[MOVIE FEATURE] An Upcoming Flash Story Has the Perfect Blueprint For James Gunn’s DCU

While there are several elements and characters that have been confirmed for the upcoming DC Universe reboot by James Gunn, there’s still a lot that’s not known about. Superman and various other heroes have already been cast, while other Justice League members such as The Flash have yet to be confirmed in such a manner. Fans are wondering whether the version of the Scarlet Speedster will be Barry Allen or Wally West, though the premise of one upcoming comic book could facilitate the easy debut of the latter.

DC’s upcoming Absolute line of comic books is set to modernize and reboot DC’s stable of characters in exciting new ways, with that universe’s version of The Flash being none other than Wally West. This take on Wally is also divorced from his connections to Barry Allen, recreating the hero without the need for his predecessor. While it could be controversial, following the path of Absolute Flash could be for the best in the new DCU.

DC Comics and Absolute DC are Phasing Out Barry Allen

Barry Allen Debut: Showcase #4 by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino

Wally West Debut: The Flash #110 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino

As noted, the new Absolute line by DC Comics will offer fresh takes on classic characters that are unburdened by what has been in their long publication histories. In particular, these iterations will be in a universe driven by “Darkseid energy,” with the heroes lacking something of their usual status quo. For instance, Absolute Superman will seemingly come to Earth as an adult and won’t have the tutelage of Man and Pa Kent. On the other hand, the Absolute Flash is a teenage version of Wally West, who’s seemingly the only version of the character in the universe.

It’s been confirmed that legacy will seemingly be the element that Wally lacks from his normal counterpart, as his new origin will have nothing to do with Barry Allen. It also comes at a time when Wally, once again, seems to be superseding Barry as a whole. Wally will be The Flash in Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s launch of the Justice League Unlimited comic book, and he’ll continue to appear in the pages of Titans. Likewise, Si Spurrier’s run on The Flash will continue to have Wally as the main version of the Scarlet Speedster and focus specifically on him and his family.

Why Skipping to Wally West In the DCU Is for the Best

Ever since it was announced that James Gunn would be launching the rebooted DC Universe and ending the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, many fans wondered how that might affect characters such as The Flash. This was an even bigger priority given the controversy and failure of 2023’s The Flash movie, which was a major box office bomb and signaled the death of the DCEU. Not only was the movie itself contentious, but actor Ezra Miller earned all manner of negative publicity, least of all for the DCEU’s poor handling of Barry Allen.

The year 2023 also marked the end of The CW’s The Flash TV series, which was seen by some fans as having continually decreased in quality ever since the third of its nine seasons. While Grant Gustin’s portrayal of Barry Allen was praised, the show itself was starting to wear out its welcome. Even in the comic books, Barry Allen hasn’t amounted to much ever since he became the main Flash again in The Flash: Rebirth. The main thing that the story added to his mythos was the retconned origin story involving Eobard Thawne killing Barry’s mother. Since then, this has been the only go-to element for the character, which is whyFlashpoint has been adapted three times in less than 15 years.

The most iconic stories for the Scarlet Speedster are still those involving Wally West in the costume, with the only other standout storyline for Barry Allen being the Silver Age story “Flash of Two Worlds.” While the multiverse concept has become more mainstream, in large part due to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, at the same time, revisiting this concept with Barry risks retreading the same ground as the 2023 Flash movie. Given how much he’s defined the role in classic and acclaimed comic books, Wally West makes the most sense as The Flash of James Gunn’s DC Universe.

This could involve a time skip, with the “present day” DCU projects showcasing that Barry’s time has passed and that Wally has already taken up the mantle. Doing so would make chronological sense, as Damian Wayne is already Robin in the upcoming Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. It helps that Wally has yet to be adapted in a manner that accurately reflects the comic books in live-action. While Barry being in a major box office flop is justification to skip over the Silver Age Flash in favor of his successor, at the same time, there might be an issue with erasing him entirely.

With The Flash Thriving on Legacy, Can Erasing Barry Allen Work?

The most common idea for The Flash in the DCU is for Wally to be the current Flash who’s come after other speedsters, namely his uncle, Barry Allen. At the same time, there’s a possibility the origin story for Absolute Flash is being used as a sort of “trial run” for a version of Wally West who completely stands on his own and doesn’t require Barry Allen in order to establish the broader Flash mythos. If the DC Universe movies follow that path, it means that the Scarlet Speedster will be a fan-favorite character, but at the expense of a DC legend. In other words, getting Wally West right would also mean getting rid of Barry Allen entirely. Ironically, this wouldn’t be the first time that this has been done.

In the DC Animated Universe shows such as Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Wally West was the only Flash. Though he had Barry Allen’s job as a forensic scientist, any other elements of his predecessor in the comics were gone completely, with Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick also absent. Despite this, the character was adapted well, with The Flash’s various villains (The Rogues) also appearing in the shared universe. This proves that doing away with Barry Allen isn’t inherently detrimental to the character of Wally West, though it might actually go against a DCU edict.

How Barry Allen Represents Legacy in the DC Universe

Compared to the DC Extended Universe, the DC Universe is meant to more accurately portray the various DC Comics heroes and their central themes. This includes a sense of legacy, which was actually reflected in the initial title for James Gunn’s Superman movie. Many fans suspect that legacy characters will play a major part in the new shared universe, especially since this isn’t something that’s been truly done in superhero movies so far, or at least, done well. After all, there’s a planned DCU Teen Titans movie, and it will likely focus on characters who were, at least at one point, sidekicks to other heroes. If this is supposed to be a major theme going forward, removing Barry Allen entirely would go against this grain.

Barry Allen — even while overshadowed by Wally West as the most popular Flash — is still incredibly important. He was the character that the multiverse was introduced through in the comics, thus connecting him with the original Jay Garrick Flash. If Barry hadn’t made the mantle of the Scarlet Speedster popular again, it’s highly unlikely that anyone among today’s generation of comic book readers would even know who Jay Garrick is. Likewise, he was the reason that Wally West became Kid Flash and later succeeded him as The Flash.

Portraying this strong sense of legacy might be a logistical nightmare for a live-action superhero movie and TV show universe, but it’s important for all of the Flash characters involved. In fact, ignoring these aspects again might ruin the chances provided by rebooting the movie universe. Thus, while Wally West would be the most logical choice to be The Flash in the DCU, Barry’s existence needs to be established in order to make Wally’s tenure as the Fastest Man Alive even more important.