Is DC still treating Wally West badly?

[Atlanta96]

I think Atlanta96 won't be satisfied until DC renames itself WALLY WEST COMICS, cancels everything else it's currently publishing, and puts out nothing but 52 monthly titles of WALLY WEST...THE FLASH...THE ONLY AND GREATEST FLASH EVER every month...and each of those titles will feature Wally-Flash beating up and otherwise abusing Duke Thomas.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

LOL if you have zero issue with how Wally is being handled right now, and think any criticism of his current treatment is laughable, then I don't think you actually like this character. At all.

[sakuyamons]

But they're NOT working together, Wally has been excluded from the main Flash book with the exception of 2 issues because DC doesn't care about their relationship. We're not getting Barry and Wally, we're getting lots and lots of Barry and Nu Wally, and original Wally gets the leftover table scraps.

If Barry isn't a threat to Wally's popularity, why does Wally get so few opportunities in every medium? Chances are, they see Wally and his personality as a threat to Barry and keep them far apart as a result.

I think Barry appears more because he is the more known name, Dick gets more animated appareances than Jason, Tim and even Damian because he is the more known Robin. I don't think DC has a hidden agenda against Wally, erasing him was a mistake and I don't know who had the idea, but now he is back and it's hinted he'll be a key because after Superman Reborn, Wally is the only 'external' factor in the Manhattan thing.

[Buried Alien]

LOL if you have zero issue with how Wally is being handled right now, and think any criticism of his current treatment is laughable, then I don't think you actually like this character. At all.

It's more like I long ago reached a point in life where I concluded that, "I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT, EXACTLY THE WAY I WANT IT, RIGHT NOW" is a terrible way to live.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Atlanta96]

I think Barry appears more because he is the more known name, Dick gets more animated appareances than Jason, Tim and even Damian because he is the more known Robin. I don't think DC has a hidden agenda against Wally, erasing him was a mistake and I don't know who had the idea, but now he is back and it's hinted he'll be a key because after Superman Reborn, Wally is the only 'external' factor in the Manhattan thing.

Jesse Quick, Jay Garrick, and Nu Wally West have all appeared on the Flash TV show. Nothing stopped them from using original Wally aside from lack of interest in the character.

Barry Allen appears in a new comic every week. Nu Wally appears in 3 comics a month. You know how many monthly appearances original Wally gets? One. That's 1/3 of Nu Wally's appearances and 1/4 of Barry's. Where is the effort to build up this character? He'll never work as a solo character again if they keep him sidelined like this.

Wally isn't on not on the sidelines because Barry is more popular, or for creative reasons, or because it's good for his decelopment. They Just. Don't. Like. Him.

[sakuyamons]

It's more like I long ago reached a point in life where I concluded that, "I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT, EXACTLY THE WAY I WANT IT, RIGHT NOW" is a terrible way to live.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Just because of curiosity: When Barry died, you expected him to come back? I'm just curious, because my favorite characters are on limbo right now and I'm certain they will re-appear. But I don't know how pre-crisis fans handled it back in the day, were you just 'Barry died! But he'll come back.' or you were like more of 'Oh, he is gone forever! I guess I'll have to get used to Wally as Flash.'

[Atlanta96]

It's more like I long ago reached a point in life where I concluded that, "I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT, EXACTLY THE WAY I WANT IT, RIGHT NOW" is a terrible way to live.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Oh yeah because "I want this character I like to not be treated like sh*t" is such a ridiculous expectation. You seem to have a problem with that when it's applied to Wally.

[Buried Alien]

Just because of curiosity: When Barry died, you expected him to come back?

I did, but primarily because in 1986, it was not yet customary to kill off comic book heroes and keep them dead for YEARS. Sure, there was Bucky (who had died in the 1950s), Gwen Stacy, Larry Lance, Aquaman's son, the Earth-Two Batman, Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix, the original Mr. Terrific, and a few others, but generally, those were exceptions. Moreover, neither DC nor Marvel had ever permanently killed off a hero as high-profile and important to their universes as the Flash before.

But as Wally's solo series went on for one year, two years, three years...it became pretty evident that it was permanent (at least until 2008), just as Dick Grayson's switch from Robin to Nightwing was.

I'm just curious, because my favorite characters are on limbo right now and I'm certain they will re-appear. But I don't know how pre-crisis fans handled it back in the day, were you just 'Barry died! But he'll come back.' or you were like more of 'Oh, he is gone forever! I guess I'll have to get used to Wally as Flash.'

Yeah, my initial assumption at the time was that Barry would be back within a year. When he didn't return as a living character after two or three years, I knew that DC was serious about pursuing Wally as the Post-COIE Flash for an indefinite period of time (which turned out to be twenty years). By the end of the 80s, the expectation (for me, at least) was that Barry might reemerge someday as a supporting character, though even that expectation was fading by the time that Barry finally did return in 2008.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Darknight Detective]

Just because of curiosity: When Barry died, you expected him to come back? I'm just curious, because my favorite characters are on limbo right now and I'm certain they will re-appear. But I don't know how pre-crisis fans handled it back in the day, were you just 'Barry died! But he'll come back.' or you were like more of 'Oh, he is gone forever! I guess I'll have to get used to Wally as Flash.'

We weren't happy with it, but Wally was a fine replacement (almost all Barry fans liked Wally back then) so we were cool with it over time. Personally, I never thought Barry would come back.

[sakuyamons]

Yeah, my initial assumption at the time was that Barry would be back within a year. When he didn't return as a living character after two or three years, I knew that DC was serious about pursuing Wally as the Post-COIE Flash for an indefinite period of time (which turned out to be twenty years). By the end of the 80s, the expectation (for me, at least) was that Barry might reemerge someday as a supporting character, though even that expectation was fading by the time that Barry finally did return in 2008.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

We weren't happy with it, but Wally was a fine replacement (almost all Barry fans liked Wally back then) so we were cool with it over time. Personally, I never thought Barry would come back.

I guess you guys were happy when he finally came back in 2008

[Buried Alien]

I guess you guys were happy when he finally came back in 2008

Yeah, and also a bit STUNNED. I was happy to have him back in almost ANY form, but full reinstatement as the main living Flash was not what I expected. It was like having a winning mega-jackpot lotto ticket just fall into your hands (and considering what happened to Wally and the rest of the speedster cast later, somewhat of an embarrassment of riches).

My favorite FLASH comics have always been ones in which Barry and Wally appeared together...either as Flash and Kid Flash, or as Double Flashes. Somehow, having them both is better than having just one of them (which isn't to suggest either one is deficient without the other).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Darknight Detective]

I guess you guys were happy when he finally came back in 2008

Speaking for myself, yes and no. Yes, because he was my Flash when I was a kid (going back to the Saturday morning cartoons of the late '60s), but I had been a happy reader of Flash stories during the DCU years, too. I just don't have an obsession with any character (even Bruce Wayne) that prohibits me from liking another.

[MajorHoy]

About Barry's death: it was shocking in some ways, but then again, Crisis on Infinite Earths was one of these huge mega-events that HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE in the way it was handled. It literally had long-term MAJOR effects on the entire DC comics line.
When Wally took over for Barry as Flash, it seemed logical / natural, so it was a bit easier to accept.
(We also didn't have the internet back then, so who knows if that would have made a difference.)

[Assam]

I think Atlanta96 won't be satisfied until DC renames itself WALLY WEST COMICS, cancels everything else it's currently publishing, and puts out nothing but 52 monthly titles of WALLY WEST...THE FLASH...THE ONLY AND GREATEST FLASH EVER every month...and each of those titles will feature Wally-Flash beating up and otherwise abusing Duke Thomas.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Ha...ha..BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'm sorry. I actually agree with a good chunk of what Atlanta is saying, not everything, but I found this absolutely hilarious. I laughed for about two minutes straight. Hats off to you sir, not many things can me laugh like this.

[Buried Alien]

About Barry's death: it was shocking in some ways, but then again, Crisis on Infinite Earths was one of these huge mega-events that HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE in the way it was handled. It literally had long-term MAJOR effects on the entire DC comics line.
When Wally took over for Barry as Flash, it seemed logical / natural, so it was a bit easier to accept.
(We also didn't have the internet back then, so who knows if that would have made a difference.)

I remember reading COIE # 7 and reacting, "OMG! THEY KILLED SUPERGIRL!"

I thought that *had* to be the peak of intensity. What else would/could they do to top that?

Then a few weeks later, COIE # 8 hits the stands, and I react, "OMG! THEY KILLED FLASH TOO!"

At that point, I stopped reading CRISIS...not because I didn't like it, but because I was too distracted by my then newfound love for mecha anime (it was a time of ROBOTECH fandom, and I had just discovered MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM too). While I caught the deaths of Kara and Barry, I didn't know about the full on CONTINUITY REBOOT that spun out of COIE # 10 (which I didn't get around to reading until years later). I must say I was awfully confused when I got back into the DCU a few years later when Robin (Jason Todd) was killed.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Buried Alien]

Ha...ha..BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'm sorry. I actually agree with a good chunk of what Atlanta is saying, not everything, but I found this absolutely hilarious. I laughed for about two minutes straight. Hats off to you sir, not many things can me laugh like this.

For us comic fans, it's often better that we DON'T get everything we want. If we did, the results would probably be catastrophic.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)