No one ignores any of those traits. In fact, the opportunity to watch him--and similarly, any of the Titans but especially Dick, Donna, and Wally--grow and mature facing all the things you listed plus quite a bit more and overcoming all of it.

It is called character growth and character depth. He has it organically; certain others really do not.

[Evergreet]

He used to be a multi-layered, flawed character, yes. People love him because he outgrew it. Unlike many heroes who were "born as an angel" Wally learned the meaning of being a hero through the hardships he faced.

I actually don't fully agree with you there because Wally came into his powers during adolescence whereas many other characters that are beloved such as Kyle Rayner came into their powers during adulthood and truly had to learn what it took to be a hero. And they acted nothing like pre52 Wally. Wally was more of a born hero than most other characters, but he certainly was no angel. Especially during JLA in the 90s, he was extraordinarily egotistical and really had it out for Kyle. He was a smug elitist who believed that people who stumbled into their powers later in life didn't deserve to be heroes. I recall that he was even really mean to Plastic Man several times because of the fact that Eel used used to be a crook before he joined. I will concede that this side of Wally was definitely more pronounced in JLA than in his own title, but it was a very ugly side to his character all the same. The rebirth version of Wally is much less rough Around the edges than his pre52 version, yet that jerk version is what's more celebrated. The mind boggles. Plus, if I didn't already mention it enough times, Wally smelled. I feel like that's a really low class thing to talk about in comics. It's up there with that one notorious issue of Booster Gold where he told some weird green alien girl that he had to "take a dump." Really?!