I’ve been trying to work out how I can best break down appearance lists with the repeated Flash relaunches. Assuming that Flash: Rebirth sticks, I can categorize them this way:
- Golden Age: Jay’s series, 1940–1951
- Silver/Bronze Age: Barry’s series, 1956–1986
- Legacy: Wally’s series, 1987–2006
- One Year Later: Bart’s series, Wally’s relaunch, and Flash: Rebirth, 2006-2009
- Post-Rebirth: Whatever we end up with starting next year.
I originally used the term “Modern Apperances” for 1987+, but with Infinite Crisis marking a major relaunch, I clearly needed to rename it. I picked “Crisis Era” on the idea that it was bounded by Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. But with DC overusing the term “Crisis” lately, it doesn’t seem to fit that era anymore. I think “Legacy” has a better sound to it, and since DC did a lot of legacy characters in the 1990s (some with greater success than others), it fits.
As for the period from Infinite Crisis through Flash: Rebirth, I’m thinking “Musical Chairs Era” might be the most accurate, but I’m going to stick with “One Year Later” for now.
