Yes, Wally West’s new costume, which we’ve known was coming since Ethan Van Sciver said he was designing it last summer, has finally been revealed in Flash: Rebirth #5!
If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop now!
SPOILER WARNING!
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WE MEAN IT! SPOILERS!
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Okay, you were warned!
(Sorry about the image quality. I’ll replace the cameraphone photo with a scan when I have a chance sometime tonight.)
Update: Ralbalboa has provided a scan of the pages. The color balance is too strongly red, though, so I’m keeping my cameraphone post up so you can see that there actually is a difference between the reds in Barry’s and Wally’s costumes.
Update 2: I’ve scanned the double-page spread myself. Now the colors are closer to what they look like in the actual printed comic book, so you can see the difference between the reds in Barry’s and Wally’s costumes.
Other costumes to note: Liberty Belle is wearing a new Jesse Quick costume that appears to be a women’s swimsuit version of her father’s Johnny Quick outfit. And as many had speculated, Iris “Irey” West II is the new Impulse.
Now, let’s look at those two Flashes in the center again.
So, we’ve got the darker color and white eyes from Wally’s first costume revamp (Flash vol.2 #50), though it’s not shiny. (Well, no shinier than Barry’s, anyway.) The straight-across mask line and partial belt from Walter West’s outfit. No wings on the boots. The simplified lightning bolt and the yellow border around the circle from the animated Justice League. And, interestingly enough, a 3-D gold look to the trim similar to the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe costume. [Edit] Now that I think about it, the 3-D trim goes back to the 1990s TV costume.
I can deal with this. It’s still very much a Flash costume, and there are enough differences that, especially with coloring, it should be easy to tell the two of them apart at a glance even in busy fights and crowd scenes. And honestly, if he’d started wearing this at any time in the last ~25 years when he was the primary Flash, I wouldn’t have blinked twice. It would have just been the latest in the evolution of the design.
Update: Some thoughts on Jesse Quick and the new Impulse:
Jesse Quick’s new costume doesn’t look particularly suitable for running, but I like the simplicity of it when compared to the costumes with buckles all over and (in some cases) jackets. It’s also nice that it refers back to the original Johnny Quick costume.
At first glance it looked like Irey’s Impulse costume was identical to Bart’s, but she did make one change: making the borders on the red stripe yellow instead of more red. The lightning-bolt hair clips are a nice touch.
Also: I’ve finished my review of the issue. Please head over and let me know what you think!
Update 2: I’ve posted a comparison of various costumes including this one, Wally’s 1990s costume, the Dark Flash costume, and the TV costume.
I dig the new threads for Wally and the new Impulse outfit for “Irey” West.
Just to FF a bit to BN:Flash. Do you know if there will be a Black Lantern Atomic Banana Peel?
If there is, it wouldn’t be the first time Geoff Johns has dug out an obscure adversary from a decades-old book.
nice in-story explanation for the various costume changes too!!
don’t care for the lightning bolt change but everything else looks good to me. was slightly disappointed…
Yeah, Wally’s logo looking different is a bit off-putting. Otherwise it’s alright, I’m glad they didn’t change it too much – it still looks like a Flash costume.
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I have to admit, until you posted this, I didn’t realize that this was Wally’s new costume. This should cure the fanboy gnashing of teeth. Classic, but still new. I seem to recall that the partial belt originated on the Flash#50 outfit as well, didn’t it?
Not quite. The belt changed in Flash #50 from the single, straight-across lightning bolt that Barry’s costume has to a pair of bolts meeting in the center in a V shape. There’s a picture a couple of paragraphs into the Detailed History section on the Wally West profile page.
Some artists did draw it with the bolts not meeting, but the initial design did have them meeting at the tips.
simply awesome….there were not many significant changes but the issue rocked…..pure fun….and johns has nicely explained he changes in parents past…but i wonder if this means, barry can change past again….
I think Barry’s past will be fixed sooner or later, quite possibly by the next issue.
The mask has certainly changed and is more like Batman’s in shape. I prefer the original but it’s good. I really like the chest logo (which reminds me of Wally’s crest on the Justice League animated series) and I love the colours. In fact I prefer the scarlet and gold to Barry’s more orangey and yellow, by far. I wish the colours for Barry were the same actually.
All in all it’s great. I’m mostly just glad that they didn’t change it too much. It was already an iconic design, so I like the consistency.
Is it me or Wally’s new costume has a Flash Series kinda vibe?
Anyway, loved Iris being the new Impulse. Recently Jai wasn’t in a “superhero” mood as he did when they came from Savoth.
Frankly, I don’t think its different enough. Either give him a new costume or don’t. We’ve got Barry in a classic looking Flash costume, I don’t know why people need to be so worried about Wally’s costume changing. I think they tiptoed around this more than they needed to.
I can appreciate the nod to JLU with the symbol, but I think that really breaks up the Flash family unity. What does it say that Barry and Bart have the classic symbol, but Wally doesn’t? If he’s going to have a symbol on him, it shouldn’t deviate from the symbol of the Flash. Feels way out of place, like they threw up their hands and said “well SOMETHING has to be different.”
I think it would have made the best sense (and maybe I just think this because I happen to love the costume) for Wally to adopt a costume akin to the Walter West costume almost exactly but with the color scheme shifted to match the impulse colors. That would make a nice unity with his daughter, too.
And as happy as I am to see Jesse Quick as Jesse Quick again (very happy)… can she have some pants? And maybe a sports bra since she’s going to be running a lot and apparently 3X2(9YZ)4A causes her cup size to double along with enabling her with speed.
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She is wearing pants… Or did I miss something?
Looks like a Wonder Woman style one-piece to me… The yellow is close enough to the flesh tone that you easily miss it though.
You’re right. I didn’t catch that at first.
do you seriously think that they are making unnecessary fuss regarding costume change? we couldn’t pick them apart, when barry and wally were together in the earlier issues (sometimes we can tell them from their eyes). It is only fitting that they came up with this pretty quick before someone starts complaining about it.
jesse needs either pants or break-up. not both
She’s always been pretty well endowed. A few pages before this splash was a splash with her as Liberty Belle and looks about the same.
Looks cool, I dig it. Pretty much what I was hoping they would do, a “light” version of the Dark Flash’s costume. Other than the lightning logo, that’s what it is. Jessie seems of of character in that get-up though, and why do we need another Impulse? Does someone need to carry on the Impulse mantle? Why is there an Impulse mantle?
We don’t *need* another Impulse, but (1.) l’il Iris’ hero worship is adorable, (2.) it’s a tribute to Mike Wieringo that his design stay in use, and (3.) I love the idea of Impulse being a training-wheels identity. Unlike Flash, there’s no lofty legacy involved; Impulse is about having fun while learning the ropes. Then, when you’re older, you decide who’s heroic footsteps to follow (if any).
Y’know… I think I would much, much rather see Bart as Impulse and Iris as Kid Flash than this set up. Even if Bart will never really ‘feel’ like Impulse again.
I really like the design except for the logo change… this creates brand confusion. I know it was used for the JL cartoon – but the market was for kids or those of us that are already familiar with what the emblem is supposed to look like.
Ironically… while I like the design, I think it’s a huge drag for Wally. I think the costume means one of two things – either Wally won’t evolve too much more and merely become little more than a Flash family sideshow OR they will have to go dramatic lengths making the current character unrecognizeable relative to Barry just to insure contrast. I had hoped they’d not only completely change the costume – but give him a new name… this way Wally had the potential to maintain his character and even have his own unique concurrent title. A second Flash in a slightly different costume doesn’t give Wally the slightest chance of that. The only way he gets a comic now is if it comes back to the Barry/Wally either/or garbage. Both characters are great – and I’m excited that they’ll both be in the ongoing series but it’s not likely they’ll keep that formula forever. And once they change that it means Wally (or Barry if they invert the spotlight) recedes into team roster or special appearances.
Yeah. That logo HAS to go!
I agree with you completely. After I had made my post, I had some thoughts along those lines. I have to wonder if its poor planning, or if they’re purposely using the costume to marginalize Wally’s character.
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Uh… Wally is the THIRD Flash. Jay Garrick IS still the Flash too. So there are three active Flashes.
Garrick’s costume is considerably different than Barry’s which has reduced the likelihood that there should be confusion between the two despite their shared moniker. Anyone that reads the comic would instantly recognize the diffence… anyone that knows nothing of the Flash wouldn’t mistake Barry for Jay if they saw the two side by side or the logo for that matter.
You might have mistaken my post as a case against three Flashes. It wasn’t. It was my contention that making his costume only marginally different will reduce his potential in the near future to gain momentum to get his own title unless they switch Barry and Wally.
Regardless, Jay Garrick isn’t likely to be cast as the lead in the main title, nor has there ever been two ongoing series featuring Jay Garrick as the lead Flash in one title and Barry or Wally as the lead in another. That’s not to say any of them don’t deserve it – but it’s not likely to happen. Barry “took” the lead role from Jay as Wally “took” the lead role from Barry. Now we have all three, but there isn’t much precedent for a single moniker being used in two seperate titles by two different characters. This is why fans of Wally were upset to hear that Barry would be returning – it meant Wally might be put in a reduced role.
The upshot is that we might have *two* Flash lineages–Barry’s and Wally’s. Think about it: Centuries-spanning Allen/Thawne feud + one true Flash lineage = no Wally West legacy. Having an individual brand could be to Wally’s benefit. (Jay’s too for that matter, as he’d be the progenitor of both.)
Right on… I just happen to think that the brand should be even more distinct i.e. his own hero name/costume – so that there would be the possibility we could see both Barry and Wally maintain a continued and very prominent role in the DCU.
Kelson, don’t waste time with the scanner, here you are:
http://i45.tinypic.com/1zybgop.jpg
By the way, great issue. Now I think you are not so mad with Geoff about Barry’s mother death and everything.
I didn’t really think the issue was all that impressive after all the wait. All that build up on the solo avenging Barry Allen dropping everything and missing the welcome back parties – only to realize after several issues (but little character transition) he wasn’t alone? That’s the huge rebirth? bla.
I knew it would be a Reverse Flash switcheroo on the continuum… but what caused it doesn’t change the reason people don’t like the retcon. Barry isn’t a Batman style avenger.
I don’t really understand why they can’t change it back anyway… There seem to be a lot of spectacle and fireworks going on in regard to “changing the dynamics” of the speedforce – but it just seems more convoluted.
Gosh I’m a whiner.
There are valid grounds for complaint (darkening Barry’s past, for example), but I don’t think “Batman style avenger” is among them.
For one, his mother’s murder wasn’t “one bad day” but one in a series of bad days, willfully perpetrated against Barry in particular. This shifts causality from the event to the agent–Zoom, a veritable force of tragedy.
More importantly, Barry would have become Flash regardless. He didn’t become a hero *because* of tragedy, but *despite* it. The central theme of Flash is ‘overcoming tragedy’–through heroism, imagination, knowledge, dedication, love, friends, family–everything the legacy represents. Rebirth has only emphasized that, imo.
While the trauma of a parent being murdered next to breaking an arm is subjective… the series has repeatedly expressed Barry’s foremost compulsive motivation to be his mother’s murder and the intent to show his father was innocent of the crime. It drove him to become a forensic scientist dedicated to the pursuit of justice and (after losing both parents) conceivably lead to the one fear he revealed in issue #5 – being alone. In this new history,
Barry is searching for his “one armed man” and happens to find him in Reverse Flash. Any other harm heaped on Barry Allen wasn’t correlated to the fault of any individual, in his reality, until Reverse Flash revealed he did it – so the only causality he can point to in his “chase” thru his life is the murder and injustice to his dad. Thus there is no distinction between the event and the agent for Barry until he knows the agent caused multiple events. The storyline does get Rev Flash’s MO right here. Establishing Barry’s “hero origin” as his mom’s murder makes his character engine very much like Batman’s.
I see and enjoy many of the themes you mentioned but for me, Flash isn’t overwhelmingly about overcoming tragedy – for me, Flash is about free will vs. determinism. Essentially every villian in Flash is defined in contrast to the hero as having a victim mentality or blaming someone else for their circumstances. Is it ironic that Flash enemies are fiends from the future or mind controlling apes? Even Wally’s longest running story arc – (living in the shadow of his mentor with self doubt) lends to the notion of self-actualization. Legacy, science, revenge, time travel – all of these themes are a sandbox for free will/determinism exploration. This is why the story of Mopee is rejected… and the Secret Origins Annual #2 is held in esteem (imho).
Thanks for the scan! Nice job stitching the two halves together – I can’t even see the seam.
Regarding Barry’s mother, nothing has really changed except that we now have confirmation of how it happened. I’ll go into it more when I post my review tonight.
I didn’t read the ish. I just checked out the costume spoiler.
Enh. I’m generally ok with the choices, but I’m not fond of Wally’s emblem or mask. Walter’s cowl worked better, with the helmet look.
I liked Jesse’s past JQ costumes more than the current one, but I’m not stressed. “Irey” only matters to me as an opportunity to follow the stuff we saw in THE KINGDOM’s Kid Flash book.
Yes, I’m living in the past. I’m that guy, now.
Good issue but not as good as #4. Is Wally going to have white eyes from now on? Liberty Belle only made one appearance in her new costume. Irey as the new Impulse I don’t know it depends how she is used in the future.
I’m very happy with Wally’s costume. My favorite was always his dark red and shiny costume; I hated when he went back to Barry’s. (I think in the picture here it is still supposed to be shinier; you’ll see lots of white highlights.)
The logo did startle me for a second; but I think it makes sense. What I like about Wally’s costume is it’s more “modern” and “futuristic” than Barry’s, just as Barry’s is to Jay’s. It’s more streamlined (no feet wings). From this viewpoint, his logo is also more streamlined; it has fewer points than Barry’s, just as Barry’s has fewer points than Jay’s.
I guess by “fewer points” on the logo I actually mean “smaller.”
Also, I don’t really like Jesse’s costume here, other than the fact that it’s absurdly revealing. I liked some of her other costumes better.
What is most encouraging by this costume is that it does not apologize for Wally’s importance in the Flash legacy. Honestly, what I was most expecting out of his new costume was an identity so far removed from Flash lore, which would have been created to give him his own identity, similar to what Dick Grayson did with the Nightwing persona. I cannot be more thankful that this is not the case.
Looking at the costume, you are reminded of how Wally fought to earn the Flash mantle. How unsure of himself he was when he first started out. And instead of having to create a whole new image for himself in replacing Barry Allen, he placed himself into that role, without supplanting Barry’s contributions, and put his own personal spin onto the costume throughout the 80’s, 90’s, and new millennium. Wally earned the Flash mantle, and I have grown and matured with Wally throughout my own life. It is very important for me to see Wally remain in the red and yellow, even if it is scarlet and gold.
You can see in the many facets of his new costume, all of Wally’s own contributions to Flash lore throughout the years. Starting with the all-important whited-out eye slits, instead of the open-eyed holes, which has worked to showcase Wally’s green eyes in comparison to Barry’s blue. This is important because it is a nod to, was it Weiringo, I believe, who designed that in? Also, the absence of boot wings, which was always Barry’s thing anyway. Of course others have mentioned the Dark Flash’s straight-lined mask edge, as well as the lightning bolt belt design, which was an important time for Wally, because that strengthened his love for Linda and resolve for family. The scarlet red is great. It will definitely make it easier to pick him apart from Barry in a superspeed scuffle. And finally, the 3-D, 4-point (as opposed to 6-point) Flash logo. Could you not say that particular logo from the cartoon is one of the most recognizable iterations of the Flash character besides the comics? Very unexpected and cool nod to one of the greatest all-time DC properties.
Must say that as soon as the collectibles, figures, t-shirts, and heroclix start releasing, I’ll be all over this bandwagon. Bravo, Geoff and Ethan!
The white eye slit feature on his costume showed up with the big costume revamp in #50– which (without looking it up), I believe was during Greg LaRoque’s tenure on art duties. Weringo showed up a while later (I want to say in the #70s or #80s), so I don’t really see it as a nod to Mike (although he certainly made Flash super popular in that costume!), but it was an important feature in defining him against Barry. I think Weringo was part of the “speed force costume” thing though… so his mark is there.
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LaRoque did in fact design that costume in issue #50 – my favorite Flash artist of all time. He did this cool pencil effect to make the costume look shiny.
Ah, yes that is correct. I searched for some of Laroque’s Wally stuff after you mentioned him and I am reminded of the books in that era. Good stuff. I remember his extra-long ear-thingies (what you call those, anyway?)
Still prefer ‘Ringo’s stuff. Maybe an argument could be made that Laroque’s costume designs are better, but Mike could draw a running pose like no one else.
On Barry’s costume and Wally’s original – they were mercury wings but as time went on some artists would draw them with little or no definition until they started drawing them as lightning bolt antenna things. So, I suppose you’d call them mercury wings or antenna…
I Google-imaged Mercury wings, because I had no idea what you were talking about, but you absolutely right, papa zero. Maybe Mercury wing lightning antennae?
I’m glad they didn’t kill Wally or depower him. I’m glad he’s still the Flash. To me, he’s the one true Flash. Wally West will always be my Flash, just like Kyle Rayner will always be my Green Lantern, regardless of what Geoff Johns and DC dictate.
Hate Wally’s new costume.
So the only thing I can say about the new costumes is simply WOW! I was so worried that Wally was going to be running around in and adult version of his Kid Flash costume. This one works for me so much that I may have to get the new new look tattooed on my back now! I love how it is essentially the Justice League Animated look with some elements of the Walter Costume thrown in. There is nothing wrong with this IMO. We will definitely be able to tell the two apart even when they are standing side by side. As for everyone else… the new Impulse isn’t that much of a change and Jesse’s new Quick costume is fine. They’ll probably wind up changing it a half dozen more times over the years simply cause that’s what they have done with her costume. Every time she’s in something new, she gets a new costume. The big news though for the costumes is definitely Wally’s, there is nothing bad about the costume. If you’ve been a fan of his for the last 25 plus years in all incarnations, this is not a disappointment.
I just want to say…screw the costumes, Sciver is really bad at depicting people running. Those poses are so clumsy, stiff, awkward and unnatural looking. Not dynamic at all.
Wally’s new costume had the right idea behind it, but just didn’t go far enough. From a distance, to a casual observer, his and Barry’s costumes are still pretty much the same thing.
Red costume. Yellow boots. Yellow lightning trim for belt and glove lines. Full mask mostly just leaving the mouth area exposed. Yellow wingies on ears. Chest emblem with lightning bolt on a white circle.
See the problem?
Personally, I think that going for a yellow version of Walter West’s lightning bolt emblem would have been the best distinguisher, although the Justice League cartoon style emblem is a decent second choice. However, especially with the emblem being so similar, something really should have been done with Wally’s gloves and/or boots, of they could even have exposed his hair as well.
Jesse Quick’s new costume is pretty bad, but I never liked Johnny Quick’s costume either. A riff on a 1940s style super-hero costume is fine, but juxtaposing it with small trunks, bare legs and exposed cleavage just makes it look tacky. Can’t we have more female super-hero costumes that aren’t made for the (heterosexual) male gaze? I’m still wondering whether or not the bare legs were a colouring error.
Speaking of colouring errors, I also have to wonder whether the yellow trim on Irey’s Impulse costume is intentional or not. Bart was miscoloured that way in a flashback in #4 (but then again, Thawne’s lightning bolt emblem was “reverse” in flashbacks as well, so who knows).
Irey as Impulse is FANTASTIC visually (the lightning bolt hair ties are a cute touch), and I love the idea of her admiring Bart. Looking forward to seeing where her character goes.
Not much to say about Waly’s new threads. They aren’t different enough to be as much of a stir as the build up to them was. Which is probably for the best honestly. Now seeing artists keep the details consistent (the cut off the hood, lack of boot wings, and coloration style) as artists change is going to be interesting.
The bigger deals to me costume-wise are Irey and Jesse.
1) I hear a lot of people talk about Jay, Barry, or Wally being “their” generation’s Flash, but for me, Bart has been my biggest tie to the Flash Family. He’s the character I connected with first, and he drew me into the legacy. I guess that makes Bart “my Flash” despite his run under that mantle being the only time I wasn’t a huge fan. Thusly, seeing someone else wearing the Impulse costume feels odd, since it never seemed like a mantle that was intended to be passed along. But it has story potential, so I’m playing wait-and-see on how I feel about Irey as Impulse. Bart getting a little taste of his own medicine in the future could be a lot of fun, and DC needs more fun.
2) Jesse’s new threads, I really dislike. The lack of pants just doesn’t seem appropriate for the speedster family, nor does the low cut top. It just doesn’t look functional for running. Of course, I am biased; I’ve never liked the panty-shorts look on super-heroines. (Even WW’s star panties.) It seems kind of degrading. I’d be happier with a leotard than this, as at least that has a more athletic feel and less like someone who forgot to put on their shorts on the way out the door.
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I didn’t like the new suit, but I don’t hate it… it could have been much worse, so I guess it’s alright
I really can’t wait to see another artist have a go at this costume, because I think that will really be the deciding factor for me.
Those 3D elements could very easily fall by the wayside, depending on the artist, leaving the only (major) difference being the colouring..
bt
I haven’t made up my mind on the new costume, but that’s mainly b/c I cannot stand Van Sciver’s art. It just looks horrible IMO in that picture. If I could see Wally’s costume drawn by someone else, then I might be a bit more positive.
Wallys new costume looks pretty lousy. He looks like Batman trying to be The Flash. The Cowl sucks. The darker color is okay I guess, but I don’t really care for it. That combined with the Batman like mask just looks silly.
Not a fan of the logo either.
The costume doesn’t look all that different to me but it is slghtly different in the colour.