Comparing and Contrasting Barry Allen & Wally West's Personalities

[Buried Alien]

Barry is the more obvious nerd...not only his fascination with science, but he was the ultimate comics fanboy/collector, with a meticulously organized collection that made you sometimes wonder if he had OCD.

Wally idolized the Flash (Barry), but never came across a particularly nerdy or geeky. I don't think Wally collected comics, and could be sloppy (especially in the pre-Waid era) in a way that Barry wouldn't be comfortable with.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[victorsage]

During the late-Cold War 1980s, Marv Wolfman sometimes characterized Wally as vocally distrustful of anybody who might harbor Communist leanings. That portrayal never rang true for me: Wally doesn't strike me as somebody who would hate on others for ideological differences.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

There are ideological differences, and then there is someone who would support the Soviet Union. That's two different things IMO, alike with someone who may have nothing against Russia compared to someone who's working for Putin directly.

Just my two cents, and that is what it's worth.

[Buried Alien]

I

You know, Bogotazo, I think you likely put some thought into your selection of the images for Barry and Wally. Barry is seen in his laboratory, wearing his lab coat, and doing his thing as Central City Police Department CSI. That's the way I think Barry sees himself: a police scientist who puts on the Flash costume to help people and bust bad guys, but ultimately, a police scientist. Wally, on the other hand, is seen in the Flash costume (albeit with the cowl off): Wally sees himself as a superhero full time, and a natural extension of his personal life.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[FlashEarthOne]

In terms of powers, traditionally, here's how it broke down (Pre-FLASHPOINT):

Barry Allen

1. Mastery of molecular vibration (allowing him to easily traverse the Multiverse)

2. Time-travel (yeah, I know it's become a bit of a joke lately due to the fallout created whenever Barry has time traveled since FLASHPOINT, in the comics, the live-action show, AND in animation, but Pre-FLASHPOINT, Barry was a master time-traveler)

Wally West

Wally was traditionally averse to both molecular vibration (Wally was never quite comfortable with this, and tended to blow things up when he vibrated through them) and time travel (Wally could do it, but never liked to), but he had some abilities that Barry had never imagined during his lifetime:

1. Lending/stealing speed.

2. Mainlining Speed Force, enabling Wally to attain speeds beyond what Barry, Jay, etc., were able to reach.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

There was no Speed Force before Barry died. After he returned Wally was never shown to attain speeds that Barry couldn't reach. Final Crisis... they both fast forwarded into the time stream. Flash Rebirth... he entered and exited the Speed Force. We can't use the whole trillion times the speed of light example because in the very same book it is stated that it was done, "just under the speed of light." Plus... the return of the Negative Speed Force likely means another incarnation of the Barry is "the source of the Speed Force." Hopefully they just retcon it into him having created the Speed Force and being some sort of Speed Force avatar or something.

[FlashEarthOne]

On mentorship thing, I would give the credit to Jay and Max as far as Bart and Jesse are concerned. Wally can be helpful, but he's simply not a teacher type. That's mostly because of his temper though.

Max's presence also relieved him of the pressure of needing to have those duties.

[gwangung]

Barry is the more obvious nerd...not only his fascination with science, but he was the ultimate comics fanboy/collector, with a meticulously organized collection that made you sometimes wonder if he had OCD.

So, boring, right?

Wally idolized the Flash (Barry), but never came across a particularly nerdy or geeky. I don't think Wally collected comics, and could be sloppy (especially in the pre-Waid era) in a way that Barry wouldn't be comfortable with.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

If he was a nerd of anything, it'd be of media work...and, yes, not nearly as methodical as Barry....

[Jim Kelly]

I think, in the rush to give Barry some unique qualities among his peers in the JLA, the nerd thing has been retconned a little too hard onto Barry. Barry could be like my high school friend Howard Gee. Howard read much more science fiction than me, he was a top A student, but he was also a superb athlete and all the girls liked him. You couldn't hate Howard for all his success--he was just such a nice guy. Hardly boring.

The character that John Broome created was a fellow who had lots of friends, who attracted many women, yet was loyal and true to his closest friends and loved Iris forever.

As far as Barry being conservative--again that's something that's been used in hindsight to contrast him with Hal or Ollie. I'd guess that Barry was a progressive. He seems to fit in with people from all walks of life. As a cop, he'd have to deal with all sorts. And travelling into the future so many times must have educated him on social issues that people in the present hadn't faced up to.

In the breakthrough Gardner Fox story, "Man Thy Name is Brother," it's the Flash who wants to help a young African-American get a job and fight against bigotry, in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA No. 57 (November '67). It's noteworthy that Fox limited the role call to just Flash, Hawkman and Green Arrow--plus Snapper Carr--giving those characters a chance to shine, before these kind of relevant stories had come into fashion.

[FlashEarthOne]

I think, in the rush to give Barry some unique qualities among his peers in the JLA, the nerd thing has been retconned a little too hard onto Barry. Barry could be like my high school friend Howard Gee. Howard read much more science fiction than me, he was a top A student, but he was also a superb athlete and all the girls liked him. You couldn't hate Howard for all his success--he was just such a nice guy. Hardly boring.

I do agree that some people want the "nerd" factor played up a little too much... otherwise they will say, "he is too much like Wally." "Boring" and "just like Wally" are now two of the more common catchphrases used by the more zealous Wally fans. The only people who call him "boring" are the Wally zealots who are throwing tantrums and have nothing of substance to say. You'd think Barry was their archenemy or something... which shows the level of thought they put into what they say. The Flash show is successful. The very same posters who say that Gustin's Barry Allen is being played just like Wally will say the same about Miller's Barry Allen... even though they are nothing alike. You can even predict the posters who will do it. They do it with the comics, the animated movies, the show and eventually in the DCEU. That way THEIR Flash is always the bestest! The sad part is that I'm not exagerrating at all.

I want to stress that I am definitely NOT talking about all Wally fans. I'm talking about the select few who can only say, "Barry is boring" over and over. Even worse are the ones who insist that Barry in all media is being written just like Wally. Clearly inferring that Barry's character is only being successful because he is being written like Wally... which is ridiculous. It is actually a very childish way of thinking. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just pointing out how people are acting. There is no denying it.

[Troian]

As far as Barry's personality in outside media goes, I liked his portrayal in JL War.

[Robotman]

There are ideological differences, and then there is someone who would support the Soviet Union. That's two different things IMO, alike with someone who may have nothing against Russia compared to someone who's working for Putin directly.

Just my two cents, and that is what it's worth.

Yeah but Wally was written as kind of a jerk overall in NTT. There were a few times that he snapped at the other Titans.

Also his hatred of "Commies" was pretty extreme. He spoke about Russians in general like someone's pissed off drunk uncle. Definitely my least favorite version of Wally.

[Troian]

Also his hatred of "Commies" was pretty extreme

Are we really surprised though that a character who probably wouldn't say this would be projected with those views given America's history with communism? I never liked that version though either.

[ironman2978]

I do agree that some people want the "nerd" factor played up a little too much... otherwise they will say, "he is too much like Wally." "Boring" and "just like Wally" are now two of the more common catchphrases used by the more zealous Wally fans. The only people who call him "boring" are the Wally zealots who are throwing tantrums and have nothing of substance to say. You'd think Barry was their archenemy or something... which shows the level of thought they put into what they say. The Flash show is successful. The very same posters who say that Gustin's Barry Allen is being played just like Wally will say the same about Miller's Barry Allen... even though they are nothing alike. You can even predict the posters who will do it. They do it with the comics, the animated movies, the show and eventually in the DCEU. That way THEIR Flash is always the bestest! The sad part is that I'm not exagerrating at all.

I want to stress that I am definitely NOT talking about all Wally fans. I'm talking about the select few who can only say, "Barry is boring" over and over. Even worse are the ones who insist that Barry in all media is being written just like Wally. Clearly inferring that Barry's character is only being successful because he is being written like Wally... which is ridiculous. It is actually a very childish way of thinking. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just pointing out how people are acting. There is no denying it.

So much truth in this post!

[Grim Ghost]

NTT portrayal of Wally was terrible, but to be fair he didn't have much of a personality before that so anything was fair game. To his credit even though I didn't enjoy his run much Mike Baron did take some aspects of that when the new Flash series launched. Wally was selfish and a bit of a dick written by Baron and Messner Loebs continued that. But Wally did a lot of growing up during the Messner Loebs run as well. It's actually one of the few times I've seen a character reallly grow in a mainstream comic book.

[FlashEarthOne]

As far as Barry's personality in outside media goes, I liked his portrayal in JL War.

I agree and I think it is an extension of his classic comics personality... as was his portrayal in Young Justice. I have the feeling that that will be how Miller plays him... although with a bit of Bart's hyperactivity.

[FlashEarthOne]

NTT portrayal of Wally was terrible, but to be fair he didn't have much of a personality before that so anything was fair game. To his credit even though I didn't enjoy his run much Mike Baron did take some aspects of that when the new Flash series launched. Wally was selfish and a bit of a dick written by Baron and Messner Loebs continued that. But Wally did a lot of growing up during the Messner Loebs run as well. It's actually one of the few times I've seen a character reallly grow in a mainstream comic book.

Wally has had many varying versions according to his writers. He has benefited from writers with extended runs who cared and allowed him to grow past his Silver Age personality. It has taken awhile but Barry MAY finally have this with Williamson. I think he may be overplaying the "nice guy" a bit too much. Barry fans aren't united. Some want his Silver age personality while others want a more modern reinvention. Time will tell. Manapul and Venditti clearly weren't the guys with the skill to give Barry his modern reinvention... and they were allowed to be on the book for almost five years. That was too long for either of them and you can only blame DC editorial for that. The animated movies and YJ did a better job with Barry. What the hell were Venditti and Van Jensen doing on the book? They did nothing for Barry at all. I want to stress again that Barry and Wally in costume have more similarities than differences. You only see their differences more in their own books or in smaller team ups. In the JL books they often don't get enough panel time to truly see their different personalities because they are in costume 90% of the time.