Barry Allen vs. Wally and others

[Blinny]

My first exposure to the Flash was with the New 52, and it has been one of my favorite reads every month. While reading reviews and other postings on this board, it seems hard to go even a few posts (or paragraphs) without reading a comment like:

"I've never been a big Barry Allen fan" or "While Wally will always be the best Flash", etc. etc.

Can anyone give me a quick summary of why that general sentiment seems to exist? I think Barry has been awesome and obviously haven't ever read anything with Wally, so I'm wondering what the big differences are?

Thanks!

[Buried Alien]

The most vocal group of fans are those who grew up reading comics during the period beginning in the late 1980s, which is when Wally began operating as the Flash.

Barry's fandom skews older (people who grew up reading comics during the 1950s - early 1980s). On the whole, this group is less vocal and had lived for many years without Barry. Having Barry back is a pleasant and unexpected surprise, and pleased people tend to not complain much.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Jadenewt]

My first exposure to the Flash was with the New 52, and it has been one of my favorite reads every month. While reading reviews and other postings on this board, it seems hard to go even a few posts (or paragraphs) without reading a comment like:

"I've never been a big Barry Allen fan" or "While Wally will always be the best Flash", etc. etc.

Can anyone give me a quick summary of why that general sentiment seems to exist? I think Barry has been awesome and obviously haven't ever read anything with Wally, so I'm wondering what the big differences are?

Thanks!

The thing with the Wally fans is that a good number of them actually watched Wally turn from irresponsible Kid Flash to a hero that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Justice League and watched him mature along that path. Then to have all that development dashed to bring back long dead Barry that most of them barely remember was very disheartening. The readers feel a bit betrayed because their loyalty to the character was swept under the rug along with tons of history and development.

[BohemiaDrinker]

Pretty much what JadeNewt said, coupled with the fact tha DC handled Barry`s return terribly.

[FlashEarthOne]

pleased people tend to not complain much.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

This is SO true... and yet it seems to escape certain people.

[FlashEarthOne]

My first exposure to the Flash was with the New 52, and it has been one of my favorite reads every month. While reading reviews and other postings on this board, it seems hard to go even a few posts (or paragraphs) without reading a comment like:

"I've never been a big Barry Allen fan" or "While Wally will always be the best Flash", etc. etc.

Can anyone give me a quick summary of why that general sentiment seems to exist? I think Barry has been awesome and obviously haven't ever read anything with Wally, so I'm wondering what the big differences are?

Thanks!

These kinds of threads are always dangerous... sigh.

[AdamYJ]

The most vocal group of fans are those who grew up reading comics during the period beginning in the late 1980s, which is when Wally began operating as the Flash.

Barry's fandom skews older (people who grew up reading comics during the 1950s - early 1980s). On the whole, this group is less vocal and had lived for many years without Barry. Having Barry back is a pleasant and unexpected surprise, and pleased people tend to not complain much.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Or they're big retro-heads like me. Despite being a Barry fan though, I haven't really warmed up to his New 52 incarnation. But then, most of the New 52 stuff I've become attached to is stuff I hadn't really been reading before. I guess I just didn't feel like starting over with these characters.

[MajorHoy]

A few other points to consider . . . when Barry died, we didn't have the internet like it exists now to do our grumbling and whining. People these days can express opinions at the drop of the hat and reach a much wider audience. When Barry died, the complaints would be more limited to just friends or other people at the comic book shop.

Also, Barry's death was tragic but heroic . . . there was a build up and a dramatic conclusion during Crisis on Infinite Earths . . . the death was handled with some dignity. (Unlike a bunch or more "modern" deaths these days in such books as Infinite Crisis.)

Wally didn't "die" . . . he just ceased to exist. His fans didn't get any real closure.

[titanfan]

Pretty much what JadeNewt said, coupled with the fact tha DC handled Barry`s return terribly.

I think DC handled the whole thing terribly. Unlike other returns, such as Hal Jordan, DC felt the need to totally sideline Wally and write him out of the DCU altogether, even though it was still pretty clear he could still carry a title if they wanted to. So in that sense, a lot of DC fans took out their anger out on Barry...

[glennsim]

The thing with the Wally fans is that a good number of them actually watched Wally turn from irresponsible Kid Flash to a hero that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Justice League and watched him mature along that path. Then to have all that development dashed to bring back long dead Barry that most of them barely remember was very disheartening. The readers feel a bit betrayed because their loyalty to the character was swept under the rug along with tons of history and development.

Technically, we saw him go from a responsible young teenage Kid Flash to a somewhat over-serious (Wolfman/Perez) Kid Flash to an unexplicably irresponsible Flash to a more reasonably mature (to the point of possibly becoming boring) adult, married, with kids, Flash.

[Buried Alien]

I think DC handled the whole thing terribly. Unlike other returns, such as Hal Jordan, DC felt the need to totally sideline Wally and write him out of the DCU altogether, even though it was still pretty clear he could still carry a title if they wanted to. So in that sense, a lot of DC fans took out their anger out on Barry...

...which is a damn shame, because Barry is and has always been a fine character in his own right.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[celticguy]

Wait Wally does not exist at all anymore? Has it been said that is the plan or have they just not got around to him yet.

[Buried Alien]

Wait Wally does not exist at all anymore? Has it been said that is the plan or have they just not got around to him yet.

Nothing has been officially announced one way or another. Nevertheless, Wally has not been alluded to in any manner since the New 52 reboot.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Jadenewt]

Nothing has been officially announced one way or another. Nevertheless, Wally has not been alluded to in any manner since the New 52 reboot.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Well Francis Manapul said editorial won't allow him to use Wally West so for the time being at least I guess he's shelved.

http://retcon-punch.com/2012/04/25/i...ton-comic-con/

[BohemiaDrinker]

...which is a damn shame, because Barry is and has always been a fine character in his own right.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yeah; but Flash Rebirth pretty much trashed 20 something years of Flash mythology - a good part of which was either directly related to or only concerning Barry himself - in favor of an approach along the lines of "look how awesome this guy is! To prove it, we`re gonna make everyone else look like losers! Or not show them again at all!"

It`s almost like they were trying to make the (at least then) major part of Flash fans drop the title or reject the character.

And it is, indeed, a shame.