Following the death of Barry Allen in Crisis on Infinite Earths, his nephew Wally West (who had been his sidekick Kid Flash) stepped up to the plate. Wally took up his uncles mantle, becoming the new Flash, and in the process became one of the most beloved of all the characters to bear the Flash name. In the 90s, another Silver Age hero was replaced, and that was the Green Lantern. After the destruction of his hometown, Hal Jordan went insane and became a supervillain, destroying the Green Lantern Corps in the process. The last remaining ring found a new candidate in the form of artist Kyle Rayner. When a new Justice League was formed, both the new versions of the Flash and Green Lantern were recruited to join up. Though the Flash, having grown up around these heroes in his sidekick days, was comfortable in the environment, it was very different for the new Green Lantern. Intimidated at being on a lunar headquarters, sitting at a table with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, Kyle only had one person who could possibly understand what he was going through, and that was Wally. Grant Morrison, who launched the new Justice League (called JLA), described Wally and Kyle as being like Beavis and Butt-Head when they got together. Whether teasing each other with insults in the middle of battle or using Green Lanterns rings to generate Rock Em Sock Em Robots when on monitor duty, Kyle and Wally had a friendship far more interesting and fun than their predecessors. Unfortunately, its one we appear to get very little of these days, either in comics or other media.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
