Barry has all of the alternate media appearances except for the best one: the DCAU Justice League.
(do me a favor and actually read this post, please)
You gotta be kidding me. You think
that was Wally West?
Puh-lease. Now I'm beginning to doubt if you've ever read any Wally comics.
The JL/JLU Flash was a combination of the 3 Flashes. They used Barry Allen's story, Wally West's name and appearance, and Bart Allen's impulsive personality.
Barry Allen's story elements: He lived in Central City, was a forensic scientist who was hit by lightning in a lab (Barry's origin), he has Barry's job, all his silver age foes, status as being the first scarlet speedster and co-founded the Justice League - all Barry Allen's story. The REAL Wally West doesn't have a single alternate media appearence that he can call his own. When have they ever delved into the "legacy" and Wally's origin and his history as Kid Flash that makes him so "special" and movie worthy? Not even once. I don't even think Keystone City was mentioned.
The Wally West elements were his name and appearance. That was about it. Oh, and Linda Park appeared in an episode and the speed force was referenced once. That about rounds out the Wally West elements of the JL/JLU Flash - kinda sucks if you were expecting the guy from the comics.
Bart Allen elements: The impulsive personality. It was a less punkish Bart Allen. The creators were even going to use Impulse when they originally pitched the show so there would be some kid memebers in the JLA. They were pitching to Wb originally, and WB likes shows with kid protagonists over adult ones. But they actually ended up using The Flash, as we all know, but they kept that personality. Wally West in the comics is much more intelligent than the JL/JLU Flash and acts more like Anakin Skywalker. A lot of this Flash was how the creators of the show wanted to characterize him and not necessarily how he was displayed in the comics.
That is especially true in the case of John Stewart, Hawkgirl, and The Flash. John Stewart in the comics was a black stereotype for a long time, and the marine, hardass, by-the-books, no onsense angle they added to him and has since become part of the comics. Same with Hawkgirl, she was kind of a ***** on the show, not quite how she was in the comics either.
So, in short:
They used Barry's story because it's the simplest to "get", i. e., not bogged down by legacy continuity and grew up with Barry/were most familiar with him, they used Wally's name and likenes at the end of season two because he was The Flash in the current comics which were very popular at the time because of Geoff Johns, and they used Bart's impulsive personality because they were originally going to use Impulse in the JLA instead of Flash because they were pitching the series to WB and WB likes mostly kid/teen characters in their shows. When they sold the show to Cartoon Network with a phone call they decided to use The Flash because he's such of a staple in the JLA and because they were doing CN and they don't mind cartoons with more adult protagonists, but they kept the personality so young kids would have someone to identify with.
So the JL/JLU Flash is really just a red haired, idiotic Barry Allen.
Clearly, there is a divide in the fanbase over which Flash they should use, which is why IMO thye should honor both characters by doing the movie as a "passing of the torch" story.
This is the type of thing that will drive away new audiences and exactly why the creators of JL/JLU gave Wally Barry's story in the first place:
From
http://jl.toonzone.net/flash/flash.htm
Fundamentally the Flash is a difficult character to adapt, as his history from the comic books draws heavily from what has become known as the Flash Legacy, a mythos that has become both a blessing and a curse for the character. Here, Wally West is the third man to take up the mantle of the Flash, with Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash) and Barry Allen (the Silver Age Flash) coming before him
and this doesnt even take into account the presence of Johnny Quick, Max Mercury, Jesse Quick, Impulsea literal army of speedsters that spans hundreds of years, with each of them connected to the Speed Force, a fundamental energy source that all speed-related individuals tap into. While it is true that this mythos does provide a rich tapestry for writers to draw upon, it also holds the character back, as most modern-day Flash stories seem to be mired in it (in the comics, Wally West fights crime as the Flash in memoriam of Barry Allen, who died in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths series, and is constantly in his shadow). As a result, readers often see the current Flash as nothing more than an extension of the mythos and not as an individual character; as he races through the pages of his monthly comic he drags his back-story behind him.
That is exactly what a movie about a character most people have never even
heard of does not need - a long ass, strings attached, mountainous continuity. A continuity, that, according to the way you want to do things what with just having Barry die at the beginning and then shoe-horning Wally into his suit,
isn't even there because Barry is so un-established. Recipe for disater because no one will care.
Let's read on:
To combat this, the creative team took a big risk by severing Wally Wests ties to the Flash Legacy. On Justice League Wally is the only superhero to ever bear the identity of the Flash, and this distance from the mythos allows the character the chance to be something that he has never been able to be in his previous incarnations: unique. He doesnt have to operate in the shadow of two prior incarnations; he is free to live his life without being compared to another hero. And while comic fans have complained about the absence of Jay Garrick and Barry Allen, their omission provides Wally the opportunity to be his own man.
That's exactly what is needed for the first movie; an interesting character who is self contained that can support his own movie. Wally West does not have that, Barry Allen
does, which is why the creators used Barry's story instead of Wally's on JL/JLU.
In keeping with the concept of Wally West being the only Flash, it should come as no surprise that, without a mentor in Barry Allen or the presence of the Teen Titans to hone his skills with, the creative team decided to make his character fill the category of the rookie in the teams dynamic. Portrayed as still learning the full range of his abilities and being inexperienced in terms of sacrifice (his bewilderment over Wonder Womans banishment in "Paradise Lost," his inability to comprehend leaving a teammate behind in "The Savage Time" or in "Hearts and Minds"), the Flash provides an interesting contrast when compared to his more seasoned teammates, who have been doing the job for years (and, in some cases, for centuries). In truth, the character is more Kid Flash than regular Flash, and the opportunity to see his evolution as a hero sans Barry is a new wrinkle for an old, Silver Age character. In addition, his lack of a mentor provides Wally with a measure of uncertainty when it comes to what his powers are actually capable ofas shown in "Only a Dream," the thought that his powers may one day lock him into super-speed mode permanently is one that will keep him awake at night for years to come.
All that fits perfectly with Barry, as he was 24 when he became Flash/got his superpowers and had
ZERO experience at what he was doing. Truthfully, Wally West had much more experience at being a superhero than Barry when he became The Flash because he was a superhero
most of his whole life! Unlike Barry, he had been a sidekick since he was a kid. He had all this experience, yet anything Barry did still dwarfs Wally. Speaks volumes about the characters, I think.
t:
So like I said, everyone benefits from a Barry Allen movie or two first. It is self contained, will get people interested in The Flash, and lays the groundwork for the legacy aspects. Plus, it is compatible with the other DC films that are starting at the beginning of their respective characters and would work best for a JLA movie. And you will be able to tell the best Wally story this way. Anything else is a moronic way to go and will **** up the characters, all of them.
