Last week, comic book writer and artist John Byrne posted about how he would have brought Barry Allen back if he’d had the opportunity during the 1990s, as he hinted when responding to speculation about the cover for Wonder Woman v.2 #109. (IIRC, the Flash in the issue was either a clone or a robot. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it.)
Simple, really. It’s very, very, very hard to “kill” a character who can travel in Time. How old was Barry when he “died” in CRISIS? For all we know, he could have been 106.
My idea was to simply have Barry pop into existence in the “current” DCU, returning from one of his trips thru time to find he’d “missed his target” because of disruptions caused by CRISIS. He would then live out whatever life (nature and duration) the Powers that Be would allow.
This is similar to the way Mark Waid did bring Professor Zoom “back” for “The Return of Barry Allen” and the way a young time-traveling Hal Jordan spent some time in the then-present DCU for “Emerald Knights.” It’s also not far from the loophole Marv Wolfman placed in the character’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. The main difference is that in Wolfman’s plan, it would be Barry Allen during his final run, rather than a Barry from earlier in his career.
Byrne goes on to add:
(I also had an idea that, since Wally was being The Flash, Barry would take on another identity for a while, knowing that sooner or later he had to go die in CRISIS. But when the moment came, Wally would bushwhack him, take his place, and that would actually have been Wally we saw die.)
Interestingly, Peter David did essentially the same thing in his final Supergirl arc, “Many Happy Returns,” in which the Earth-1 Supergirl’s rocket gets diverted and lands on Post-Crisis Earth. After a few adventures, the Post-Crisis Supergirl gets in the rocket and takes her place, leading to a story of a 1990s heroine in a Silver-Age world. It doesn’t end well, for either of them.
Found in this week’s Lying in the Gutters, which also features another Flash-related story, short enough I might as well just quote the whole thing:
The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket, Rhode Island is having an online auction to raise funds for its non profit theatre. One of the items is a “Flash: Rebirth” #1 coupled with a TPB of “Flash: Terminal Velocity,” signed by the late great Mike Wieringo.
Mindless Ones takes an extensive look at the Morrison/Millar Flash run, focusing on the excellent Jay Garrick spotlight issue, Flash v.2 #134.
Flash: Rebirth #1 makes up a large chunk of the Weekly Crisis’ Moments of the Week.
4thLetter! asks, “You know what was hilarious?”
Daryl Tay wonders, New Flash or Old Flash? — contrasting the quick sell-out of Flash: Rebirth #1 with Newsarama’s “Who’s your favorite Flash” poll in which visitors overwhelmingly chose Wally West over Barry Allen.
The Four Color Media Monitor is glad to hear that Bart Allen is back.
Comicbook.com has 10 “Are You JOKING” Moments in Comic Books including the April 2008 return of Barry Allen
The Hero Initiative has announced their schedule for Free Comic Book Day (Saturday, May 2). Among other events, former Flash writers Mark Waid and Marc Guggenheim will be appearing at Collector’s Paradise in Winnetka, California from 12:00-3:00.
The first issue of Mark Waid’s Irredeemable sold out in one day, and will get a second printing.
The Weekly Crisis talks about corporate comics, with DC and Marvel as Intellectual Property companies first, and comics companies second.
Once Upon a Geek digs up an old ad for COIE…back when the title was going to be “DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
And totally off-topic, there’s Rorschach Reviews Watchmen.
The landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, came out in 1985-1986, but it took until 1998 for DC to collect the whole series in one volume. The slipcased hardcover featured a wraparound painted cover by Perez and superstar Alex Ross. (That edition is no longer available, but the paperback edition is based around the same cover.)
The Flashes figured prominently in the story. Jay Garrick and Barry Allen shared the story that introduced the concept of the DC Multiverse, “Flash of Two Worlds” (Flash v.1 #123, 1963). And of course, Crisis on Infinite Earths featured Barry Allen’s death, and Wally West taking up the mantle. So naturally, the Flashes had a prominent spot on the cover, arguably the second most-visible after the pair of Supermen holding the bodies of Wonder Woman and Supergirl. A streak of crimson, yellow and white runs along the lower half of the cover, colliding dead center in a burst of lightning, and finally images of the Flash disintegrate and collapse at the end.
The Run-Down
Read on for an in-depth examination of the scarlet speedsters on this cover. Read the rest of this entry »
In the previous post I made a joke about Mackenzie Ryan being the new Flash. I should probably explain.
During Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC made the decision to kill Barry Allen before they had figured out how to replace him. Many ideas were suggested, and the one that got the farthest was a proposal by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman for a new character with no link to Barry except the name.
A brief note in Amazing Heroes Preview Special #2 (1986) described the proposal:
- Mackenzie “Mac” Ryan was a lab tech at STAR Labs, linked to established character Jenet Klyburn.
- He was a single father with a daughter between 8 and 12 years old.
- Instead of super-speed, he had the ability to manipulate energy fields (light, sound, etc.)
Ultimately, DC decided to promote Wally West instead. Oddly enough, Mackenzie Ryan actually gets a brief mention in canon, during a phone conversation with Klyburn in The New Teen Titans #19 (written by Marv Wolfman), which gave his daughter’s name as Jamie.
Further reading:
The Flash Companion has an article about “The Unused Flash.” Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #126 points out similarities between Mackenzie Ryan’s powers and those of the Tangent Flash. Titans Tower collects interview fragments about trying to set up the new Flash.
Today’s Final Crisis #2 marks an event that many Flash fans have been anticipating* for years: the return of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash.
Barry made his debut in the 1956 comic book, Showcase #4. In the early 1950s, super-heroes had faded from popularity, and most of their series had been either canceled or converted to another genre. (For example: the Justice Society’s book, All-Star, became All-Star Western.) DC Comics decided to try reviving the genre, and started by redesigning the Flash. They gave him a new origin and identity, a sleeker costume, and a more sci-fi flavor to the stories, and published him in their try-out title.
The Flash was a success, and after three more appearances in Showcase, they gave him his own series in 1959. Revamps of Green Lantern, the Atom and other heroes soon followed. In fact, the Flash is often credited with launching the Silver Age of comics. (The other hero most often cited is J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. Ironically, he was just killed in Final Crisis #1.)
After 30 years, though, DC decided it was time for another relaunch. Sales on the book were flagging, and DC was preparing Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event which would make sweeping changes to its entire line. In essence they were launching a new age of DC comics. The death of the Flash symbolically represented the end of the Silver Age.** Barry met his end in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (1985), and his former sidekick Wally West carried on his legacy as the Flash of a new era.
Over the next 23 years, Barry Allen was part of a small group of comic book characters whose deaths seemed permanent. He showed up occasionally in time travel stories, and was placed in various afterlives — including a tribute story at Marvel and the concept that gives this site its name: the speed force, a Valhalla for speedsters. And of course there was the 1993 storyline, “The Return of Barry Allen,” in which he appeared to be back…only to eventually be revealed as an impostor.
But eventually, even Jason Todd and Bucky Barnes returned from the grave.
Speculation started with the build-up to Infinite Crisis. It became clear that Wally was going to follow his mentor into comic-book limbo, and fans started trying to figure out who would take over. Would it be Barry’s teenage grandson Bart, the current Kid Flash? A rejuvenated Jay Garrick? Would Barry return? Would several Flashes somehow be fused into one? Ultimately, DC transformed Bart into an adult and gave him a shot at the lightning.
One year later, the Justice League/Justice Society/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover, “The Lightning Saga” was working up toward resurrecting someone. Signs pointed to either Lightning Lad or a Flash, and when the news hit that Bart’s series was ending, fan speculation again went to Barry. This time, it was Wally who returned.
Another year later, with Final Crisis looming and continuing discontent with the relaunch, fans started to see clues that, once again, hinted at a possible return for Barry. Among those clues was a poster that appeared at the New York Comic Con that looked a lot like Barry — and was painted by J.G. Jones, the artist on Final Crisis. Then there was the summary for Final Crisis #2 and its “spectacular return from the dead.”
Then on April 30, DC Universe #0 hit the stores. The book served as a lead-in to multiple storylines, all tied together by an unseen narrator who starts the issue at one with the universe. As the story progresses, he begins to remember more of his life and his connection to various heroes, and the narration boxes slowly change from black to red. By the last few pages, they’ve picked up a lightning bolt. The final splash page shows a large, white moon against a red sky, a bolt of lightning cutting diagonally in front of it. The same day, the New York Daily News ran the story of the Flash’s return.
With Barry’s return confirmed in subsequent interviews, it was only a matter of figuring out when he would appear on-panel. When the “next issue” blurb for Final Crisis #2 showed that Flash painting and mentioned “the return of a long lost hero,” the answer was clear.
Of course, many questions remain. How long will Barry be back? Permanently, or just for the duration of Final Crisis? If he stays, will he take over the lead spot in The Flash? And what does that mean for the current Scarlet Speedster?
