Why wasn't Barry Allen effected by his mother's death like Bruce was

[8BitRedBeard]

My bad, I haven't read anything from the early years of The Flash so I assumed incorrectly.

[Flash Gordon]

They're different characters, and Bruce Wayne is struggling with more than just his parents death. He has that Sherlock Holmes thing going on, having dead parents totally plays into that neroutic crime fighting persona of his.

Besides, the Bruce Wayne I've always enjoyed reading about doesn't have a nervous breakdown when you say his mom's name.

[Jim Kelly]

Ira West raised Iris (who herself was a baby from the 30th century)--her brother was a Manhunter. Poor old Ira didn't have such luck with his kids--but being an absent-minded professor, maybe these things got by him.

Barry grew up in the small town of Fallville, raised by Dr. Henry Allen and Nora Allen. His childhood sweetheart was Daphne Dean, who later became an Academy Award winning actress in Hollywood.

It's most likely that Barry was building his comic book collection during all that time he was living with his parents in Fallville, as he had a rather large collection.

This included FLASH COMICS No. 13 (January '41). However, the Earth-One edition of that comic has a variant cover--as shown in SHOWCASE No. 4 (October '56). The Earth-Prime edition (our Earth) has Hawkman on the cover, while Barry's copy has the Flash (Jay Garrick) on the cover.

Barry may have owned at least two copies of that issue, since it was in the police lab, on that night when he was all alone and lightning struck the chemicals that gave him his powers. Such a mess wouldn've surely damaged the comic (which before the accident looks to be in near mint condition), if it wasn't actually destroyed. Yet the next day, Barry holds a copy of FLASH COMICS 13 which is still in pristine condition. I think that Barry was already buying multiple copies of his favourite comics when he was a little boy in Falllville--yet another example of his intelligence and foresight.

[Lightning Rider]

My bad, I haven't read anything from the early years of The Flash so I assumed incorrectly.

No problem! Just sad that people nowadays seem to think that's what defines Barry.

[MajorHoy]

No problem! Just sad that people nowadays seem to think that's what defines Barry.

Blame Geoff Johns . . . I know I do.

[bat39]

Actually, Barry's mother's death is NOT what motivated him to become the Flash. It led him down the path to becoming a forensic scientist, but he was heading down that road anyway (something which is established in-continuity).

In fact, for most of his life, Barry didn't even know that it was the Reverse-Flash who was responsible for Nora's death. Its only once Barry learnt that Thawne was responsible and struck out at Nora because of him, and that there was a timeline where Nora DIDN'T die and he grew up with both parents...that all the angst and guilt and desire to fix things started. And I think that's great because it adds another layer to the Barry-Thawne enmity and puts Barry in a situation that challenges his morality and restraint.

But, the way the retcon was established, Barry didn't spend his entire life angsting over his mother's death and father's incarceration and didn't become the Flash to avenge her death. That's a total misreading of the situation that is sadly quiet common. For most of his life, he was pretty much the same old Barry as in the classic stories (albeit now he had this one 'cold case' of his mother's death and father's wrongful imprisonment that he wanted to solve). Its actually a testament to the character that despite Thawne's efforts to change his past and make his life miserable, Barry still turned out the same way he always had...in fact the tragedy that befell him just motivated him further to prove the innocence of others and find the true guilty party - which was to be his life's mission anyway.

[robcb619]

Trauma effects everyone different but I'd say the difference here is something we can look at BvS batman for is the feeling of "powerlessness". When Barry Allen's mother was murdered the trauma on Barry was great and he was traumatized by the event believe it or not, but he had love from other people in his life. Bruce Wayne had Alfred, but being a rich only child with your only close family member being your butler can make a kid extremely reclusive and stoic. When Bruce Wayne lost his parents, he met the ultimate feeling of powerlessness. Barry Allen doesn't have to deal with that feeling because as The Flash he literally does have the power to change the past. The universe even plays a part in his grieving process through flashpoint. The point there being that if Barry Allen doesn't accept his mothers death the whole universe is drastically changed. So to live on Barry literally has to accept his mothers death, while as batman his whole driving force is rooted from not accepting his parent's deaths. Batman wouldn't be batman if he was able to move on and didn't have a ridiculous money pile to sit on (or spend on vigilante gadgets).

[theoneandonly]

Actually the heroes can't deal with personal loss due to the feelings of guilt and grief any better as Hal pretty much admitted to Bruce while discussing the personal tragedies in their lives as he said that it was no wonder that they were pretty much screwed up to which Batman gave him a typical response saying speak for yourself. Even Barry was obsessed to solving his mother's case himself and didn't accept Bruce's offer to help. In fact he didn't discuss the case with anyone expect Solovar which shows that he was scarred by the experience. So all heroes regardless of the passage of the time are deeply affected by personal loss especially that caused by violence to the extent that they rarely discuss it and try to repress the memories by compartmentalizing the pain in a corner of their minds as without that they would not be able to get on with their lives.

[robcb619]

I think you mean people can't deal with personal loss. It's just a human thing. Trauma affects people different ways depending on their situation. Just look at how they're brought up and their surroundings as a child. Bruce was alone in a mansion before age 10. That's got to have a deeper effect than most deaths.

[Lee Stone]

People do grieve differently, but time has a way of healing.
Because life goes on all around us and you get sucked back into it.
You never forget.
But life keeps you living.

Bruce may still grieve.
And he may not have had a support group when he was a kid.
But he's surrounded by people now. Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Jim, Tim, Damian, Clark, Diana, Jason...
I would imagine that he'd be in a different place now. The memory of the event would be something he can't escape and he would have moments where he'd miss his parents. But I'd imagine that he's in a much better place than someone like, say, Frank Castle. Simply because he's gained a new family over the years.

For Bruce to remain a grim and battered person, it's a bit hard to believe considering his position at Wayne Foundation, which would put him in contact with people every day and he'd inevitability form work relationships with at least one person. And social functions.
And then taking in Dick, Tim and Jason, having relations with Talia and having a son in Damian.
Not to mention any other romantic relationships.
The Bruce after all of that would be a more stable person, one would think.
Someone who may have a moment of weakness during holidays or special occasions, and would probably need a nudge from someone like Scarecrow to really succumb to despair.
He faced his fears the first time he punched a criminal that carried a gun. And has done so repeatedly.
And, as some writers like to portray him, he's better at it than most superpowered individuals.

To remain grim and brooding, you'd have to strip away pretty much all of that.

[Jim Kelly]

I don't think the tragedies that Bruce and Barry experienced actually define them. Being deprived of one or both parents probably had more impact--in that they didn't get that support that comes from a mother or a father. Surrogate parents might fill that role, but it's not the same thing.

However, I think Bruce and Barry would still have been heroes, even without those incidents. We know this for a fact with Barry. And Bruce was already on the road to being a heroic person before the murder of his parents. I mean, if you accept the Waynes as the good people they were and not retcons that try to make them sinister. Bruce had an example of public service from his parents and probably like Prince William and Prince Harry he would have given back to his commnuity, perhaps by doing military service or by becoming a doctor or a public defender. Or he might have become a costumed crimefighter--however one that does more work during the daytime when most crimes are actually committed.

Superman was far more impacted by the death of his biological parents, because he ended up on a completely different planet. If that hadn't happened, Kal-El would be on Krypton, a member of the Science Council and the Green Lantern for his space sector.

[TRS80]

Apparently, Geoff Johns kills your parents to make you interesting.

[bat39]

People do grieve differently, but time has a way of healing.
Because life goes on all around us and you get sucked back into it.
You never forget.
But life keeps you living.

Bruce may still grieve.
And he may not have had a support group when he was a kid.
But he's surrounded by people now. Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Jim, Tim, Damian, Clark, Diana, Jason...
I would imagine that he'd be in a different place now. The memory of the event would be something he can't escape and he would have moments where he'd miss his parents. But I'd imagine that he's in a much better place than someone like, say, Frank Castle. Simply because he's gained a new family over the years.

For Bruce to remain a grim and battered person, it's a bit hard to believe considering his position at Wayne Foundation, which would put him in contact with people every day and he'd inevitability form work relationships with at least one person. And social functions.
And then taking in Dick, Tim and Jason, having relations with Talia and having a son in Damian.
Not to mention any other romantic relationships.
The Bruce after all of that would be a more stable person, one would think.
Someone who may have a moment of weakness during holidays or special occasions, and would probably need a nudge from someone like Scarecrow to really succumb to despair.
He faced his fears the first time he punched a criminal that carried a gun. And has done so repeatedly.
And, as some writers like to portray him, he's better at it than most superpowered individuals.

To remain grim and brooding, you'd have to strip away pretty much all of that.

Agreed.

I've never really been a fan of the idea that Bruce has NEVER gotten over his parents death and its what drives him to put on that cowl every night. True, his parent's death will always haunt him on some level, but its not like he's still suffering PTSD over that.

Batman still brooding in the present-day has more to do with him realizing on some level the futility of his mission over the years, not to mention the other tragedies he's suffered such as Jason's death and Barbara's shooting. Spending night after night on the streets of Gotham fighting everyone from muggers to Mob bosses to the Joker (not to mention fighting alien invasions alongside the Justice League) takes a physical and psychological toll and I can understand that leaving Bruce still a bit messed up in the head.

Whereas if you consider Barry, his mother's death was never his direct motivation to become the Flash anyway. And as the Flash, Barry has had a relatively less psychologically taxing career than Bruce as Batman. So that contributes to the characters' having radically different outlooks on life.

[Jim Kelly]

I take it that Bruce Wayne is an existentialist like the title character in George F. Walker's play, ZASTROZZI, THE MASTER OF DISCIPLINE. Set on revenge, Zastrozzi knows that life is meaningless but we must each create a meaning for our life anyway, otherwise we wouldn't be able to go on. Bruce has fabricated this mission as Batman and that's what keeps him sane, it gives him something to do.

[Unfinishedsentenc]

I think they're both pretty traumatized by it, in their own separate ways.