DC storylines/plotpoints you're tired of seeing re-hashed...

[Tzigone]

I'll admit I'm a bit biased on this subject, since I'm a fan of the CW show, and most of the Barry Allen comics I've read are the New 52 and early Rebirth runs, Flashpoint and Geoff John's Flash Rebirth (though I have read some of the early Silver Age stuff too).

But honestly, I'm a fan of the ''dead mother'' retcon. The idea of a hero's arch-nemesis hating him so much that he uses time-travel to retroactively make his life miserable, while ironically still helping shape him into the hero he was destined to be, is a neat one. The show of course took it a step further by having Thawne literally turn Barry into the Flash.

I like the idea of Barry becoming a forensics scientist in order to one day exonerate his father, and also to ensure that no other innocent is wrongfully accused of a crime.

I respect the fact that a lot of long-time fans hate this retcon. But here's the thing - the original Barry Allen was a pretty bland plain vanilla character. He was the herald of the Silver Age who didn't really grow out of the Silver Age. Yes the powers and the rogues and the stories were all cool, but the character lacked any real depth. Yes I know the guy who ''just wants to do the right thing'' has a certain appeal, but contemporary audiences (by which I'm not just talking 2021, but even 1986) demand more.

So instead of getting a modern reinvention, like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman etc. Barry Allen was relegated to backstory, and the younger, cockier and more flawed Wally West became the 'modern' Flash. Barry got to be the saint of the superhero world with all his goodness for goodness' sake.

When he came back though, and became the current Flash again, he needed to be more than a resurrected saint. Thus...the retcon.

Here's the thing though - I don't think the retcon needs to make Barry angst-ridden and totally consumed by his mother's murder. I think Barry needs to be someone who's taken this tragic event from his past and used it to grow stronger and even more optimistic about the positive change he can effect in the world - as a CSI and as the Flash. Flashpoint is the exception, the one time there was a chink in his armor, and considering the circumstances, a pretty justified one.

And I don't think Barry was bland. He was my favorite silver age character. And I don't everyone needs a trauma in their past. And I especially don't think characters need to be rewritten to in-name-only new characters. And I really disagree with the "demanding more" bit - it's not more, just different. And not that different, frankly, as several other characters were also rewritten to add more angst and trauma, as well (and that's on top of a significant number that were build that way from the start). That's gotten to be as old-hat, repetitive, and one-note as anyone just doing the right thing, and far more common.

It's funny, because I'd been told that heroes/characters were pretty indistinguishable in characterization/behavior until the bronze age when I first got into comics, but I actually found the silver-age invented characters (and some of the golden age ones in the golden age, too) quite distinct. They weren't the all the same at all. And they were sort of rounder and more "normal acting" than modern ones sometimes are, where one character trait is really exaggerated/focused on. And much more healthy, functioning, mature adults in the real world, which is a plus to me. The drama of those with life in disaster or who keep sabotaging professional or personal relationships can be entertaining for a while, but with these long-running characters, it just gets put on "repeat" until it becomes tiresome. TV shows have an easier time of that since they don't run as long, but even then after a couple years, I'm ready to more forward instead of staying on the hamster wheel. And I can tolerate and enjoy in a 15-18 year old an immaturity (if a character is growing up) that is just tedious and annoying in anyone 20+, muchless 30+. Not talking about the Flash show, BTW, just thinking of some fiction in general.