The Flash #50 Preview / Discussion (Spoilers)

[Elmo]

Hey I like Barry and am not some rabid Wally fan, but come on. Barry did screw up everything Wally had in life when he went back in time. That is just a cold hard fact. Before Flashpoint Wally was a happy married father or two, and Barry screwed that all up. Even if it was Doctor Manhattan altering things it was Barry that set the whole thing in motion.

Wally should have some severe negative feelings about Barry now. Maybe not hate, but he should not want to be around him for a very long time while he process it all. Yeah Barry didn't mean to wreck Wallys life, but that doesn't change the fact that he did.

Eobard Thawne is the one to blame not Barry. He is the one who altered history and Barry was simply trying to put things back together

[Lee]

Remember, it's all in fun!

[Sam]

No but it leaves Wally in a place where he's less relevant. Not being the main Flash or The Fastest. I get where you're coming from but to many Wally fans, myself included him being the fastest is the only thing he has going for him right now. I really envy Flash fans who can love both of them equally I really do.

I'm a Wally fan. I prefer him to Barry, but I do like Barry too. And frankly, if all people think Wally has going for him is the title of fastest man alive, then...well, I think that's an incredibly shallow way of looking at things. And I certainly don't envy that way of thinking.

Except being fastest was the only thing Wally had whereas Barry has: Justice League, the bimonthly series, guest appearences, movies, TV, games....do i need to go on?

He shouldn't have written this if he was going to back out. It doesn't make any storytelling sense.

Oh, please. Wally has plenty going on. He was just the center of the largest Flash storyline in years and he's about to be a main character in a huge event comic. He is also, since it seems to matter so much to you, the current fastest man alive. Would more exposure be great? Yes. But declaring this fairly meaningless title to be all Wally has is ridiculous. And it certainly isn't a reason to be complaining or raising people's hackles.

[BatmanJones]

If this really does lead to a Crisis level, um, "Crisis," I'm going to have to say that no, Bleeding Cool isn't a site that throws stuff at the wall to see what sticks, no they don't make stuff up, no they don't run poorly sourced stuff, no they aren't mostly wrong, no they aren't often wrong, no they really are very rarely wrong at ALL. BC reported Heroes in Crisis and a "Crisis" kind of "Crisis" and everyone had their fun when Didio and Lee said there was nothing to it but of course they'd say that and then came news of Heroes in Crisis and now comes the end of Flash 50, which together really make it seem like Didio and Lee were just lying and that BC had it right all along.

I've never seen such a blatant "a Crisis is a'coming" page in ever. If one really is, it's time for people to give BC respect. It's well past time already actually.

[FlashEarthOne]

Was he though? It seems like every step-forward or ending inspirational speech with his Barry leads to a step back in subsequent arcs.

Honestly up until that end part of the interview I was wondering to myself "why is Williamson writing Barry as the main character of this book again?" Because being an inspiration just makes him seem as relevant as when he was dead.

That is exactly what I'm saying. Barry as of right now has not been written as competent and every for every step he takes forward he takes another step back in the following arc. Barry was basically relegated to a cheerleader in Flash #50. Being an inspiration is NOT all that Barry about. If they continue to do that they are just using Barry to prop up all the other characters of the Mark Waid era.

Except being fastest was the only thing Wally had whereas Barry has: Justice League, the bimonthly series, guest appearences, movies, TV, games....do i need to go on?

He shouldn't have written this if he was going to back out. It doesn't make any storytelling sense.

He isn't backing out. It is the first part of this story arc... and we don't even know where it is going. As of right now... Williamson wrote a story that propped up Wally at Barry's expense.

[Rend20]

As of right now... Williamson wrote a story that propped up Wally at Barry's expense.

To be fair, the entire last arc had Wally being called the False Flash, the Pretender, and a rookie while being told Barry was the Real Flash. That sentiment was even given weight as Barry was ultimately the one that got to save the day by defeating Grodd as "he was the only one who could do it".

I'm still of the opinion they never should have given a clear answer about who is faster, but after the last arc, I do think Wally needed to be given something.

[BooCoo]

Well.that's just not true at all.

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Honestly, you can put "blah, blah, blah" after any one line, it won't make it less true. It's specially contradictory complaining about the complaints from Wally's fanbase when the fact that Barry not being the sole focus and/or the sole "winner"/ Flash supreme for one story arc brings such a reaction out of you.

Funny, I didn't say any of that. In any case, I'll try again...I like both and their relationship. And having read these same complaints for a long time, yeah, it's blah blah. We get it already. So much can be done with the speedforce that isn't utilized. And I have a suspicion that this "Sage Force" and "Strength Force" are just aspects of the Speedforce, like individual colors from a light spectrum. That being said we don't need Flash Lanterns. Or any more lame "running around things". Does every Flash from the 25th century have to have red eyes? Must be an albino gene tied to Flashes in the future.

[BooCoo]

To be fair, the entire last arc had Wally being called the False Flash, the Pretender, and a rookie while being told Barry was the Real Flash. That sentiment was even given weight as Barry was ultimately the one that got to save the day by defeating Grodd as "he was the only one who could do it".

I'm still of the opinion they never should have given a clear answer about who is faster, but after the last arc, I do think Wally needed to be given something.

What's odd is that if you read it out to the end they make this 'fastest' thing fluid...as Barry says he wants to get faster again. And considering Godspeed, Thawne, and Solomon were faster I'm not even sure of the significance (a microsecond?)

[FlashEarthOne]

I'm still of the opinion they never should have given a clear answer about who is faster, but after the last arc, I do think Wally needed to be given something.

Given something? Absolutely... making him the "Fastest" I disagree with. If that is the case... Just make Wally the central character of the book because that is what Williamson may want. If this all leads to Barry establishing a stronger connection to the Speed Force and being faster or equal to Wally... then I'm all for it. We shall see... I still really disliked Flash #50. Barry isn't simply the inspiration for all speedsters. He should be displayed as super talented with his abilities as well. Williamson has yet to do that.

Funny, I didn't say any of that. In any case, I'll try again...I like both and their relationship. And having read these same complaints for a long time, yeah, it's blah blah. We get it already. So much can be done with the speedforce that isn't utilized. And I have a suspicion that this "Sage Force" and "Strength Force" are just aspects of the Speedforce, like individual colors from a light spectrum. That being said we don't need Flash Lanterns. Or any more lame "running around things". Does every Flash from the 25th century have to have red eyes? Must be an albino gene tied to Flashes in the future.

These forces are ridiculous and their inclusion only further prevents this from being a "great" issue or arc. This issue does show me that writers can't do TWO Flashes (Jay doesn't count for reasons that don't need to be explained) justice. In the Waid era there was a clear speed hierarchy.

[Mataza]

Really liked the issue, i didnt mind the forces but it really felt like it was out of some power ranger rip off show. Doesnt Wally have a connection to the still force tho? isnt that what was implied during the titans when he could basically stop time?

[TheSupernaut]

Really liked the issue, i didnt mind the forces but it really felt like it was out of some power ranger rip off show. Doesnt Wally have a connection to the still force tho? isnt that what was implied during the titans when he could basically stop time?

I was wondering about that myself too.

[HeroVladimir93]

Ok, I have to ask: does the Flash creative team secretly hate Barry and want Wally to be the main Flash again? If they love Wally so much, why not give him his own book instead of using Barry's book to prop him up? Flash War just reeks of deconstructing Barry just to make look Wally better by comparison. Sometimes, I entertain the feeling that the creative team wants to kill Barry and make Wally the main Flash but the DC and Warner leadership prevents them from doing so because Warner has a financial stake on the character, what with his TV show and an upcoming movie, so they can't kill him lest they risk alienating potential readers who might want to pick up the comic books after watching the Flash on TV and movies. Barry is the hero who kickstarted the Silver Age and saved the world during the Crisis. He deserves better.

[Grandmaster_J]

Ok, I have to ask: does the Flash creative team secretly hate Barry and want Wally to be the main Flash again? If they love Wally so much, why not give him his own book instead of using Barry's book to prop him up? Flash War just reeks of deconstructing Barry just to make look Wally better by comparison. Sometimes, I entertain the feeling that the creative team wants to kill Barry and make Wally the main Flash but the DC and Warner leadership prevents them from doing so because Warner has a financial stake on the character, what with his TV show and an upcoming movie, so they can't kill him lest they risk alienating potential readers who might want to pick up the comic books after watching the Flash on TV and movies. Barry is the hero who kickstarted the Silver Age and saved the world during the Crisis. He deserves better.

I didn't get that feeling one bit. Up until the very end, they had Wally making very foolish decisions and easily manipulated by long time enemy in, Zolomon. Made perfect sense to have Wally ultimately stop it so Barry not saving the day on this one arc wasn't really a big deal nor is not the end of the world. The book is still gonna continue on with him at the forefront. Williamson has talked about being a big Barry fan. No way he won't get he's.

[BooCoo]

Given something? Absolutely... making him the "Fastest" I disagree with. If that is the case... Just make Wally the central character of the book because that is what Williamson may want. If this all leads to Barry establishing a stronger connection to the Speed Force and being faster or equal to Wally... then I'm all for it. We shall see... I still really disliked Flash #50. Barry isn't simply the inspiration for all speedsters. He should be displayed as super talented with his abilities as well. Williamson has yet to do that.



These forces are ridiculous and their inclusion only further prevents this from being a "great" issue or arc. This issue does show me that writers can't do TWO Flashes (Jay doesn't count for reasons that don't need to be explained) justice. In the Waid era there was a clear speed hierarchy.

Yeah, I was totallly "meh" with the whole forces thing. Williamson is overthinking the mythos at this point. Barry's intelligence ranks up there with the best of them, yet in group settings (JL) he's always shown as a middleweight that's more of a specialist than a true contributor. If he's really sticking to the mythos as he often says, why is he reconstructing everything? Expand on it, don't go backwards. The whole series has been used to create more and more dime a dozen speedsters and assuming the original group returns we'll have a complete glut of people "running around things fast." This is the Peter Parker syndrome Spiderman fans suffered with. Spider people everywhere, everyone was 'better' than Peter, stronger, more spidery, whatever. But he too "inspires" throught the responsibility bit. At least he kept most of his powers. Barry loses his every ten minutes. Or he loses speed. Say what you will about Manapaul he went into some fresh uncharted territory with the speedforce. This is 2018 not 1958.

[TheSupernaut]

Yeah, I was totallly "meh" with the whole forces thing. Williamson is overthinking the mythos at this point. Barry's intelligence ranks up there with the best of them, yet in group settings (JL) he's always shown as a middleweight that's more of a specialist than a true contributor. If he's really sticking to the mythos as he often says, why is he reconstructing everything? Expand on it, don't go backwards. The whole series has been used to create more and more dime a dozen speedsters and assuming the original group returns we'll have a complete glut of people "running around things fast." This is the Peter Parker syndrome Spiderman fans suffered with. Spider people everywhere, everyone was 'better' than Peter, stronger, more spidery, whatever. But he too "inspires" throught the responsibility bit. At least he kept most of his powers. Barry loses his every ten minutes. Or he loses speed. Say what you will about Manapaul he went into some fresh uncharted territory with the speedforce. This is 2018 not 1958.

I always felt like Manupals run could have been better if he and Brian weren't hampered by editorial mandates at the time. I felt like the new powers they gave Barry was a really good way to distinguish from the new powers Waid gave Wally in the 90s. That's another thing I'd like from the Flash family going forward is for them to all have unique abilities.