The Official Solo Flash Film Thread

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Kevin Smith

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Hi and welcome to the official solo Flash movie thread! The place where you talk about all things solo Flash movie related. Who you think should play the Flash, which Flash should be used, what the costume should look like, which villains, the director, writer, cast, score, etc, all things solo Flash movie related is what will be discussed here. I realize that there is a Flash JLA thread, but there isn't a solo Flash film thread yet, so that's why I've started this one.

2 rules:

1) That you debate/comment respectfully

2) That you read/are aware of the Flash comic book history

While most of us are familiar with the Flash, for the people not so familiar with him I've written a brief summary of The Flash's comic book, tv and animation career. Please take time to read this before you comment.

1940 - JAY GARRICK, FIRST APPEARANCE FLASH
hair: dark brown/black
eyes: brown

Jay Garrick aka the Flash debuted in 1940. He received his super speed powers
from inhaling hard water vapors when he was in college. He then became the
college football star and eventually donned a red shirt with a big, yellow lightning bolt across it and wore a World War1 helmet with wings, reminiscent of the Greek god Mercury, called himself the Flash, and fought crime. At first his identity seemed to be publicly known, this was later changed into it being secret. Although he was technically the very first character with super peed powers to call himself the Flash, he was nothing like the Flash as we think of him today. For instance, he could not run at light speed, he didn't wear a mask or gloves, etc. Here is a picture of him: http://image.comicvine.com/uploads/item/3000/2354/159881-flash_400.JPG As you can see, he is not what think of when we think of Flash. In the late forties, after World War 2, when people began to lose interest in the superhero genre,many superheroes faded into obscurity. The Flash was no exception. His book was caceled in 1949.

1956 - BARRY ALLEN, FLASH 1
hair: blonde
eyes: blue

Years later, DC decided to take a second crack at the superhero genre. With the
new interest in science fiction, DC decided to revive several of their old characters, this time with a more modernistic, sci fi oriented take. They would keep the old names and make the powers similar to the golden age heroes, but their stories, aliases, origins, personalities and appearances were completely reinvented into what we know them as today. The Flash was the first to undergo this transformation. In 1956, the all new Flash debuted, and introduced everything about the Flash as we know him today. He was Barry Allen, a 24 year old police scientist with a record for being slow/easy going, who, while working late in his lab one night, was hit by lightning during an electrical storm and doused in random, supercharged chemicals sitting on a nearby shelf. As a result of the accident, "slowpoke" Barry Allen had gained super speed powers. He could do more than just run fast, he could vibrate h is molecules so fast that he was able to pass thru solid objects, he could see things super fast, he could run across water or up the side of a building, because of his super metabolism he could heal faster than an ordinary human being, could retain all the information he read at super speed, and, if he vibrated at a certain frequency, he was able to travel to other worlds/dimensions. He was also the fastest of all the Flashes, capable of moving at light speed with ease, at the speed of thought, and, nearly straining himself, has moved at ten times the speed of light (1,860,000 mph). The new Flash was notably more humorous in personality than the first appearance Flash, and he was the smartest of all the Flashes, being a scientist. In this new reality/continuity that DC had created, it was established that the old Flash, Jay Garrick, along with all the other golden age heroes, and all their exploits, took place in comic books. Inspired by his childhood comic book hero's (The Flash, Jay Garrick) adventures, Barry called himself The Flash and became a crime fighting adventurer. He created many things that made the Flash what he is today, such as the red costume with gold boots and trim, complete with a mask that concealed his identity and the familiar lightning over white circle symbol. He was the most inventive of the Flashes, creating such phenomenon as the Flash ring, in which he concealed his costume, which was super compressed with the air sucked out of it, and when released, expanded upon contact with air. He is the most original Flash, every Flash since him has been a variation of him. Everything we know about the Flash today trickles down from Barry. Although considered slow and even lazy by some (a facade he kept up as not to be suspected as the Flash, of course) throughout his career as a forensic scientist, Barry Allen always got his cases done, and made an amazing scientific discovery; the tachyon, a subatomic particle that could only exist a t speeds higher than that of light. Eventually Barry married his longtime college girlfriend, TV reporter Iris West (who landed the first interview with the Flash), and later in his marriage revealed to her that he was the Flash. Throughout his career as the Flash, he helped found the JLA, became best friends with Green Lantern Hal Jordan (as both a superhero and in his personal life), and defended Central City from many supervillains such as Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Reverse Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and the Weather Wizard. Eventually, Barry *died* saving the universe from an evil supreme being only he could stop called the Anti Monitor during Crisis on Infinite Earths. He needed to move faster than he ever had before, hundreds of times faster than the speed of light, to prevent the Anti Monitor's tachyon particle cannon from destroying the universe, and in doing so moved so fast that he was vaporized. He was presumed dead, though all that was left of him was his costume. In DC Uni verse #0, Barry Allen materializes and returns in the Final Crisis as the Flash.

1985 - WALLY WEST, FLASH 2
hair: red
eyes: green

In 1985, when Barry Allen/Flash was presumed dead, the Flash's sidekick and
nephew took over as Flash. Enter Wally West. When Wally West was a child he was a huge fan of the Flash. At age 10, one day while visiting his Aunt, Iris West,
he spent an afternoon with her boyfriend, forensic scientist Barry Allen at his
lab and met his hero, the Flash. Suddenly, lightning struck and Wally was doused
in supercharged chemicals, in the very same lab Barry had received
powers in, and Wally too had received superspeed powers. Although he was not as powerful as Barry at first, he donned a costume and became Kid Flash, sidekick to The Flash and kept his identity secret, like his Aunt's boyfriend and eventual uncle, Barry Allen. When Barry *died*, Wally took over as the Flash. At first Wally was snotty and temperamental, but eventually he became responsible for the Flash legacy. Wally West is a part time mechanic, he usually doesn't have a consistent job, but is a full time superhero. He eventually married Linda Park, a former TV reporter, (he too revealed his identity) with whom he had twins with. During his career as Flash he discovered the Speed Force, an extra dimensional energy that is the source for all the speedsters powers, and since his interaction with it he has gained new powers. Wally is also the first sidekick to fulfill the duty of actually taking over the mentor's role as a hero. During DC's Infinite Crisis, as Wally and other heroes attempted to stop the evil Superboy Prime at top speed, he and his family were sucked into the Speed Force and taken to an alternate reality. In 2006, the Flash as presumed dead or missing. Wally West and fam returned in the JLA comic's "Lightning Saga" story-arc.


2006 - BART ALLEN, FLASH 3
hair: brown
eyes: yellow

Bart Allen is Barry Allen's grandson from the future. Before Barry *died*, he and his wife, Iris were living in the future. When Barry died, Iris was pregnant. She gave birth to the Tornado Twins, one of whom was Don Allen, who, as an adult, married and is the father of Bart Allen. Although Bart Allen inherited his grandfather's super speed powers, he suffered from a hyper-accelerated metabolism, he was aging at a faster rate than that of an ordinary human being thus causing him to appear the age of twelve when he was chronologically only two years old. To prevent him from developing mental health problems he was raised in a virtual reality machine which created a simulated world that kept pace with his own scale of time. When it became clear that this method was not helping, his grandmother, Iris Allen, took him back in time to the present where the present Flash, Wally West, tracked him down in a race across the world. By forcing Bart into an extreme burst of speed, Wally ma naged to shock his hyper-metabolism back to normal. Because of his impulsive personality, Bart was dubbed "Impulse" for a time, and not wanting to be affiliated with the Flash at first accepted the title but eventually became the new Kid Flash, sidekick to Wally's Flash. Originally, Bart was very sarcastic and immature in personality. When Wally West disappeared, Bart took over as the new Flash. In his secret identity, Bart is also mechanic. In 2007, Bart was murdered by the Rogues (a group of Flash enemies), led by Inertia, Bart's evil clone.

THE FLASH IN TV AND ANIMATION FACTS:

JUSTICE LEAGUE/ JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED ANIMATED FLASH:

- This Flash's origin, job occupation, status as being the only/the first Flash, the Flash costume ring, the city he lived in, and the enemies he fought were all elements of BARRY ALLEN's story.

- This Flash's name (Wally West), appearance (red hair, green eyes) and the fact that Linda Park appeared in an episode were all elements of WALLY WEST's story.

- This Flash's personality is similar to BART ALLEN's when he was Impulse.

THE BATMAN ANIMATAED VERSION:

- Altho never seen in his secret identity on he show, this Flash was BARRY ALLEN (the producers said so). He is from Barry's city (Central City), used abilities that only Barry could do (such as the molecule vibration), fought the Mirror Master (one of Barry's original enemies), and helped found the JLA with fellow members Green Lantern/Hal Jordan and Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (both best friends of Barry's in the comics). Also, it would have been impossible for this show's Flash to be Wally West or Bart Allen, as the show's Robin was Dick Grayson, who is the same age as Wally West and much older than Bart Allen.

- This show's Flash's personality is similar to that of Impulse's and the 1990s Flash TV show's Barry Allen.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER ANIMATED VERSION:

- Other than his eyes being colored brown in some scenes, this Flash was entirely Barry Allen.

SMALLVILLE TV SHOW VERSION:

- An episode of the Smallville live action TV show featured a speedster named Bart Allen. Bart carries around identification with the names "Jay Garrick", "Barry Allen", and "Wally West". In a later episode he appears using the codename Impulse and wearing a costume of sorts.

1990s FLASH TV SHOW VERSION:

- Barry Allen was the Flash in this live-action TV series, although this character incorporated elements of Wally West's story at the time such as Dr. Tina McGee and S.T.A.R. labs.


So which Flash should the Flash film be about? Barry Allen, of course. He's the most self contained and original Flash, he doesn't have any continuity baggage of being a sidekick like Wally or Bart and was the first Flash as we know him today and would therefore be best for the Flash's big screen debut. Even if you want to see Wally or Bart as Flash in the film, Barry Allen HAS to be established in the film somehow in order to tell their stories, so it would be wise to start with Barry and then go from there. Besides, everyone wants to see Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in a Green Lantern movie, and everyone hopes that GL and Flash will lead into a JLA film, another good reason for why Barry should be Flash; he and Hal Jordan were the same age and best friends and established the JLA together, to do any other Flash than Barry would be ridiculous, Hal is over 17 years older than Wally West (he's like an uncle to him) and He is over 30 years older than Bart Allen, there would be no chemistry. So, like the comics, start with Barry and go from there. The only reason why Wally and Bart worked is because they already had this long, established history/continuity, Wally didn't just suddenly go from Kid Flash to Flash, there was a whole Barry legacy that had been explored for years which made Wally all the more potent of a character. To do any other Flash than Barry first, be it Wally or Bart, is to take away from that character. They must start with the origin/creation of the Flash, which is Barry Allen's story.

Also, I'd prefer that it be about ONE Flash, I don't think that audiences will react/it will translate well to have 2 speedsters running around, especially in the first film.

WB isn't keen on there being 2 speedsters in the film anyway, supposedly that's why David Goyer's script never got the limelight, he had Barry as Flash at the beginning of the film and Wally taking over sometime later on in the film.

But anyway, if they want one Flash, again, go with Barry, he's the most original and self contained. Even if you do Wally as Flash there must be SOME reference to Barry, Barry's character has to be established somehow otherwise it invalidates Wally's reason for being. Same with Bart, not only does Barry have to be established, but so does Wally. So, again, I say let's do things right and take it from the top, and do Barry first. It will be cool to see his origin and him coming up with the Flash costume and so on, him experimenting, (those are things you could never show with Wally or Bart) some people talk about Barry as tho he just woke up one day and was "a seasoned superhero" but he was inexperienced at first, and his struggles would translate excellently for the Flash's film debut.

A trvial sidenote: Isn't Wally becoming Flash because of Barry dying in the first film a little remniscent of a lil' ol' film that everyone's seen called 'Spider-Man"? He became Flash because of his uncle's death, I mean, if they do that then the audience will be waiting to hear "with great power comes great responsibility" uttered from Barry's dying lips. It's been done, and would take away from the Flash's on screen originality and the Flash's originality as a character, the Flash was one of the few characters who never had anything to do with death, to kill Barry and have Wally become Flash takes something away from the legend, IMO.

So, onto casting. I strongly suggest Jensen Ackles for the part of Barry Allen/the Flash. He's a young guy, I think he could pass as a convincing 24 yr old, even tho he's thirty. maybe. Thoughts?

Who should be the villain in the film? I had a crazy idea the other day, what if instead of going the usual route of doing only 1-3 villains, why not just use the whole rogues gallery? Just a thought. They probably couldn't get it to work tho.

Anyway. Feel free to say otherwise and state your opinions and comments on all things Flash film related, after all, that's what this thread is about!

Enjoy.
 
Barry Allen all the way.


Thank you, you are awesome! :) I can't wait to read him as Flash again.

Also, an update:

From Comic Book Resources :

THE FLASH

Producer Chuck Roven discussed the speedster with IESB . "I'm developing The Flash and had the same kind of conversation with my producing partner on that -- also Alex Gardner -- and David Dobkin who we are developing for him to direct," Roven said. "The end result was we just felt that until that movie starting shooting we needed to just do whatever we were going to do creatively and then if there was an impact, well we would deal with it then. Were really just in the script stage and the strike really did hurt us, so we definitely can't be around for '09, that’s an impossibility."



Hopefully it's Barry. :D
 
Yep a Flash movie will never happen........... lol


bolt_teaserposter.jpg
 
Thats what W.B. gets for taking so damn long.
 
You sure that isn't for a Freakazoid movie?... oh wait that would be a WB movie too.
 
I think a flash movie would be great and has the potential of a strong movie.
I love Barry Allen, but I think Wally is better, and I think they should take wally West. I'd be happy with both.
I think the suit is perfect, the one in the TV serie was awesome enough.
I think the Flash has a extraordinary rogues gallery that could great to explore.
I do not understand why there is no flash movie.
110960148701715300.jpg
 
Yea i may not know alot on dc characters but really i dont see why wb hasnt been able to get a flash/gl/ww films off the ground and in the theaters. If u have the right director, cast, script and stay faithful enough to the characters in the comics you could have a great film series going.
 
It'd be great to have a trilogy of sorts, or at the very least two films.

1st film. Jay Garrick.
2nd. Barry Allen, with Wally West at the end. That would set up either a third film, or a possible J.L. film.

Oh who am I kidding, this is W.B. we're talking about here.:(
 
An update:

from http://ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=6439

"
© (c) 2007 DC Comics
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE FLASH VOL. 1 Movies:

Breaking News: 'THE FLASH' MAY STILL PAN OUT


The writer's strike and potential actor's strike have kept the project in development heck for the time being

By CARL CORTEZ, Contributing Editor
Published 7/1/2008



LOCATION: Beverly Hills, CA

THE SKINNY: While promoting THE DARK KNIGHT this weekend at the junket, producer Charles Roven revealed that the long-awaited FLASH movie is still on the boards.

“David Dobkin [WEDDING CRASHERS/FRED CLAUS] is still directing,” the producer admits, “though I can’t even begin to talk about it, because we’re not even writing it yet.”

With THE DARK KNIGHT wrapping up, the FLASH may once again gear up, but Roven says it’s still a ways off.

“The writer’s strike and possible actor’s strike has definitely slowed down the development process,” he admits. “We’re hopeful of course it’s still going to happen"

Damn. We'll be lucky of this ever gets made. I'm not so keen on this director's resume, "Fred Claus"??? I guess they figured he made a movie about one guy in a red suit....

Still, this sounds like it will be a complete joke if it does happen. It'll be worse than a DC version of Fantastic 4. Comedy is easy, they need a serious action/sci fi director with a respect/love for the character, if they do it seriously they can throw humor in every now and then and the film works great. But this just seems hazardous to the Flash legacy, IMO. Any hopes of seeing Barry (or anyone else) speeding across the screen over the next few years have been completely shot for me.

(I'd prefer the first film be an origin, with Barry Allen, showing how the costume, the powers, etc, the whole legacy was started, I think audiences would like that, and in Flash 2 I'd probably introduce Wally West as Kid Flash, like the comics)
 
Its likely to be an origin film. Originally i heard they were planning for it to be a spinoff from jla but then that changed after awhile. So since they dont even have the script written yet for the film things can change at a drop of a hat and it could be an origin film about barry with maybe a cameo of a young wally so they can in a sequel go with wally becoming kid flash or taking over as the flash as barry is killed in the film. So who really knows at this time. Hopefully flash and gl solo films can get off the ground and treat the source material well and stay faithful to who and what the characters are. If they do that and its a good script and directed well, and acted well both flash and gl solo films could be a great series to start off for dc. Will be nice to see another major character make it into a sucessful series. At this time we only have the nolan batman series that has been sucessful and continuing still. As for Superman we dont know what wb is planing and there is a good chance the singer superman series is dead and a new revamped series could happen. We have to wait and see what they decide to go. And we all know with superman they just need to decide on him quick so incase they use the rights to have the character any more in 2013 to atless get 1 or 2 more films out so they can profit off the character still. And be that singer again, a reboot, a WF film, or jla.
 
i would prefer 2-4 of flashes rogues in one film, but save the good ones for sequel
 
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