The Official Flash Thread - Part 2

[ChickenScratch]

How about they make Barry a former college athlete? Hear me out here.

Lets Lets thrw in a little of the TV show and have Julio in there. Make them old HS/College buddies. They were on the track team, maybe cross country. Something that justifies Barry and Julio having a longtime friendship (because I really liked that in the show).

Pick a sport that you can get a college scholarship in, but something you have a hard time going pro in. I was in college for swimming, I know dudes who went for marathon, track, golf, hockey, any number of sports that would give him a ride but he would have to get a read degree while at school.

He can be great but not quite good enough. He's the type who tries to get out to the track and work out with Julio in the mornings even all these years after school (like my uncle and his old soccer team bros every Sunday morning). The Flash as I read him loves speed, loves the act of runnning, loves the power of his body, of course he's an ex athlete.

Barry getting his power should be like his wish for greatness come true but not quite how it was expected. He should also show the drive and passion I see in a lot of these semi-pro football or indoor football.

 

[protocida]

Terrible.

 

[CConn]

I always wanted a Booster Gold movie.

 

[protocida]

Add Blue Beetle and it'd be cool. A true buddy cop superhero movie.

 

[metaphysician]

How about they make Barry a former college athlete? Hear me out here.

Lets Lets thrw in a little of the TV show and have Julio in there. Make them old HS/College buddies. They were on the track team, maybe cross country. Something that justifies Barry and Julio having a longtime friendship (because I really liked that in the show).

Pick a sport that you can get a college scholarship in, but something you have a hard time going pro in. I was in college for swimming, I know dudes who went for marathon, track, golf, hockey, any number of sports that would give him a ride but he would have to get a read degree while at school.

He can be great but not quite good enough. He's the type who tries to get out to the track and work out with Julio in the mornings even all these years after school (like my uncle and his old soccer team bros every Sunday morning). The Flash as I read him loves speed, loves the act of runnning, loves the power of his body, of course he's an ex athlete.

Barry getting his power should be like his wish for greatness come true but not quite how it was expected. He should also show the drive and passion I see in a lot of these semi-pro football or indoor football.

So, what properties of Barry Allen are still present in your idea?

 

[Brian2887]

I'm not an expert of The Flash, but I know the basics of the character, and I think the most interesting dynamic for this movie would be to make the plot a sort of "passing the torch." Barry Allen is a police scientist and, secretly, The Flash. Serious-minded, responsible, heroic. But, in the first act, for some reason he doesn't understand, he loses his powers, and a brash, irresponsible young man, Wally West, suddenly has the powers of the Flash.

Barry, bitter that he lost his abilities, has to train Wally and make the young man grow up and accept his responsibilities. Barry doesn't understand why Wally was chosen, and Wally doesn't care. He, of course, just wants to mess around and enjoy his now powers. But, when Barry puts his life on the line without his powers, Wally is forced to come into his own as a hero.

This way, we can establish the Flash powers and we get two different incarnations of The Flash, a strong dichotomy between them, and they each get their own arcs. Allen gets to be the Morpheus/Miyagi/Obi-Wan, and Wally gets to have all the fun.

Barry Allen - Viggo Mortensen
Wally West - Alex Pettyfer

 

[lixdexia]

that sounds almost unwatchable to me

 

[terry78]

Pettyfer needs to stay as far away from Marvel and DC as humanly possible. I will start slitting throats.

 

[Brian2887]

I'm not the world's biggest Pettyfer fan either, but he does the cocky, brash thing well. My original idea was Aaron Paul, but he might be a little old to be Wally.

And, unwatchable? Seriously?

Not only is that a pretty proven cinematic formula (Star Wars, The Matrix, Karate Kid, Men In Black, etc) it is in line with the character history. Barry a serious man and hero, lost the powers and Wally, a much more sarcastic, playful character, gained them. Establishing a strong relationship between these two characters as the powers get passed on is pretty unique to a super hero origin movie. And, it acknowledges Flash's unique history: multiple characters have donned the tights.

 

[lixdexia]

yes i would find that unwatchable, you may think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread (and more power to you, you probably wouldn't like my idea of a flash movie either) but it sounds horrible to me. also i think you misunderstand what the word unique means as you failed to use it correctly twice. unique means unlike others, so it's probably not the word you want to use when making direct comparisons to other hero movies or stating how many characters have taken the name flash (which applies to most major superheroes)

 

[Brian2887]

Unique to the super hero genre. I'm very aware of what the word means, thanks.

 

[ChickenScratch]

So, what properties of Barry Allen are still present in your idea?

Read The Flash Stop Motion. The Flash, all of them worship speed, they revel in it. There are powerful scenes of the Flash running through the plains of middle America where he talks about "this place is where he was meant to be," because he can fully let loose.

Nothing wrong with him being a former athlete, it explains his build, explains how he put himself through school for forensics. I went to college for swimming, I'm not a swimmer now, but it's still very much apart of me.

Barry can still be a clutz like he always was.

 

[TheWatcher]

This thread

 

[The Guard]

How about they make Barry a former college athlete? Hear me out here.

Lets Lets thrw in a little of the TV show and have Julio in there. Make them old HS/College buddies. They were on the track team, maybe cross country. Something that justifies Barry and Julio having a longtime friendship (because I really liked that in the show).

Well, they could play Me and Julio Down by The Schoolyard during flashbacks...

Pick a sport that you can get a college scholarship in, but something you have a hard time going pro in. I was in college for swimming, I know dudes who went for marathon, track, golf, hockey, any number of sports that would give him a ride but he would have to get a read degree while at school.

He could be a runner, where your only truly viable professional option, far as I know, is basically the Olympics.

He can be great but not quite good enough. He's the type who tries to get out to the track and work out with Julio in the mornings even all these years after school (like my uncle and his old soccer team bros every Sunday morning). The Flash as I read him loves speed, loves the act of runnning, loves the power of his body, of course he's an ex athlete.

Maybe he was originally a runner…and he was too slow. Not quite fast enough. Never quite fast enough...that's an intriguing idea.

Barry getting his power should be like his wish for greatness come true but not quite how it was expected. He should also show the drive and passion I see in a lot of these semi-pro football or indoor football.[/quote]

I kind of like the idea of him not being good enough/fast enough, sort of the "I could have made it" jock type who had to transition to something else. A lot of cops/investigators do come from those types of backgrounds. Maybe even in his career as a forensic specialist he feels he’s not fast enough/quick enough, those ideas can be played with as well.

I do think the idea of his wish for greatness coming true but not in the way he thinks is kind of cool. Sort of a “Be careful what you wish for, your dream may carry responsibilities you aren’t prepared for” angle.

I'm not an expert of The Flash, but I know the basics of the character, and I think the most interesting dynamic for this movie would be to make the plot a sort of "passing the torch." Barry Allen is a police scientist and, secretly, The Flash. Serious-minded, responsible, heroic. But, in the first act, for some reason he doesn't understand, he loses his powers, and a brash, irresponsible young man, Wally West, suddenly has the powers of the Flash.

Barry, bitter that he lost his abilities, has to train Wally and make the young man grow up and accept his responsibilities. Barry doesn't understand why Wally was chosen, and Wally doesn't care. He, of course, just wants to mess around and enjoy his now powers. But, when Barry puts his life on the line without his powers, Wally is forced to come into his own as a hero.

This way, we can establish the Flash powers and we get two different incarnations of The Flash, a strong dichotomy between them, and they each get their own arcs. Allen gets to be the Morpheus/Miyagi/Obi-Wan, and Wally gets to have all the fun.

I don’t really see the point in having Barry lose his powers, because that immediately removes a lot of the joy of Barry discovering and being able to teach/mentor Wally in the use of his powers. Its also going to make Wally or Barry unlikeable if they’re “bitter”, and I don’t see that working well with a brighter, hopeful character like The Flash.

 

[ChickenScratch]

You got it Guard. Barry could be an almost-made-it type. I know many cops, my best friend's dad was a football player till a shoulder injury sidelined him and he went into the NYPD.

There's a bit of wish fullfilment in that he's got his speed but that part off his life is a previous chapter. He's now a cop who still works out with former track buddy Julio and sorta relive the old days (not quite so on the nose, but a scene with them working out in their old school jerseys could go a long way).

He can still be a clutz and somewhat socially awkward like Barry originally was. I'm an ex college athlete and karateka and I'm still a clutz outside the dojo for the most part.

 

[Brian2887]

I don’t really see the point in having Barry lose his powers, because that immediately removes a lot of the joy of Barry discovering and being able to teach/mentor Wally in the use of his powers. Its also going to make Wally or Barry unlikeable if they’re “bitter”, and I don’t see that working well with a brighter, hopeful character like The Flash.

Correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm genuinely not sure of the answer on this one: Didn't Geoff Johns sort of change the character's powers to be part of some universal force, giving The Flash sort of a "chosen one" angle?

To me, the original Flash losing his powers and coming to grips with why he isn't the chosen one anymore, and why some cocky kid suddenly is, is a powerful arc. And, when he has to be heroic and risk his life at some point later in the story, it's indicative to Wally that powers don't make a man a hero, helping to complete Wally's origin arc.

I might be wrong on the source of Flash's powers, but just thinking thematically, that's a pretty new dynamic to bring to a super hero movie.

 

[HighFivingMF]

I don't think struggling to come to grips with his nephew taking over is... Barry. He loves being a hero, but if he lost his powers he'd be happy that Wally was the one to take over.

 

[Brian2887]

No matter his relationship to Wally, I think anyone losing what made him unique would be an adjustment. On a symbolic level, it's akin to coming to grips with your mortality as well as questioning your worth. If Wally's immaturity and youth is played up in contrast to Barry's focus and discipline, it further strengthens that dynamic.

 

[ChickenScratch]

I don't like the idea of Barry loosing his powers. Even his death just brought him closer to the speed force and made him more powerful. In death he was one with the energy. When Wally merged with it the spirit of the force that unlocked all it's secrets was Barry (though Wally didn't recognize him as such).

If you wanna make space for Wally and not have Barry in the picture without killing him you can merge him with the speed force.

 

[Brian2887]

Merging him with the speed force would work. Like I said, I'm not extremely familiar with the Flash canon. I just like the idea of a passing the torch story, as Flash is one of very few super heroes with multiple, and well-known, identities.

 

[The Guard]

I don't think struggling to come to grips with his nephew taking over is... Barry. He loves being a hero, but if he lost his powers he'd be happy that Wally was the one to take over.

This.

Personally I've always liked the idea that the bolt of lightning that gave Barry his powers could be another speedster reaching out from the Speed Force...and the bolt of lightning that gave Wally his being Barry in another form, reacing out from the Speed Force, which could transcend time and space.

 

[ChickenScratch]

The bolt that gave Barry and Wally their power was Barry. When he merged with the speed force he went back and made sure it happened.

 

[The Guard]

Wait a tic...someone stole my idea?

Awesome.

 

[ChickenScratch]

Nope, that's pretty much been the story from Barry died in original Crisis.

 

[The Guard]

Swuh?