7 Times The Flash Improved DC Mythology (& 4 Times It Failed)
Failed To Improve...
4. It Makes Wally West Feel Second-Rate
To a whole generation, Wally West is the Flash.
Following Barry Allen sacrificing himself to save the existence of the multiverse during 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wally ended up taking on the mantle of the Flash. And not just did he take on that moniker for a few months before Barry miraculously rose from the dead. No, Wally continued on as the Flash for over two decades!
Death in comics is usually merely a plot point these days, yet Barry Allen remained dead for 23 years – only returning in 2009 thanks to Geoff Johns’ The Flash: Rebirth tale.
The point being, Wally West is a major deal and has been a long-time staple of the DC Universe for so long.
In The Flash, Wally has just felt, well, lacking. Sure, the show’s Wally West followed his comic book counterpart in beginning life as Kid Flash, but West just ended up feeling lacklustre – at least for those whose only knowledge of this character is through The CW’s The Flash.
Where the mythology of DC Comics is concerned, it could be argued that Wally West is the best and most important Flash in history. From watching The Flash, you’d simply think of Wally as the moody Kid Flash who ran off to become Zen.