I'm going to say I think there should be BOTH Wally's in an All-Star Flash title.
I'm going to say I think there should be BOTH Wally's in an All-Star Flash title.
The Definitive All Star Flash is a story firmly set in science fiction, exploration, heroic ideals and a clear belief in the order of the Universe. My All Star Flash has him seeking the origin of his power, the true origin of the Godwave, the Source, and a race across all of time and space, explaining the relationship between the Speed Force, all the Flashes and speedsters who rely on it, and maybe explaining how other beings who are not speedsters gain access to super-speed as well.
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Since it's not canon, we could explore three Flashes, three perspectives on speed, the scientist (Jay Garrick), the analyst (Barry Allen) and the free spirit (Wally West) and the Flash family of guest stars, because the Flash isn't just about the Rogues (though they make up an integral part of Barry's existence as the Flash) time travel, though many of Barry's enemies use super-science and time travel as part of their origins, it is about family and how the Speed Force wound its way through the DC Universe connecting certain families with this power and a responsibility to use it to protect reality.
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The power of the Flash is perhaps one of the most under-estimated and least understood powers in the DC Universe. The All Star Flash should be about exploring that power with the mind of a scientist, the hard uncompromising vision of an analyst and ultimately with the free spirit that embodied the most amazing aspects of the Flash Universe, the unflappable joy of super-speed represented by Wally West. This story is about Man vs Nature, where The All Star Flash goes on the ultimate exploration of the Universe, to find out where his power ultimately resides and the price of wielding such incredible ability. Perhaps like the All Star Superman is the quintessential essence of every Superman that has ever lived, this story is told from the angle of the Speed Force itself and its relationships with these people who wield its power, by its estimation, clumsily, doing the very best they can and its admiration for their successes and sympathy for their failures.
Just experimenting with ideas.
Thanks for sharing. I like ideas 1 and 3 for a Wally centered story, while number 2 is more about Barry. It would combine well with the "hero's first adventures" theme mentioned earlier. I think I just associate the speed force so much more with Wally than Barry. But overall, I think the Flash has the potential to be really trippy and almost spiritual.
Wouldn't mind that at all. I miss Max.
I don't mind nuwally now that the original is back, but I don't think he's earned his place in the Flash legacy yet. He hasn't been in any definitive stories, and his creation & origin are rooted in bad and transparent editorial decisions, rather than some organic need for the character.
Legacy is a core theme of the Flash, so an All Star Title should be Multi-generational. Start with Jay, go to Barry, then Wally, then end with Bart
To figure out an approach to All-Star Flash, we have to figure out what defined the other two All-Star books (not counting the upcoming All-Star Batman, which while a book I'm immensely looking forward to, isn't really connected to the brand that the other two were under aside from trading on the reputation of the Superman book), even if not by design. Along with major creators and 'classic' takes - so definitely Barry for this - there's one element that unified the early-days Batman story and Superman's last: they're both major points of ascendance for those characters, where they move to the state that defines them in the public consciousness. Batman goes from a crazed, murdering lunatic to one half of Batman and Robin, a superhero building a family to replace the one he lost. Superman goes from the Silver Age lonely alien with some psychological stuff going on (his frankly kinda twisted relationship with Lois in that book, his jealousy and loss and sense of inadequacy and identity issues, everything that's brought to the surface by the black Kryptonite) to the shining savior sun deity that makes people better just by existing and defined how the superhero works in our own world. They aren't character pieces, but the iconic nature of each story is rooted in moving the central characters to an even more iconic point.
So with Flash, my take on the moment of ascendance would be from ultimate superhero fanboy to platonic DC superhero, period. His first Multiverse adventure with Wally that would lead to him meeting his childhood hero, Jay Garrick, and getting embroiled in a bigger, weirder adventure across time and dimensions that would lead to him touching the face of the speed force for the first time - and for him, the last, although for a second he understands that he's going to pass the Flash name, which he understands now is something much bigger and more important than he ever thought, to his best friend, who'll go faster and do better than he ever has just like he did with his hero.
Buh-bye
That's a really poignant analysis of the "All-Star" brand, and I like the way you've outlined it for Barry. How would you represent those themes in a plot that doesn't necessarily re-tread stories already told? Particularly COIE. The rest of that is fairly ripe for retelling or new stories altogether with the same plot points.