10 Unpopular Comic Book Character Reboots (That Were Actually Perfect)

Despite being one of DC's more straightforward characters, the Flash is also one of the oldest and most respected intellectual properties the company owns. He debuted in the revered golden-age of superhero comics, wearing jeans, a red shirt with a yellow lightning bolt across it, and a tin helmet. His secret identity was Jay Garrick, he didn't wear a mask, and he was a straight-shooting, straight-talking, all-American boy.

However, superheroes lost popularity after the second world war and the Flash comics were cancelled. A decade later, DC's Showcase comic line decided to make a new speedster and thus Barry Allen was created. He was also called the Flash but wore a completely different costume and had a separate origin story from Jay.

This inspired one of the first big comic fan rages. Longtime readers who remembered the original Flash were confused and angered about their childhood icon being recycled into a one-piece wearing dork.

To counteract this backlash, it was quickly established that Barry Allen was inspired by and took his name from the original hero, whose comics he grew up reading. This not only made him more relatable to a comic-reading audience, but opened the door for tons of multiversal narratives that DC would mine for decades.

Flash's subsiquent resurgence in popularity is often credited with sparking the silver age of superhero comics.