Tag Archives: Barry Allen

Opinion: Saying “Goodbye” to The Flash Story?

The new Flash Story begins in September.  This time around, there is no speculation about the focus of the book, or who will be behind the mask.  It looks like Flash’s new launch will take off without baggage – an all-new Flash for the all-new DC.

Well, sort of.

In the cases of Batman and Green Lantern, it has been announced that the stories and key elements will (more or less) continue.  In the cases of Superman and most other properties, the stories are looking more and more like a fresh and somewhat rootsy start.  For Flash, it appears the new series will be a pretty hard reset.

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Didio’s Digital Designs: Connecting the Reboot Dots from Infinite Crisis to Flashpoint

At Comic-Con’s Sunday “The New 52” panel, Dan Didio stated that he’d wanted to reboot the DC Universe for five years, since Infinite Crisis*, but that the time didn’t seem right. Why not? And why is it happening now?

It makes more sense to tie it to Infinite Crisis: follow up a classic universe-changing event with a new universe-changing event 20 years later and usher in a new “age” of DC comics.

It seems clear that his plans morphed into One Year Later. Like the New 52, it was an attempt to establish a new status quo and provide a new jumping-on point for the entire line.

Something else Didio wanted to do with Infinite Crisis was bring back Barry Allen. He was coy about it for several years, but in the DC Nation column that ran the week of the last issue of Wally West’s Flash series, he explained that he’d wanted to bring Barry back with Infinite Crisis, but things didn’t work out, so they set up Bart instead. Then he’d wanted to bring Barry back in The Lightning Saga, but again, things didn’t work out, so they brought Wally back instead.

So what does it mean that things didn’t work out? Continue reading

Flash Action Figure Photos from Comic-Con: Flashpoint, The New 52 and…Mad Magazine?

New 52 Flash Figure

Whenever I first arrive on the exhibit hall at a new Comic-Con, I find myself at the DC Comics booth. Whether it’s to check out the signing schedule, or the demonstrations, or the displays, or even just see what this year’s decoration theme is. (It’s the New 52 first-issue covers, blown up to about 8 feet tall.) Continue reading

‘Do-Over: Barry Allen’s 1970s Hair-Reboot, Revisited

There are some big changes on the horizon at DC Comics, many of which have fans wondering if this brave new world will even remotely resemble the one they fell in love with.  DC is even taking a look back at its rich history with the line of Retroactive books, beginning this week.

While some current stories will continue on and adapt with the changes, most will be re-cast in the light of the new universe.  There’s no denying the magnitude of many of the updates and revamps due this fall.  However, anyone concerned about the future is best served to learn from the past.

From his first appearance in 1956, Barry Allen sported a distinct crew-cut.  It, along with the now even-more-dated bow-tie, defined the character’s look and “regular-guy” personality to the point that it has become the default look for any stories set prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths.  However, in 1970, DC Comics decided to do away with all vestiges of the heretofore unwavering ‘do.  In its place, a golden mane of modern manhood crested atop Barry’s visage.

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DC’s New 52: Flash is About the Uniqueness of Barry Allen. So Long, Wally West.

DC has four sessions on The New 52 at Comic-Con, and it sounds like they’re presenting on a different chunk of their line each day. The Flash wasn’t in today’s presentation, but people asked about it during the Q&A session. More specifically, people asked about the fate of Wally West, and for once, Dan Didio actually gave a straight answer.

From CBR’s coverage:

Asked about Wally West and his family, DiDio said “there are no plans for Wally West in the ‘Flash,'” because that series is about the “uniqueness of who [Barry Allen] is and how he moves through the world.”

Newsarama has a little more detail:

A fan who liked the multiple generations of speedsters asked about Wally West and his family in the DCnU

DiDio: “Right now there are no plans for Wally West in the new Flash series”

The series focuses on the uniqueness of how someone who moves and thinks near the speed of light lives.

Q: “I’m here to still talk about Wally West…”

DiDio: “okay…”

Fan: “Last year you said you took Wally off the table so Barry could be the sole focus, and now you’re still saying that again.”

DiDio: “We did say that last year cause we did want to build Barry Allen up as much as possible, and this year with the relaunch even more so”

Fan: “How does that work when you have four Robins running around?”

DiDio: “I think we could do that with all the characters” He ended the conversation by saying “I think we’ll be sticking with Barry for awhile.”

As you might imagine, I have some thoughts on this. I’m going to save them for later so that I can collect them properly.