DC May Be Dumping a Scarlet Speedster (& It’s Good News for The Flash)

[[{“value”:”

The Flash is a mantle that’s been given to several heroes in the DC Universe, but it’s perhaps most associated with Barry Allen. Known as the Fastest Man Alive in the Silver Age and Bronze Age, Barry was also The Flash in the live-action TV shows and movies featuring the character. However, the comics eventually replaced him with Wally West, which they seem insistent on doing again.

Barry Allen is no longer a speedster in the comics, with Wally West having been the “one true Flash” again for a few years. Thus, the Scarlet Speedster appearing in DC’s titles is Wally, and that’s also the case with a notable new alternate universe. Add in the continued controversy surrounding Barry’s return, and his time in the sun might be over for a generation of comic book readers.

Barry Allen Is No Longer the Fastest Man Alive

DC’s Most Notable Flash Has Been Replaced Again

Following the Absolute Power storyline by DC Comics, Barry Allen no longer possesses his superhuman powers and connection to the Speed Force. For the past few years, he’s already been sharing the mantle of The Flash with his nephew and original protégé, Wally West.

The change is definitely sticking, as Wally will be The Flash in the main title and the Justice League Unlimited book, and even cutesy spinoff titles reflect this status quo. For instance, the DC Universe Infinite comic book Taste of Justice, a spinoff tying into the Food Network of all things, has Barry powerless and baking cookies with his wife, Iris. Meanwhile, Wally is the one in the Flash costume, and the story seems to almost go out of its way to note this.

This isn’t the first time Wally has replaced Barry, and for many readers, it’s how things are supposed to be in the DC Universe. Wally West replaced Barry Allen as The Flash following Barry’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, with Wally having previously been his sidekick, Kid Flash. For the next few decades, Wally was the main Flash, and it wasn’t until Barry was revived in Final Crisis that this was changed.

After the New 52 (which was, at the time, believed to be caused by Barry’s actions in Flashpoint), DC history was changed, with Wally and the Flash Family erased and Barry as the only Flash. However, after the fan outcry and the restorative nature of DC Rebirth, history has changed to what it once was. Since the end of Joshua Williamson’s The Flash run, Barry has been decreasingly used, with fan-favorite Wally taking over again. With his mentor now powerless, Wally’s second reign as the Fastest Man Alive seems to be becoming a gospel.

Wally West Has the Best Stories of Any Flash

Barry Allen’s Return Hasn’t Been Perfect

While Barry Allen might be the “go-to” Flash from a historical and modern perspective, this isn’t necessarily the case regarding quality storytelling. Wally West has beaten Barry with ease when it comes to must-read stories and runs on The Flash.

Writers such as William Messner-Loebs, Mike Baron, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams and others cemented Wally as the definitive version of The Flash through a litany of great comics. Unlike many comic book superheroes, he actually grew and developed. People think of these stories and runs when it comes to great eras in DC Comics, and new central concepts such as the Speed Force and other narrative elements all came about when Wally was the man under the red cowl.

Barry Allen, however, has only three major and iconic stories: “The Flash of Two Worlds,” “The Trial of The Flash,” and Flashpoint. The latter is the only modern story that the hero is known for, and even in the case of the first story, it’s mostly known for the historical aspect of introducing the multiverse. Barry Allen’s return to comics was very controversial, especially when it resulted in the New 52 that erased the history of Wally West.

Worst of all, there hasn’t been much to show for it, with Barry still having little in the way of definitive stories or a defined personality. He went from a fairly bland and blasé Silver Age character to essentially more of the same, albeit now with occasional moping due to the inclusion of a “dead mom” retconned origin. Fans demanded to see the real Wally West in the contentious New 52, and Barry’s stories didn’t justify his taking the mantle back from his protégé.

The Jeremy Adams run was the most well-received run on The Flash in years, and it had Wally firmly back in the driver’s seat. This has only furthered the idea that Wally is the true Flash and that Barry has little narrative direction or depth to offer regarding interesting stories. As noted, all the major Flash runs and stories were focused on Wally.

The Golden Age Jay Garrick The Flash comics are considered too primitive by many and haven’t been collected in quite a while, and Bart Allen’s brief time as The Flash was largely disliked, as many felt it was an out-of-character development. Now, Bart is back to being Impulse, with Jay only appearing as The Flash in the Justice Society and related Golden Age titles. Thus, Wally is here to stay as the Fastest Man Alive, and that’s not just the case in the main comic book DC Universe.

Barry Allen’s Future at DC Is Up In the Air

Wally West May Truly Supersede His Mentor

Given that even spinoff titles are showcasing the new status quo, it seems that DC is defiant about Barry Allen not being The Flash anymore. Even Mark Waid, current writer of Justice League Unlimited and previous The Flash scribe, has stated that there might not be room for Barry as a speedster.

Absolute Flash is one of the next Absolute Universe books, and it will have Wally West as the one and only Flash in this alternate timeline. The sense of legacy will be entirely gone, and it will essentially be like the New 52, albeit with Wally in the place of Barry. DC’s new Absolute Universe has been very popular, and Absolute Flash is already looking to be its equivalent to Marvel Comics’ original Ultimate Spider-Man.

Some fans even hypothesize that there might be another reason behind the Absolute Universe take on Wally West. The Absolute Flash book may be a trial run for a version of Wally without Barry as a mentor, creating a template that removes Barry from the equation entirely. This fits the mold of the Absolute Universe, which takes away certain elements of the iconic comic book heroes. At the same time, it could also inform the version of The Flash in the new cinematic DC Universe.

Even if it doesn’t, it’s highly likely that Barry Allen has little to no place in this new shared world of DC adaptations. After all, The CW’s The Flash TV show ended on a particularly low note, with the series featuring Barry Allen as the Fastest Man Alive seen as only being good for three of its nine seasons. It ended in the same year as the release of the controversial The Flash DC Extended Universe movie, which was both a flop and one of the final nails in the coffin for the now-concluded DC movie continuity.

For the most part, Barry Allen’s prominence in other media has been about as memorable as his newer comic books. Likewise, the recently launched Absolute Universe, one of the hottest new things in comics, won’t have Barry Allen at all. Thus, there’s a very strong chance that Wally is The Flash in the new DCU, with Barry, at most, merely mentioned. If that’s the case, the lessening of Barry’s presence in the comics will only continue, with Wally taking center stage like never before.

Some felt he might work best as a multiversal Flash or The Flash in the Justice League, but Wally already takes the latter role. Plus, with Barry not having powers anymore (a status that DC seems to want to keep for a while), it might be best to let him go off into the sunset. For over 10 years, writers have failed to give him much story beyond anything involving Eobard Thawne and his mom’s death. Some even see him as a true relic of the Silver Age, with this dearth of definitive characters reflecting this. If nothing else, he’s been given a clean and heroic “out,” which few comic book heroes are ever afforded. Likewise, unlike many other mantle characters, he’s long since been eclipsed by his far more popular replacement.

“}]] Wally West has once again replaced Barry Allen as the true Flash in the comics, and this may be the future for multiple versions of the DC Universe.  Read More