Wally West: The Flash Appreciation 2021

[Rend20]

Was it Wally or Bart that ran the heart across country in a snowstorm to save little girl in that show? That episode is one of my favorites.

That was Wally as an adaptation/homage of his first Flash issue.

And in isolation, I agree it was a great episode. But I do think it hurt his character in the long run since they didn't commit to his development at the end of it.

[Vic Vega]

It's pretty clear they had no real interest in Wally as a character.

His character had no real development, was devoid of any actual depth, had nothing to do with anything important going on, and had the weakest relationships on the show. He was essentially a support character who was ineffective in the role because all of his relationships were centered around his feelings for the other characters rather than how they felt about him.

So he was the least important member of the "main" cast that they could kill off for a cheap reaction.

Looking back on it now, it's a well known trope of War Movies: the person that is planning to quit after this mission is gonna die in said mission. Bonus points if said person has someone waiting for them back home.

The instant Wally retired to live with Artemis one of them was marked for death on thier return. The show just tried to trick the viewer as to which one it was.

[Frontier]

Why wouldn’t you kill Barry instead? You could still get that shocker of a death and it would’ve given Wally an interesting direction to go in. Oh well I guess what’s done is done.

Considering they made Kaldur Aquaman and the first of the Team to jump to taking over for their mentor...I dunno, I don't want to accuse them of creator favoritism, but looking at the two practical OC's of the show when you look at their versions of Aqualad and Artemis, it kind of feels like it.

[Dred]

Weismann likely has no interest or care for Wally considering he's never read a comic with the Speed Force in it and thinks it's dumb. If he thinks one of the core parts of Wally's Flash run is dumb, why would he lean into that adaptation?

[Rend20]

The instant Wally retired to live with Artemis one of them was marked for death on thier return. The show just tried to trick the viewer as to which one it was.

I knew Wally was a dead character walking the moment they used the Flash-Family episode to hammer home how useless he was for laughs now that Bart was around.

But even then, the retirement and sitting on the sidelines was the result of his unimportance. His big development near the end of season one was about him becoming a better hero going forward which led to him... no longer doing the hero thing even during an invasion. That's the thought and effort they put into the character.

Considering they made Kaldur Aquaman and the first of the Team to jump to taking over for their mentor...I dunno, I don't want to accuse them of creator favoritism, but looking at the two practical OC's of the show when you look at their versions of Aqualad and Artemis, it kind of feels like it.

While I haven't seen season three, I thought the show consistently bent over backwards for their characters in the first two seasons.

[Frontier]

Weismann likely has not interest or care for Wally considering he's never read a comic with the Speed Force in it and thinks it's dumb. If he thinks one of the core parts of Wally's Flash run is dumb, why would he lean into that adaptation?

He definitely hasn't read a lot of late Flash stuff considering how they treated Captain Cold.

Although Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster indicates he has some appreciation for the Silver Age Flash.

[Batgrayson]

I still don't understand why if Weisman doesn't like the Speed Force, they gave Wally a totally "Speed Force death", leaving no body behind. Maybe just because CN didn't want a visible corpse on one of its series?

By the other hand, despite their troublesome handling of Wally, Young Justice was the reason of why I finally decided to read his Flash series, and I grateful for that.

[Vic Vega]

That was Wally as an adaptation/homage of his first Flash issue.

And in isolation, I agree it was a great episode. But I do think it hurt his character in the long run since they didn't commit to his development at the end of it.

It's interesting that they actually kept Perdita around but she was part of Beast Boy's storyline.

It might have been interesting to see what her relationship with Wally would have been had he lived. He saved her life after all. At the very least he'd be something of a National hero in her homeland.

[Rend20]

Although Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster indicates he has some appreciation for the Silver Age Flash.

Weisman mentioned the Bates era is his sweet spot when it comes to the Flash which is why he seemingly views Wally primarily as Kid Flash.

[Frontier]

Weisman mentioned the Bates era is his sweet spot when it comes to the Flash which is why he seemingly views Wally primarily as Kid Flash.

Can't argue with that seeing as what he's written so far. I guess Wally becoming The Flash was never in the cards .

[Rend20]

Can't argue with that seeing as what he's written so far. I guess Wally becoming The Flash was never in the cards.

When talking about classic Flash runs, all he mentioned about Wally was enjoying some of Baron's run. So he either wasn't familiar with the other stuff and/or wasn't a fan of it. Given he didn't understand the concept behind the Speed Force, my guess would be the former.

They tried to do the whole passing the mantle angle with Bart instead but that was an absolute disaster when you consider everything. Speaking of Bart, did they ever address his timeline/time-travel situation and/or the consequences of his decision to play God in season three?

[Frontier]

When talking about classic Flash runs, all he mentioned about Wally was enjoying some of Baron's run. So he either wasn't familiar with the other stuff and/or wasn't a fan of it. Given he didn't understand the concept behind the Speed Force, my guess would be the former.

From what I've read of Baron's run, I can definitely see that as an influence in their take on Wally.

Although it's kind of weird to think he's not into the later Wally Flash stuff and then they end up using Bart as much as they did.

They tried to do the whole passing the mantle angle with Bart instead but that was an absolute disaster when you consider everything. Speaking of Bart, did they ever address his timeline/time-travel situation and/or the consequences of his decision to play God in season three?

The Legion exists so I guess the Team managed to avoid Bart's timeline and The Reach timeline. I guess?

I'm just kind of wondering what the game plan is for Bart at this point because it seems like he's the only one set up to succeed Barry, if anyone does.

[Rend20]

Although it's kind of weird to think he's not into the later Wally Flash stuff and then they end up using Bart as much as they did.

While they kept some of the concepts such as the time-travel angle, they've pretty much done their own thing with Bart for the most part from what I've seen. Of course, Weisman isn't the only one driving things so it could be the influence of others as well. I mean, Brandon Vietti did write the Future State: Flash issues so maybe he's a fan.

The Legion exists so I guess the Team managed to avoid Bart's timeline and The Reach timeline. I guess?

So does that mean Bart's a paradox? Living in an alternate timeline with memories of the original one?

I do think it's funny that it's set up for Bart to have about a seventy year window of being The Flash. A few more time-skips and we'll have Flash!Bart mentoring KF!Bart.

[Frontier]

While they kept some of the concepts such as the time-travel angle, they've pretty much done their own thing with Bart for the most part from what I've seen. Of course, Weisman isn't the only one driving things so it could be the influence of others as well. I mean, Brandon Vietti did write the Future State: Flash issues so maybe he's a fan.



So does that mean Bart's a paradox? Living in an alternate timeline with memories of the original one?

I do think it's funny that it's set up for Bart to have about a seventy year window of being The Flash. A few more time-skips and we'll have Flash!Bart mentoring KF!Bart.

Here's how Greg Weisman explained it:

Chronoton radiation made him immune to the changes. Eventually, a new Bart will/should be born. But our Bart might live to see that - live and HOPE that this new Bart never becomes him. But if you're asking whether they can co-exist, they can.

[Rend20]

Here's how Greg Weisman explained it:

So a paradox he is.

Let us hope the Bart that hasn't been born yet doesn't effectively kill as many people as Bart from the future.