Ok, this is a real derailment, but just to clear things up:
Yes, Diane was brought in as Didio and Lee's boss (In fact, technically, it was her that promoted them both, even though truth is obviously more complicated). That is correct. However, this was almost 2 years before the New52. Neither Nelson's nor Jeff Robinov's (who she reported to at the time) position probably had anything to do with Vertigo or WildStorm. Whatever the deal with WS was, Jim Lee was probably in on the decision. As for Vertigo, Dan Didio had been fighting with Karen Berger for control of those properties for years before this whole shebang. It's said - but not confirmed - that Levitz shielded Karen from a lot of corporate shit. Which checks out, because once Levitz fell, Berger fell too.
So neither Vertigo nor WS mergers with DC seem to be forced top to bottom.
As ofor the Flash, which is the theme of the thread, yes, it's quite possible that the "streamlining" come from up-top, eager to make a movie without having to explain anyone else, etc, or it may have come from Johns himself, who was then CCOP and had as part of his job to "sell" these characters to the execs as viable cross-media properties. Regardless of the motive or of who's to blame, though, Flash: Rebirth is indeed the moment where everyone else goes to shit.
ConnEr Kent flies. ConnOr Hawke has a bow. Batman's kid is named DamiAn.
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"The Batman is Gotham City. I will watch him. Study him. And when I know him and why he does not kill, I will know this city. And then Gotham will be MINE!"-BANE
"We're monsters, buddy. Plain and simple. I don't dress it up with fancy names like mutant or post-human; men were born crueler than Apes and we were born crueler than men. It's just the natural order of things"-ULTIMATE SABRETOOTH
I mean, I voted yes, because besides Barry, they did all get expunged from canon via Flashpoint. But that was a long time ago. The Flash 'family' now is very different now with different successes and problems that it did in 2011. A lot of those characters that went away with Flashpoint are back, some aren't, there are some new ones. There's a tv show and a movie coming out. Flashpoint probably wasn't entirely worth it per se, in hindsight (maybe it was saleswise?), but it was a decent story on it's own merits.
As far as the actual Flash family goes, I don't envy writers. There are a lot of good characters in there, but writing stories with up to like 7 of them has got to be a task. I was glad when Wally came back. I do like him more than Barry, and I like Barry! But I can see why they went back to basics with the reboot.
Going back to basics was absolutely the right decision in the context of a reboot.
The problem was that they didn't go back to basics with Batman, Green Lantern or Teen Titans. It made for a very lopsided DC Universe, with little forethought put into it. For all the reboots DC has had, they've never had the confidence or commitment to wipe the whole slate clean.
I clicked yes, but the issue began with Barry's return.
There was a very sizable shift in focus from the 'Flash Family' to 'Barry Allen - one and only'.
It started gradually, but once Flashpoint rolled around, it was all over red rover for the Flash Family.
And the book has been mired in mediocrity ever since.
"My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.
ALL OF THIS.
I will add that the dead mom thing actually ruins Barry's death in CoIE for me; it was the one person who, above all else, had no real reason to be there. He had a happy life, grew up reading comics, was even-tempered and overall just wanted to do the right thing. He was you, dear reader. And for all the destroyed planets, murdered parents and so forth, it was the everyman who took one for the team. Pretty powerful stuff. But hey, why be unique when you can join most the JLA in the Orphans club.
If the Flash family was ever ruined, I think it was during Flash: Rebirth, when Barry came back. But I don't know that it was even ruined at all, even now. Sure, it's not in a great place, but that's the thing about comics. Even when things get really obnoxious and just nothing like what you want, the things you like are still not really gone. They're just sadly not on the shelves right now.
"You know the deal, Metropolis. Treat people right or expect a visit from me."
In the run prior to Final Crisis Barry was dead, Bart was dead, Max Mercury was gone and Jesse was Liberty Belle (no longer appearing in The Flash). The online fandom was very vocal about how much they hated Wally's kids and wanted the book to be about him, not his family.
All of this is true.
And a case can be made that the family started to be dismantled by the end of the first Johns run. Interviews from circa 2005/06 had Didio stating many times that after Final Crisis "there would be only one Flash" (I guess this was when he still thought he'd bring Barry back right away), and a policy of "non-redundancy" was being applied across the line: Nightwing was also to be killed, the excuse they given top the creative team for cancelling Cass Batgirl book was to avoid redundancy with the then imminent Batwoman book (heh) and so on.
However, most everything done during that period of time was easily fixable: Bart coming back, maybe Max, Jesse regaining her powers, could all be handwaved (and it actually was, later on Flash: Rebirth). Those characters were in limbo, sure, and they were there already by mandate, but all you had to do was lift said mandates and everything could be fine and dandy.
Flash Rebirth, OTOH, created a status quo that had all these characters existing, but smaller and less important than they ever were. And it also mandated some of them to oblivion again, or at least, out of Barry's way.
ConnEr Kent flies. ConnOr Hawke has a bow. Batman's kid is named DamiAn.
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I think Flashpoint ruined a whole lot more than just the Flash family. They'll be dealing with the damage done by that for many years IMO.
With absolutely no interaction among themselves, aside from Blackest Night, a Bart focused issue on Road to Flashpoint and that horrible, horrible intervention issue. Further, beside Wally being sideline, we've never saw either Iris Impulse or Max again doing anything, really.
Which is exactly the problem being discussed here, no?Flash: Rebirth was, and still is, the biggest Flash Family story Geoff Johns has ever written. Biggest multi-speedster team-up since Chain Lightning.
ConnEr Kent flies. ConnOr Hawke has a bow. Batman's kid is named DamiAn.
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Eh 5G wil have Wally disappearance shorter in history. And his own history restored maybe.