Comparing and Contrasting Barry Allen & Wally West's Personalities

[Lightning Rider]

Barry's shy? When?

In JLA: Year One I remember him nervously asking Black Canary to see if maybe she could set up a meeting with Jay Garrick for some advice. Among other examples.

[Buried Alien]

In JLA: Year One I remember him nervously asking Black Canary to see if maybe she could set up a meeting with Jay Garrick for some advice. Among other examples.

He was also hesitant to invite Superman to join the Justice League, though he long wanted to.

Additionally, in the first issue OF THE BRAVE & THE BOLD: FLASH AND GREEN LANTERN, Hal invited Barry to a party. Barry reluctantly attended, and sat quietly and people-watched instead of mingled, which Hal mildly chided him for.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[gwangung]

He was also hesitant to invite Superman to join the Justice League, though he long wanted to.

Additionally, in the first issue OF THE BRAVE & THE BOLD: FLASH AND GREEN LANTERN, Hal invited Barry to a party. Barry reluctantly attended, and sat quietly and people-watched instead of mingled, which Hal mildly chided him for.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Suggests that he realizes he's a hero to a lot of people and acts graciously towards them....but in his head, there are a lot more people he thinks as heroes and he looks up to.

In contrast, Wally has grown up with a lot of those heroes and accepts them as peers....but he still looks up to Barry

[Cmbmool]

I remember Wally and Bart having a lot of tension so I think Barry is the better teacher than Wally.

Wasn't that because Bart was just like Wally in terms of attitude and actions ?

[Ascended]

Wasn't that because Bart was just like Wally in terms of attitude and actions ?

Wally was never very patient, but in his defense, who could handle Impulse for more than five minutes without wanting to tear out their hair?

[Buried Alien]

Wally was never very patient, but in his defense, who could handle Impulse for more than five minutes without wanting to tear out their hair?

Barry, probably.

In all fairness to Wally, he'd improved somewhat at this by the time his own kids were born.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Ascended]

Barry, probably.

In all fairness to Wally, he'd improved somewhat at this by the time his own kids were born.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Oh, Saint Barry has enough patience to teach a stone. But in all seriousness, if a young Barry could deal with and train Wally, an older and more experienced Barry could probably handle Bart.

.....although, even Max had his struggles with the kid.....

And Wally was indeed a better teacher with his own kids. Age and experience does wonders. Also, Bart sort of got dropped in his lap whether he wanted it or not, whereas his kids....well, they're his kids.

Of course, given the course they were putting Jai on, Im not entirely sure if we can say that Wally was a great teacher even then. Never cared for that development, but its what is on the page so......

[Buried Alien]

Here's another thing to consider: how Barry and Wally feel about/treat their enemies, especially the Rogues.

Pre-COIE, Barry dealt with the Rogues in the way you'd expect the average superhero would: busted them when they caused trouble, but didn't have any personal animus towards them. When any of them demonstrated a sincere inclination towards reform, Barry would help them towards that path. I remember him helping Mick Rory (Heatwave) to that end in the early 1980s, and I think Barry did that for some of the other Rogues during the 1970s (can't recall any specific instances, though).

When Wally became the Flash, he was more open and accommodating towards befriending reformed Rogues than Barry was. Pied Piper and Trickster were just two Rogues who became Wally's friends after turning over a new leaf, so Wally was quite open-minded and forgiving towards former enemies.

Just before and after Barry returned during FINAL CRISIS, Geoff Johns (and others) retroactively re-characterized Barry as somewhat of a strict hardass on the Rogues, to the extent that they feared him much more than they feared Wally. This characterization rang false to me: while it's true that Barry has a somewhat black-and-white view of morality, his original characterization never made him such an inflexible hardass (the worst mischaracterization of this sort came in CRY FOR JUSTICE, but Barry was hardly the only victim of mischaracterization in that sorry series).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Lightning Rider]

Here's another thing to consider: how Barry and Wally feel about/treat their enemies, especially the Rogues.

Pre-COIE, Barry dealt with the Rogues in the way you'd expect the average superhero would: busted them when they caused trouble, but didn't have any personal animus towards them. When any of them demonstrated a sincere inclination towards reform, Barry would help them towards that path. I remember him helping Mick Rory (Heatwave) to that end in the early 1980s, and I think Barry did that for some of the other Rogues during the 1970s (can't recall any specific instances, though).

When Wally became the Flash, he was more open and accommodating towards befriending reformed Rogues than Barry was. Pied Piper and Trickster were just two Rogues who became Wally's friends after turning over a new leaf, so Wally was quite open-minded and forgiving towards former enemies.

Just before and after Barry returned during FINAL CRISIS, Geoff Johns (and others) retroactively re-characterized Barry as somewhat of a strict hardass on the Rogues, to the extent that they feared him much more than they feared Wally. This characterization rang false to me: while it's true that Barry has a somewhat black-and-white view of morality, his original characterization never made him such an inflexible hardass (the worst mischaracterization of this sort came in CRY FOR JUSTICE, but Barry was hardly the only victim of mischaracterization in that sorry series).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It's funny, in two different runs I distinctly remember the Rogues saying opposite things. In one, they say Wally doesn't let them get away with stuff like Barry did. And in the other, they say Barry is much harder on them.

[Jim Kelly]

Given Wally West was the president of the Flash Fan Club in Blue Valley (and maybe its only member?)--and, upon first meeting his hero, Iris West's nephew learned that his aunt's boyfriend was the Scarlet Speedster and the boy from Blue Valley got super-speed powers and the Teen Tornado was awarded a smaller version of the Flash's uniform--it would have been very poor manners if Kid Flash had rejected Barry's avuncular advice.

FLASH & GREEN LANTERN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD is a pretty good series. I like Barry Kitson's art--and issue 4 has pencils by Tom Grindberg with Kitson inks in fine tribute to Adams/Giordano art for GL/GA. It was co-written by Mark Waid and Tom Peyer, but it is one of those books that I thought overplayed the polar opposites characterization of Barry and Hal. To me--just like Bruce and Clark--these guys should be more alike than different. I'm sure there were distinct differences between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, too, yet given their shared occupation they probably had a lot in common.

That's why I prefer John Broome and Gardner Fox--they make clear the differences between Hal, Barry, Ralph and Ray--but they don't hit you over the head with it.

I should have also mentioned Darwyn Cooke's DC: NEW FRONTIER (2004). It's debatable whether this should be considered a pre-Crisis Earth-One--but it probably comes very close to being that. However, again, I wish that Barry had been a little more well-rounded in that series.

[Assam]

Oh, Saint Barry has enough patience to teach a stone. But in all seriousness, if a young Barry could deal with and train Wally, an older and more experienced Barry could probably handle Bart.

.....although, even Max had his struggles with the kid.....

I've never read Johns's Barry run, but from what I've been told, Barry didn't exactly have a great relationship with Bart.

Wally didn't even try to be a teacher to Bart, the two mostly just getting on each other's nerves. He had a really nice relationship with Jay though.

And of course, Max is best Speedster Dad.

[Buried Alien]

I've never read Johns's Barry run, but from what I've been told, Barry didn't exactly have a great relationship with Bart.

It was mostly one-sided. Barry didn't really know Bart, but was open to getting acquainted. Bart, however, suddenly acquired a disdain for Barry that came out of left field and wasn't in-character at all.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Assam]

It was mostly one-sided. Barry didn't really know Bart, but was open to getting acquainted. Bart, however, suddenly acquired a disdain for Barry that came out of left field and wasn't in-character at all.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Well I can't say I'm surprised. Aside from arguably Legion of 3 Worlds and Kid Flash: Lost, Bart hasn't been written in-character since 2003. I know the "Impulse" series like the back of my hand, and Bart should have been nothing but eager to get to know his grandpa. (Though while I don't remember the details I was told, from what I do remember, Barry didn't exactly handle the situation well and only made it worse.)

[Buried Alien]

Well I can't say I'm surprised. Aside from arguably Legion of 3 Worlds and Kid Flash: Lost, Bart hasn't been written in-character since 2003. I know the "Impulse" series like the back of my hand, and Bart should have been nothing but eager to get to know his grandpa. (Though while I don't remember the details I was told, from what I do remember, Barry didn't exactly handle the situation well and only made it worse.)

Barry went through the entire FLASH: REBIRTH experience like he was in a daze...like he was utterly confused about why he was back from dead and reconnecting to people from his past. I attribute this to the changes that Thawne had been making to his past, but Barry seemed distant and disoriented throughout that series.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Assam]

Barry went through the entire FLASH: REBIRTH experience like he was in a daze...like he was utterly confused about why he was back from dead and reconnecting to people from his past. I attribute this to the changes that Thawne had been making to his past, but Barry seemed distant and disoriented throughout that series.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Huh. Good to know.