The first hurdle we’d have to jump is the age issue. Barry and Iris are younger now. Okay, so Iris really wasn’t looking “older” in the series right before Flashpoint either, but the point still stands. Not only are Barry and Iris younger, but Bart is around as a teen-ager. So if Barry is in his mid-20s and Bart is around 16, where does Wally fit into that picture? So if Iris is 25/26 do we put Wally at 20/21?
Let’s not forget no one can be married in the new 52. The twins never stood a chance did they? Especially with the de-ageing it seems very unlikely that one of the younger tier characters would be married with children. Would Wally go back to being a irresponsible womanizer? DC could make the decision that the Wally West the general public is familiar is the wise cracking Justice League Unlimited version.
Now here is the biggest question. If DC does bring Wally back as a speedster, would you accept him with a different name? I don’t mean changing Wally’s name, I mean making Wally a hero other than the Flash. It is unlikely that Wally would have years of being a sidekick, so why not let him form his own identity? All the pictures I’m using for today’s entry are done by Brett Booth, as you can see in one of them he played with making Wally blue instead of red. If they promise not to use the Cobalt Blue name would you be okay with Wally in blue?
Obviously I have no control over the direction of DC comics, so any suggestions listed here are just me thinking out loud. What kind of changes are you will to allow in order to have Wally West back?
1. He'd be the same age as Nightwing and Arsenal, obviously. It's why the whole "timeline is too compressed for Wally to exist" argument makes no sense. His best friend, who is the same age as he is, exists, so why can't he? In fact, wasn't that always the answer to "how old is Wally?" "He's the same age as Dick." "Well, how old is Dick?" "He's the same age as Wally."
ReplyDelete2. This is what REALLY bugs me. The character that is my favorite in the history of superhero comics, and second favorite in all of fiction, is Wally West, husband of Linda, father to Jai and Irey. The man that lived up to the legacy of his uncle, and eventually surpassed it, becoming the "fastest man that ever lived." I haven't spent a dime on DC comics since he went away, and won't until that character is back. Not just a red-headed guy with the name who runs fast, but Wally West. And, frankly, fuck DC until that happens.
3. Not calling him The Flash? Sure, why not?
4. Wearing blue instead of red? Sure, why not?
You know, I don't even know they need to bring back Wally as a speedster. They just need to bring him back. A scenario that I wouldn't mind would be:
ReplyDeleteWally was at one time Flash's sidekick, Kid Flash. At some point he loses his powers/powers get diminished/has an accident/whatever, but he re-evaluates his career and decides the superhero thing isn't for him. He meets Linda, gets married, has kids and keeps in close touch with Barry, serving as his extended/surrogate family. Wally was a physics student at one point, maybe he serves as an advisor to Barry in his cases, or maybe just an emotional sounding board for his life.
Actually, that would be an interesting twist. Barry's always been seen as the tried and true, stable, together (maybe even boring) Flash. Maybe now Barry is the more unsure one, about his hero career and his life direction. Maybe Barry seeing his once protoge grown up, happy, and with a family of his own it would spur Barry to seek out what he really wants out of life (like... I dunno... IRIS?) and make him a better hero.
I guess the biggest thing is that out of all of the heroes in the DC Universe, I feel like Wally is the one that most deserves a happy ending, so, if nothing else, DC should at least give him that. Let him exist in this new Universe. Let him be happy, even if it means he never puts on the red and gold again.
I'd be more than happy if he lived on Earth-2 and was raised by Jay and Joan as their adopted/foster son. He could wear a version of Jay's costume, maybe with a cowl instead of a helmet.
ReplyDeleteI'd be okay with Barry just mentioning that he has a sidekick/partner that he's been training secretly -- a kid from Nebraska -- and we eventually meet him. Put him in blue? Yeah, I guess. Blue and yellow go well.
I'd be okay with having him popping from Earth-somewhere to Earth-1 where on Earth-somewhere, his continuity is exactly as we knew it to the point where's he's been The Flash for a year after Barry died saving the universe. For whatever, he can't back. Good character development potential there.
"I'd be more than happy if he lived on Earth-2 and was raised by Jay and Joan as their adopted/foster son."
DeleteAlternatively, he could (maybe) be that world's modern-day Flash, with much of his history retained -- and restored. Golden Age Flash retired, Silver Age Flash dead, Wally, former sidekick, carrying on the legacy. That's when the character concept was at its best, imo.
Downside is it's a parallel world. Conceptual baggage, "not real", etc.
(I.Strange)
Wally West is Iris's adult nephew. Grew up in Blue Valley. Currently lives in New York. He's had superspeed since childhood, many adventures, but no costumed identity until recently. Barry Allen's example inspired him to become Flash. The two have yet to meet.
ReplyDeleteFlash fact: Wally gained superspeed from the same lab accident that gave Barry Allen his, albeit ten years earlier. Temporal spillover.
(I.Strange)
I like this. I do tend to forget that he spent a good Chunk of time (see what I did there, huh?) in New York.
DeleteWhat would he have been like without Barry's influence and then trying to live up to his legacy?
Man, there are so many exciting, interesting ways you could go. DC just needs to pick one.
I need to see more Chunk! (ha)
Delete"Man, there are so many exciting, interesting ways you could go. DC just needs to pick one."
Agreed.
I'd rather they do something like this than shoehorn his life story into five years. It'd be interesting to see how Wally might have turned out without the Flash legacy.
ReplyDelete(I.Strange)
I've actually been brainstorming this very concept for awhile, so forgive me if this is too much. (When DCnU was announced, I had hoped for a Wally Kid Flash on the Titans and a Bart as Impulse down the road, alas...)
ReplyDelete1.) As previously mentioned, make Wally the Earth 2 Kid Flash. You could allow Wally to fill Barry's shoes and be the one who travels over mutliverse lines, allowing him to be the one to meet his hero.
2.) Introduce Wally as a child (age 8-12?) in the current pages of The Flash. Still Iris' nephew, still The Flash's #1 fan. Have a second Flash appear. Pepper the second Flash's script with hints to loving Iris, having a history with Barry, etc to try to throw people off the track of his actual identity. Have it be revealed to be Wally, pulled back in time by Barry (see Flash #5 for reasoning). This would allow Wally to have had a history with Barry (in the future) and allow Wally to assist in handling Keystone City while Barry focuses on Central City.
3.) Hot Pursuit. Allow Dr. Elias to create the nightstick that Hot Pursuit uses to absorb/use speed-force energy. Have Wally be Iris' brother or cousin (an adult) who could still be married to Linda, still have fathered Jay and Irey. Have Wally be Keystone PD, somehow end up with the nightstick, and once Barry discovers HP's identity (and vice versa) have him allow Wally to tap into the speed force with the nightstick to assist him with Keystone...again.
4.) This is my favorite idea, but also the most far out. Have Wally be...hear me out...Red Tornado. You could combine my earlier ideas as to how this comes to pass, but I love the idea of Red Tornado as an armor (a la Iron Man) versus an android. Wally could be wearing this armor and the red/yellow motif as well as the Flashes tendencies to use tornadoes to travel, attack, throw, pull, burrow, etc parlays into the concept. I would write his appearance to lead you to believe he is the DCnU Reddy, but have a shocking reveal where he removes the helment to be Wally. This would also be a great way to bring back the Tornado Twins, only have them be Jay and Irey this time.
5.) Leave Wally dead at the hands of Citizen Cold but bring back...Walter West. He seemed to be lost in Hypertime last we saw him. Who's to say the Flashpoint Timeline merger didn't bring him back?
I just want to thank everyone for sharing their ideas. There are some really fun ones here. Peterson, you hit my weakspot. I'm always up for a Walter appearance.
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer him as a speedster, but a well-written one. Why not put him elsewhere in the Multiverse? Make him Jay Garrick's legacy character instead of Barry's. Earth-2 seems more flexible to married heroes, legacies, etc.
ReplyDeleteRight now, though, it seems there's an editorial team that just doesn't like the character, alas.
Wally West in my opinion was one of the more favored characters in the DC franchise. With what they did to his character in the New 52 for me was unacceptable, they changed every thing about Wally. If I could have the original red-haired white boy look and his happy go lucky attitude I would do almost anything. I know that DC has lost a lot of fans due to this change, and I honestly hope they somehow give us the Wally so many fans longed for. Wally meant something to a lot of people, it showed that the underdog can come through and that dreams are possible, so DC was it really worth getting rid of a character that the audience grew up with for the sake of diversity? There is already multiple other african american heroes that are actually really cool. I wouldn't mind the thought of an african american hero in the flash comics(it would be really cool) but I don't like what they did to an already developed character. It's not right. Some changes I would accept for Wally is instead of a change in race, I think a change in costume and a name change would be more beneficial. I think that a change in the flash uniform and colors would be a great idea. As of now the only way you can tell the speedsters apart is with the dominant colors in their costume(and even then is it sometimes hard to see the difference). Another thing is the name Wally will go by as a hero, being originally Kid FLASH he didn't have much of a difference from Barry being the FLASH. The name FLASH is in so many characters in the comics already its hard to remember which flash someone is talking about. I mean really there is Kid FLASH, the FLASH, Reverse FLASH, Jay Garrick as the FLASH, how many other people will there be with the flash in their name? I think Wally in blue would be an amazing sight to see and a name change to go with it would be a dream come true, so if DC looks at these comments for some reason please bring us our Wally back. P.S how hard can that be you left Nightwing's race alone?
ReplyDelete