Over a lifetime of reading comics, Senior Writer Chris Sims has developed an inexhaustible arsenal of facts and opinions. That’s why, each and every w

Chris Sims at Comics Alliance answers the question, “Is there anything interesting about the Flash?” Obviously, the answer is YES! 

wednesday:

What, most people don’t?

Found on instagram: Mark Waid Was Right/Long Live Wally West.

Remember those “Mark Waid is Evil” shirts from the Irredeemable launch?

Please bring back the same old Wally West! @markwaid @osmo777 @ckonanz @chrislopa @dccomics #theflash #markwaidwasright #dccomics - @bielero- #webstagram

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T READ SMALLVILLE SEASON ELEVEN

Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out just what is more dangerous in the DC Universe – to be a Robin or to wear a lightning bolt on your shirt?  There seem to be a lot of beloved characters falling by the wayside lately, and it bears some examination.  After all, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, and now Damian Wayne have all died while wearing the symbol of Robin.  It hasn’t been the safest role to take on in the DCU…although I would make an argument that running fast seems to attract even more trouble.

In the latest print issue of  Smallville Season Eleven we find the conclusion of the story arc that features Bart Allen, the Impulse of the Smallville-verse.  In this story, Clark and his good friend Bart are reunited in a globe-hopping battle against the Black Racer, the enemy of Flashes past and present.  In the end, Bart saves the day…but sacrifices himself to do so.  All we are left with are Clark’s plans to build “a big statue” to Bart, and another Flash that has left some form or other of DC continuity.

This adds to the demise of the Wally West of Earth 16 in “Young Justice”, and the deaths and disappearances of Flashes over the years.  Let’s take a partial toll here:

• Barry Allen died saving the Earth in Crisis on Infinite Earths, remaining basically “dead” until Flash Rebirth.
• Jay Garrick and the rest of the JSA died over and over again soon after CoIE while in a continual time loop, fighting the battle of Ragnarok.  This is where they stayed for several years until they were brought back into DC continuity.
• Wally West has been in and out of the Speed Force, presumed dead more than once, killed in the Flashpoint series without ever having taken on the mantle of Flash, and now does not even exist in the New52.  He was killed once again on Earth 16 in Young Justice as noted above.
• Bart Allen was pummeled to death by the Rogues while serving as the fourth Flash, being brought back to life some time later.  And, as noted above, his Smallville-verse self just took a one-way ticket (presumably) into the Speed Force.

This doesn’t even start to list other dead or missing speedsters like Johnny and Jesse Quick, Max Mercury, or Wally’s kids.  It really doesn’t seem safe to run fast these days.

The toughest part of all this for me is the way the actual deaths are being handled lately.  Bart’s passing in Smallville felt forced…it wasn’t truly necessary.  Yes, he got rid of the menace…but how did that help Clark and the rest of the Smallville gang?  Believe it or not…exposure to Speed Force energy somehow cleansed Clark of the tracking radiation Luthor was using to follow Superman’s every move.  This allowed Superman to resume acting as Clark Kent without being found out by Luthor.

In other words…Bart’s sacrifice was made so that he could act as a “spot-remover” to some radiation that was creating an inconvenience for Clark.

I have supported (and continue to support) the New52 volume of The Flash, as it represents some of the finest scripting and art in the DC lineup today.  I’m not the guy that would ask “Where’s Wally?” for the thousandth time to Dan Didio at a con.  I do like most of what I see from DC – I’m a DC guy and have been for over 40 years of collecting.  I’m just sad to see the plot device of killing off speedsters used so much.  It seems that being a Robin or a Flash means you are wearing a red shirt in the metaphorical sense as well as in the literal sense…and both roles are simply too valuable to the history of the DC Universe to continue to be treated in that way.

Of Robins and Flashes…Endangered Species? is a post from Speed Force. .

At Lethal Farce:

No, I don’t really believe there’s a conspiracy of any sort against Wally West (Steph Brown is another matter). I just liked the alliteration for the title here. But it’s hard to deny that there have been a series of somewhat questionable decisions that are having bad effects on Wally’s appearances, and his fans’ happiness. And, no, before someone jumps in with this, I am not a “Barry-hater.”

dcwomenkickingass:

I stopped by one of my LCS yesterday and the owner was absolutely giddy about the announcement that DC Comics will be doing a digital first comic based on the 1960’s Batman show. He knows it will ultimately bring people who remember the show into his shop even if it is digital first.

Why?…

I find it bizarre that so many people in comics don’t seem to realize how much bigger the audience for cartoons and movies really is.

fibonacchossequence:

itswalky:

Price

;-; The price was too high

Hey, if he can meet that price…



Hello Speed Readers,

As many of you are aware the last episode of Young Justice aired this past Saturday. I finally got a chance to watch it this morning and wow, what a heart breaking episode for Flash Family Fans.



Spoilers for Young Justice Season 2 Episode 20 “Endgame”

****SPOILERS*****

Wally West is dead, again! For those who have not been keeping up with the show for whatever reason, Wally returned from semi-retirement last episode to help take out The Light (Earth’s top super-villains united under Lex Luthor) and The Reach (a group of aliens who were attempting to conquer the Earth) once and for all. The battle left The Light and The Reach alliance in shambles and as a final move to destroy key evidence of The Reach’s tampering with the Earth’s populace (lest they violate a treaty in place with the Guardians of the Universe), their top agent, Black Beetle attempts to destroy the Earth.



Part of The Reach’s endgame are drones that disrupt and destroy the Earth’s magnetic field and the Earth itself eventually. The heroes split off into teams of two to immobilize the drones and they succeed for the most part only to realize that one had remained undetected in the artic. Flash (Barry Allen) and Impulse (Bart Allen) attempt to stop the device but they are seconds late. In a bid to counteract the effect of the device on the Earth they run counter clockwise to the energy attempting to reverse it but their kinetic energy is not enough. Hearing this Kid Flash zeta beams (or teleports) down to the battle and joins his uncle and cousin in trying to destroy the weapon. They start to succeed but as a result of Wally’s decreased speed the excess energy siphoning off of the weapon starts to target his body and batters him into nothing. Wally West dies.



In the aftermath, Artemis (Wally’s girlfriend in this continuity) visits Wally’s parents and gives them the heart-breaking news. Wally gets a memorial where it is revealed that Bart Allen has taken up the mantle of Kid Flash and Artemis has decided to shed her old identity to become Tigress once again.

*****End Episode Spoilers*****

Well I guess that pretty much brings the Flash Family in line with the New 52. *Sigh*. Extremely sad that we are not getting a third season and also a little perturbed at the way this episode ended. There is nothing to to say that Wally would not have returned from the Speed Force a more powerful hero and would eventually go on to take on the Flash mantle in the third season (Why else play up his reduced speed so much?). Only problem with that is as far as I know the writers have explicitly stated that there is no Speed Force in this universe. Just seems like a low blow at the end of the day. It was nice to have one Wally in continuity that kind of still existed and with him still alive we could have imagined all kinds of possibilities. With his death that chapter is closed. Permanently.

I was pleased to see Impulse evolve into Kid Flash. I was one of the few fans that thought Impulse’s evolution into Kid Flash made perfect sense in the comics and it is nice to see the show mirror that. I will say that the motivation in this continuity is stronger but really what beats death?

I know not everyone was in love with this show but I really, really wanted a third season. Especially after this ending and all the loose threads they just left dangling. It is really too bad that they ended the Young Justice tie-in comic book series a few months back as I could have seen their adventures continuing on in comic book form after the series ended similar to Smallville and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Not to say that they still couldn’t restart the series but I’m not betting on it. There is also the small possibility of a direct to home release movie but again I won’t be holding my breath.

At least we have Young Justice: Legacy to look forward to in September (hopefully).

What did you all think of Young Justice’s series finale? Do you feel cheated, hurt, shocked or indifferent? Please, let us know in the comments below.

-Devin

Screencaps courtesy of GothamKnightsOnline

And Then There Were None…*Young Justice: Invasion Spoilers* is a post from Speed Force. .

So, I hear Wally West’s imaginary friend from planet radio shows up in Vibe #1. That sounds like one weird comic.