Who is your favorite Flash and why?

[NotFadeAway]

First off, as a disclaimer, if a mod wants to move this into the official Flash thread, then by all means, please do so. I apologize if I cause you a problem by posting this thread. The reason I didn't place it into the official Flash thread is because I ask this question be answered no matter what is happening in the comics with the characters at the moment. I'm just honestly curious about knowing who everyone's favorite Flash is and why.

I'll go first. Mine is obviously Wally West. For me, Wally easily has the most character depth out of any Flash, he is unique among the DC characters in that Wally is down to Earth and without his powers would be you or I. I like that at times Wally gets treated like a clown because he always proves others wrong concerning what they think of him as a hero. Wally's humor is obviously the best in the DC universe, as well. And again, with Wally you have the best chance to tell great character stories. And Linda Park is a smoking love interest.......I have a thing for Asian women.

Barry Allen is cool, but sometimes I just find myself asking, can I get a cup of bland with that bland. Then again, I feel that way about alot of the silver age, which is why I don't understand why it makes Dido's crotch tingle. Shouldn't DC being moving into the 21st century, not traveling backwards? Anyway, no matter what Barry has to be included when talking and writing about the Flash, but Wally is the by far and large the better character, in my opinion of course. Here is hoping that The Flash: Rebirth is a gimmick to get sales back up, and Barry dies once again or is stripped of his abilities, because after the novelty wears off, Barry will boring again, and I do not want to see Wally disappear.

I actually find Jay Garrick more interesting than Barry Allen, and I have never been able to stand Bart. Why did they ever make him The Flash?

 

[antonydelfini]

I think this thread should be started only after Flash: Rebirth, after reading Barry in the modern setting, cause most of us here (I think) have only read Wally West as the Flash. I used to like Kyle Rayner more than Hal Jordan because I haven't read enough Jordan stuff, but after reading Geoff John's take on Hal he has become my fave GL. So I think this will be a landslide victory for Wally West, simply because we haven't seen too much from Barry in the modern setting.

 

[Kitsune]

Wally because I started with him In Teen Titans as Kid Flash and got to see him grow into the role.

 

[Lobo]

Wally, I always found him the most interesting as a character. He had/has the most personality, and his graduation from Kid Flash sidekick to THE Flash is a great story. Barry I always found rather boring, and though the most interesting thing about him was his death, I like Jay, and hell i even liked Bart more than Barry

So, for me it would be Wally, Jay, Bart, and then Barry. All that being said, I'm still mildly interested in Flash: Rebirth

 

[fifthfiend]

I liked Bart best as a character overall for all that he was really ****ty as a Flash.

 

[darkseid26]

tie between barry and wally, thou i like jays costume better then them all

 

[SenseiofCheese]

Wally, no contest. Most character development, most likable. He's developed such an insane amount, something that can't be said of many characters within the DC Universe. I mean, he' gone from an impulsive Teen Titan, to a responsible family man.

 

[Themanofbat]

I grew up reading Barry Allen as the Flash, but while that happened, I also saw him die a hero as the Flash, and then I read about how his side-kick became the Flash, and then as time went on, I read about how this side-kick went from being a kid and grew to be a man, and replaced Barry as THE Flash and simply became... THE Flash.

RIP Barry Allen, the Flash... Long Live Wally West, THE Flash.

'Nuff Said...

 

[Aristotle]

Jay Garrick is very interesting as the grandfather of the Flash legacy, but he feels sort of "honorary," the way Alan Scott does as a Green Lantern.

We as superhero fans owe a lot to Barry Allen, but he just doesn't capture my interest. I'm sure his revamp by Johns and Van Sciver will present a very interesting Barry, but like Johns' Hal Jordan, it won't really be the same guy, will it?

Bart is great as Impulse and Kid Flash. Not so great as Flash.

Wally West is the Flash I grew up on. So he's my favorite.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i love wally, but i like barry the best. i just like the originals, i dunno. i also prefer hal to kyle.

 

[The Eagle Host]

Barry Allen is a joke.

 

[Flash Facts]

i love wally, but i like barry the best. i just like the originals, i dunno. i also prefer hal to kyle.

Then shouldn't you like Jay Garrick and Alan Scott best as they are the originals?

I prefer Wally.

 

[Andy C.]

It's not really a fair comparison, first and most obviously because most of us have only read the stories focusing on Wally.

More importantly, there's a huge difference in the writing during Barry's era and Wally's. Silver age stories focused a lot less on characterization and a lot more on plot. Rather than reading about what kind of guy Barry was, the selling point of those stories was what kinds of crazy stuff he'd be going up against. The same can be said about just about any hero from that era. With the emphasis on plot, Barry and most Silver/early Bronze Age heroes come off as pretty dull in the personality department.

It should be noted that Barry's time as Flash had more 'firsts' than any other hero in the DC pantheon. He was the first of the line of re-booted heroes that started the Silver Age, was the first to introduce the concept of the DC Multiverse, he was the first DC hero to have a loved one killed by a villain, and the first hero since the 40s to directly kill a major villain. Not to mention the whole sacrifice-his-own-life-to-save-the-multiverse thing.

In terms of writing and characterization, Wally wins hands-down on the sheer fact that he was Flash when the writing shifted firmly in that direction. But in terms of what they did while in costume, no one comes close to Barry.

 

[Kitsune]

i love wally, but i like barry the best. i just like the originals, i dunno. i also prefer hal to kyle.

Barry Allen wasn't the original Flash that's Jay.

 

[Anubis]

Wally cuz he was Flash when I started reading comics.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Wally because of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. Find me a better overall run of comics than The Flash starting with Mark Waid's first issue and ending with Johns' final issue. Waid rebuilt the character and his powers from the ground up, improving everything along the way, and Johns gave him one of the most well-developed settings and rogues galleries in comics.

I like what I've seen of Barry in things like Waid's Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold mini-series, but he doesn't really compare to Wally for me. Bart shouldn't have been forced into the role of the Flash so early, so I don't even really count him. He was great as Impulse and Kid Flash, though. Jay's cool but, as Aristotle said, he feels like an honorary speedster. I also liked Max Mercury and Liberty Belle back when she was Jesse Quick.

 

[NotFadeAway]

It's not really a fair comparison, first and most obviously because most of us have only read the stories focusing on Wally.

More importantly, there's a huge difference in the writing during Barry's era and Wally's. Silver age stories focused a lot less on characterization and a lot more on plot. Rather than reading about what kind of guy Barry was, the selling point of those stories was what kinds of crazy stuff he'd be going up against. The same can be said about just about any hero from that era. With the emphasis on plot, Barry and most Silver/early Bronze Age heroes come off as pretty dull in the personality department.

It should be noted that Barry's time as Flash had more 'firsts' than any other hero in the DC pantheon. He was the first of the line of re-booted heroes that started the Silver Age, was the first to introduce the concept of the DC Multiverse, he was the first DC hero to have a loved one killed by a villain, and the first hero since the 40s to directly kill a major villain. Not to mention the whole sacrifice-his-own-life-to-save-the-multiverse thing.

In terms of writing and characterization, Wally wins hands-down on the sheer fact that he was Flash when the writing shifted firmly in that direction. But in terms of what they did while in costume, no one comes close to Barry.

Thats my problem with the silver age in a nutshell.

 

[Odin's Fury]

Wally because of Mark Waid and Geoff Johns. Find me a better overall run of comics than The Flash starting with Mark Waid's first issue and ending with Johns' final issue. Waid rebuilt the character and his powers from the ground up, improving everything along the way, and Johns gave him one of the most well-developed settings and rogues galleries in comics.

I like what I've seen of Barry in things like Waid's Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold mini-series, but he doesn't really compare to Wally for me. Bart shouldn't have been forced into the role of the Flash so early, so I don't even really count him. He was great as Impulse and Kid Flash, though. Jay's cool but, as Aristotle said, he feels like an honorary speedster. I also liked Max Mercury and Liberty Belle back when she was Jesse Quick.

I agree totally. Waid's run on Flash was one of the first comics I read every month. I really loved the depth he gave to the character's history, and how much he added to the "Flash family". I miss the days when you had 5 or 6 speedsters going up against Savitar, Zoom, or some other Speed-using villain. I'm really hoping they bring some of that "Flash-family" sense back after Flash:Rebirth. That's the main reason I'm excited about it.

That's why I love Wally. The storylines I think have a lot more to do with it than the character. I see what people are saying about him developing, but I always liked him when he was a little clumsy, and still learning. Much like Kyle was at the time as well.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I would love to see a return to the Flash family idea (really, I'd love to see a return to the family idea for most characters), but not if it's going to have Barry as the de facto patriarch and Wally as his plucky li'l buddy. That's the main thing I'm worried about with Rebirth. Still, Barry's not a bad character so I'll give Rebirth a chance.

 

[Odin's Fury]

Yes, I agree. I just wish they would bring back Jesse and Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury, and Impulse....the whole gang!

And did anyone else love the Flash from the future? What was his name....John Fox?

 

[Varient]

Max Mercury - The Zen Master of Speed.

He did things with technique that Wally had to use sheer power to pull off.
He was the only one who could "store" speed force energy for personal use.

I really really HATE the way they got rid of him.

 

[Anubis]

How was that?

 

[Varient]

How was that?

An Old Jay Garrick Foe took him over and forced him to do bad things,.. then ran away with him into the timestream.


MEH.

 

[Odin's Fury]

I also really loved how when he was younger, Max was always trying to get into the speed force, but would just bounce off.

I always took that to mean "I'm not done with you yet".

Max rocked. I miss him.

 

[Kurosawa]

Jay, easily. Best costume, and the most likable. After that I like Barry. I still see Wally as Kid Flash (and what an awesome costume he had as KF). Bart I couldn't care less about.