Sorry I'm Late!: Barry Allen Appreciation

[liwanag]

[liwanag]

[liwanag]

[liwanag]

clark and barry should do this more often.

[liwanag]

[Cmbmool]

I think you old school Flash fans may get a kick out of this....

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/0...#idc-container

[Mia]

I just received the box set for 1990 series 'The Flash' and I am in the midst of watching it. Cheesy SFX and late 80's clothes aside. I am finding that I really am enjoying it a lot. The producers made some very interesting choices for the show. For example making Jay Garrick, Jay Allen and Barry's older brother, and Henry Allen is a cop etc. Barry's a police scientist yet isn't considered to be a 'real cop' like his retired dad etc. The producers seemed to take a lot of liberties, but they are liberties that are taken from the books. They didn't go off on a tangent and use things that implausible or un-related. What I don't get is why the CW show decided to use some version of Barry Allen that doesn't exist, , change Iris's race give him a foster father etc.

[C_Miller]

They didn't go off on a tangent and use things that implausible or un-related. What I don't get is why the CW show decided to use some version of Barry Allen that doesn't exist, , change Iris's race give him a foster father etc.

I'm not sure what this means. A version of Barry Allen that doesn't exist. Every new medium features an adaption of the character. Nolan's Batman didn't exist before the Nolan films. Same with Timm's Batman or any of his characters. I'd argue that the CW's Barry is a decent modernization of Barry Allen. He's nerdy, obsessed with science, always late, and is driven by wanting to help people. Yeah, he's no longer wearing bowties or has a fifties style hair cut, but he debuted in 2014, not 1956.

And as to why they gave him a foster father, probably because they had an interesting story to tell with giving him a mentor from an early age. And why they changed Iris' race. Well, it's a show based on a character that debuted in 1956. His entire career is white washed. Having characters of other races in the comics of the day was just not something that even would cross their minds. It's not that they were all made white because that fit the characters best, but because there just wasn't any other way. Society has become a bit more enlightened in that sense, so now we're giving Barry some supporting characters of other ethnic backgrounds. And I say, good on them.

[The Darknight Detective]

wanting to help people. Yeah, he's no longer wearing bowties or has a fifties style hair cut, but he debuted in 2014, not 1956.

Like Jimmy Olsen, that should never have been allowed to be seen in a comic after the '60s.

[MetalWoman]

Barry's relationship with is foster father has been a big part of the new 52 series, although there Darryl Frye raised him instead of Iris's father (who in the comics is a grade A asshole).

[Mia]

I'm not sure what this means. A version of Barry Allen that doesn't exist. Every new medium features an adaption of the character. Nolan's Batman didn't exist before the Nolan films. Same with Timm's Batman or any of his characters.

Actually Nolan’s Batman is heavily lifted from the 70’s version of Batman. And Timm’s version of Batman which came out in the 1992 animated show. Was heavily influenced by Burton’s Batman films and even in season 4 if BTAS the version of Batman/Bruce Wayne is very similar to the post Frank Miller version of Batman/Bruce Wayne who was (and still is) in the books. The characterisation wasn’t un-related and made up from something else.

I'd argue that the CW's Barry is a decent modernization of Barry Allen. He's nerdy, obsessed with science, always late, and is driven by wanting to help people. Yeah, he's no longer wearing bowties or has a fifties style hair cut, but he debuted in 2014, not 1956.

The thing I found interesting and exciting about the Shipp version of Barry is that while he is still a scientist and academic in bent, and gets teased by his former cop father and older cop brother as not being a ‘real cop’. He still behaves and acts like an adult male, a confident and intelligent one. That was a decent updated and modernized version of Barry Allen. It took attributes from the past and up dated it.

Unless you mean to tell me modern American men in the 00’s 10’s are now supposed to be neurotic man children. I really don’t get how Gustin is supposed to be a decent modern take on Barry Allen. I honestly don’t see it. I am yet to find any book that even remotely shows Barry behaving the way that Gustin’s Barry Allen does.

And why they changed Iris' race. Well, it's a show based on a character that debuted in 1956. His entire career is white washed. Having characters of other races in the comics of the day was just not something that even would cross their minds. It's not that they were all made white because that fit the characters best, but because there just wasn't any other way. Society has become a bit more enlightened in that sense, so now we're giving Barry some supporting characters of other ethnic backgrounds. And I say, good on them.

Both pre and post 52 Flash books already have non-white characters as supporting cast members. If they wanted to include non-white characters they just had to use them and would have been much more consistent and faithful to the source material. So the notion that they had to change the race of Iris for ‘diversity reasons’ doesn’t wash.

[Pharozonk]

And as to why they gave him a foster father, probably because they had an interesting story to tell with giving him a mentor from an early age. And why they changed Iris' race. Well, it's a show based on a character that debuted in 1956. His entire career is white washed. Having characters of other races in the comics of the day was just not something that even would cross their minds. It's not that they were all made white because that fit the characters best, but because there just wasn't any other way. Society has become a bit more enlightened in that sense, so now we're giving Barry some supporting characters of other ethnic backgrounds. And I say, good on them.

The Flash family already has several diverse supporting cast members:

Linda Park (Korean-American)
Chunk (African-American)
Pied Piper (Gay)
Captain Singh (Gay)
Jai and Iris West (Bi-racial)

Why are none of these characters being used?

[MetalWoman]

The Flash family already has several diverse supporting cast members:

Linda Park (Korean-American)
Chunk (African-American)
Pied Piper (Gay)
Captain Singh (Gay)
Jai and Iris West (Bi-racial)

Why are none of these characters being used?

The only way you get Linda Park and Jai and Iris is if you start the show with Wally married with kids, which would make him a very boring character. What made Wally interesting was his growth from immature hero worshiping kid to responsible adult and hero in his own right. Piper and Singh are already planned/part of the show. Chunk would not add any to the show, other than playing Barry's random friend unless they changed him radically, in which case what is the point of using him? Even if he was added to the show it would still leave a very white cast. Iris's race has never really been a big part of her character, so I do not see how the change really matters. Heck, her being Barry's childhood friend and foster sister is a far bigger change to her character.

As for why they made Barry an awkward nerd, instead of the straight laced mature man that he was in the 50s, I imagine it was to give the character room to grow and to make him different from Arrow. Both Arrow and The Flash are shows about the hero's journey. If the character starts out heroic and mature then there is no room to grow, and the show become just a "monster of the week" repetition. Oliver Queen started with the gravitas of a hero, but he was violent and motivated by rage and fear. His journey has been about learning to have the heart of a hero. Barry is starting with the heart of a hero, but he needs to get his life together and learn to be effective at it.

[PennyDreadful]

I'm still curious why they abandoned the Singh/Piper storyline. My theory? The current DC policy regarding romance, which is why I think they'll break up the pairing. Maybe they'll get together on the show, but I have a gut feeling DC will let it drop in the comics.

[liwanag]