How do you guys feel about the flash dying to a bullet?

[Harrynorine]

The flash is shot in the back by a bullet. He uses the remaining time he has alive to say goodbye to his loved ones. His dead body is later found by dick grayson and the rest of the titans.

[Jon Clark]

IT's a nice idea, but it was once shown that Wally sitting totally unaware in a theater was hit by a bullet. The bullet didn't even have time to penetrate his skin before his body slipped so far into super-speed mode that he could pluck the bullet from the airas if it were motionless.

[BohemiaDrinker]

On one hand, it feels extremely stupid to have the Flash being shot. JonClark exemplified why above.

OTOH, the idea of the Flash being shot and still fast enough to say goodbye to his family, travel to the past and set the investigation in motion is kinda awesome.

So, you know: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[married guy]

Yeah, I reckon it's ****ing stupid.
Wally again. Jeez. Way to flog that dead horse.

[j9ac9k]

I think we're supposed to think it's ironic or something. We also don't know the full story.

[sifighter]

I figure it’s just supposed to be the issue 1 hook, that thing that keeps you coming back after the first issue.

I would bet everything that the Wally we see here isn’t our Wally, but one from a little further in the future who’s come back to warn everyone about why he was shot and killed. Likely having to do with Peacemaker and whatever Amanda Waller is doing.

After all this is the guy who can run through time, multiverse, and is getting a new #1 ongoing.

[caj]

I'm so tired of death as a plot device. Writers need to be more creative IMO.

[king81992]

No, a bullet is the last thing any speedster should die to. It MIGHT make sense if it was some inexperienced speedster (and even then, death by bullet would be a stretch), but this is Wally West. He's too experienced to be done in by something so basic.

[JackDaw]

No, a bullet is the last thing any speedster should die to. It MIGHT make sense if it was some inexperienced speedster (and even then, death by bullet would be a stretch), but this is Wally West. He's too experienced to be done in by something so basic.

Could just about “buy” if Wally was asleep when shot. But even that would be against precedent.

[Hol]

It's dumb but Wally has been in a great place since 2021 and WAAAAAAYYYY better than the 10 years before that so I am not complaining. Especially with a nice new shinny #1 coming out in September.

[Ascended]

Well, first off, I think Taylor structured it well. It serves as a solid opener that, in theory, gets us emotionally invested immediately (who's hurt our boy?!) and sets up a fun little whodunit (my wild guess....Wally himself!)? We also know we don't have to take it seriously or worry because he's still got a book, we know he'll be saved. I like how Taylor handles the moment, with Wally visiting the family and then using time travel to circumvent fate, all within a matter of seconds. It's an impressive feat, and it's feels like a 'Wally' move.

But it's really damn hard to get over the 'dead Titan' troupe. And the fact that it's Wally just rubs salt in the wound. There's a handful of villains and a handful of plots I never want to see in a reunion again, and "dead Titan" is near the top of the list. It's been done to death, and this is how DC tells the story of the Titans stepping up into the big time? By sticking with one of the brand's most hated cliches? And after all the crap Wally's been through, using him feels cheap.

So I feel like Taylor (and Scott, that goes without saying. Talent!) did a really good job crafting a scene I wish they hadn't.

As for how this stacks with Wally's powers....he's literally avoided being shot in the back before, and made it look super easy. Barely an inconvenience. So this doesn't track with Wally's best feats. But there's also plenty of examples of him getting punched (or tripped, or whatever) by people who should be statues to his perception (Catwoman!), so it's not like there's ever been any real consistency. And we don't know the particulars of the event, there might be a crafty 'how it happened' in there. But for myself, while I prefer the Waid style speed god, the "can't be hit, even unaware" thing might be going a step too far. At that point, Wally's utterly invincible. Catching him off guard was basically the only legit way to take him down already, if we lose that then he's completely in 'plot device' territory.

[Tomkatie]

Others have said it better than I could, but I'll say it again anyway

It works as a story hook, especially because there's no way Wally will actually end up dead here, but any speedster worth their wings can vibrate through bullets. We've even seen them do it instinctively before they realize the bullet's there.

[Lee]

IT's a nice idea, but it was once shown that Wally sitting totally unaware in a theater was hit by a bullet. The bullet didn't even have time to penetrate his skin before his body slipped so far into super-speed mode that he could pluck the bullet from the airas if it were motionless.

In all the hundreds of comics Flash has appeared in, how many times has something like that happened? I don't think that's the kind of minutia writers need to be concerned about, if it gets in the way of the story they're telling. In general it's for the best if heroes aren't invincible and aren't on their A-game 100% of the time. The villains need to be able to get the drop on them.

[Stanlos]

The artwork is very pretty.

[j9ac9k]

In all the hundreds of comics Flash has appeared in, how many times has something like that happened? I don't think that's the kind of minutia writers need to be concerned about, if it gets in the way of the story they're telling. In general it's for the best if heroes aren't invincible and aren't on their A-game 100% of the time. The villains need to be able to get the drop on them.

Agreed. It's just one of those comic book conventions you have to buy into, otherwise Flash should never ever be challenged by anyone with normal human reaction time. And again, we also don't know how it happened - that's supposed to be part of the mystery: How could The Flash be killed by something as mundane as a gun?? They want us to keep reading to find out, since we all know Wally's not really dead - or not staying dead.