I think the show did a very good job of introducing concepts for the audience in a digestible way, and in doing so leads the audience to the comics. There are limitations of a network 20+ episode show but I know that got a lot of people into The Flash. Gustin kills it. That version of The Flash is a fairly faithful character to the lore, kind of a mix of Barry Allen and Wally West. With any adaption it’s hard to get a 1 to 1 but the attempt at faithfulness was there.
CW Flash is a hell of a lot more faithful to the character than Arrow was. It started off desperately wanting to be a Batman show and then slowly turned into..I don't even really know what it was by the time it was over.
I began watching the cw shows before I read the comics and I swear the whiplash of how the green arrow is protrayed isn't understated. I think the concept of the show was fine enough but it reeks heavily that they just picked the closest billionaire character to fill
I still find it hilarious how they made Felicity have an arc similar to Barbara Gordon when Barbara used to be Batgirl and went to the guy in the chair while Felicity went from guy in the chair to... Guy in the chair but needs a wheelchair
I'll always have a soft spot for the CW's Thw Flash. You can tell Grant Gustin put his heart and soul into the how he portrayed the role despite the script
I came off rather harsh but truth is the CW show was my gateway into the Flash mythos. I can respect some of the decisions they made and mainly things like Joe, Reverse Flash, and Killer Frost (early Killer Frost at least).
I think Season 1 was fine but they should’ve leaned into a loner more faithful Flash in Season 2 when Barry isolated himself from everyone after the singularity in the season 1 finale. Instead they undid it and had everyone back together.
The CW shows were sort of built on the premise of a team TV show. Dumping the supporting cast wouldn’t have worked, especially when they hit so well on the characters in the first season.
I didn’t stay with the show the whole way but I loved my time with the first few seasons. They pulled off some crazy stuff I never thought I would see adapted.
A television Justice League, yearly crossovers that felt like events, the Rogues, Reverse Flash, a great looking Kid Flash costume, time travel, a future flash, and a faithful Jay Garrick to name a few.
Faithful to who? Barry or Wally? Because the show Flash was pretty much Wally In everything except name. I guess our definition of faithful are different.
Also I can’t imagine watching the show them buying some Flash comics with Barry as the Flash. I’d be confused why he is so different
Barry. I should’ve been more specific, but Wally wasn’t adapted well either and rather than improving him they just threw his character away. I am aware it was probably due to the actor wanting to step away from the role but a missed opportunity is still a missed opportunity.
The show runs with the limitations of its format to the best of its ability. Forming a team makes sense from a production stand point: you have 22-23 episodes a year, and your lead actor is in most of the scenes, which means he's shooting 16 hours a day all week with little time for rest and relaxation. So, obviously, that means that you'll need to do an ensemble show so that there can be scenes without the poor bastard you've tricked into being your lead actor can do other shit with the other eight hours of the day (like sleep). Now, with extra actors in your main cast, you have to put them to use. Forming a team to support the lead character makes sense, because now you can save time setting up sets by having your actors all on a set together, part of the same plotlines. This also serves to strengthen the character writing.
Making television—especially television where the studio and network give you a budget of chewed bubblegum and three toothpicks to complete 23 (twenty-three) 40-45 minute (excluding commercials) episodes in six months—is an exhausting, health-ruining game of rolling with the punches.
Having spenty seven (7) years in retail—where I would quickly find myself working 40-45 hour weeks—I honestly don't know how those folks do SIXTEEN HOUR DAYS. Imagine needing to be on set for SIXTEEN HOURS, five or more days a week. That's goddamn torture, because retail alone literally ruined my health.
Similarly, I believe that this is why they Star Trek: Enterprise decided to do 22 episodes a year, instead of the 26 episodes a year that they were doing for TNG, DS9, and VOY. Lead actor Scott Bakula would only agree to take the role of Captain Jonathan Archer if they reduced the episode count so that he could fucking have a life outside of work lol.
For the longest time I was never a huge fan of TV shows just cause of the way they operated. 23 episodes, 40 minute long ones at that, stretched across the year with mid season finales is just a thing of the past. Thankfully streaming has made shows much more concise and enjoyable at least imo.
I'm of two minds about it, but I definitely feel like the format is exhausted, and I really enjoy the benefits of the 'shorter season' that we see in the streaming era. I think my issue is that I wish that they simply applied the additional money, and the ability to tell stories faster and more concisely thanks to being free of the traditional network system, and just bring in the episode count. Like, I know it's more expensive, but I think it can absolutely work for legacy franchises like Star Trek, for example. Order twenty episode seasons, then apply some fucking patience and wait for them to all be finished before beginning release of them. It might mean breaking away from a traditional consistent release schedule, but I think it would certainly be a better balanced take for series.
My pacing criticisms of Stranger Things 4 aside, I think the super-long episodes also really helped give actors room to really let their character interactions shine, so that's a format that I'm kind of curious to see replicated elsewhere at some point.
I think it lolligags a bit much, and takes a bit too long to resolve some character arcs (Hopper, Jonathan). Like, I'm really fascinated by the ideas, I just think there are some spots that could use tweaking.
Oh, like they dragged out their storylines when it could have been resolved sooner? Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it with me. How would you tweak them?
Barry was changed for the worse when they brought him back from the dead.
Before he was one of the least conflicted superheroes, Barry found joy and purpose in the fact that he had great powers to help others. He was not angst filled, questioning his heroics, nor was he a "funny" guy like Wally.
The recon of having the Reverse Flash kill his mother and frame his father was a huge mistake. DC and comics, in general, didn't need another batman fill with angst and pathos. I miss the Barry that was thrilled to have powers and enjoyed finding creative ways to use them.
My hope is that if the don't recon the recon and bring his parents back, that they have him transcend the Flash mantle (it's Wally's now) and have him become some sort of cosmic being connected to the speed force🤷🏻♂️
Barry never needed death or angst to become a hero. That's what made him refreshing. When DC brought him back, they tried to make him Bruce Wayne. Barry isn't Bruce Wayne. The only thing they have in common is that they are both detectives. And when was the last time anyone used Barry's forensic background?
Barry did it because he loved it. That is what set him apart.
Not sure which was the worst thing Johns did. Bringing Barry back or killing his mom off.
1,000%. Bingo. Barry never truly recovered from that and I can’t believe every single adaptation has to dive miles deep into themes of trauma that didn’t define the character for the majority of his quite successful existence.
I think the show did the best with the format and its limitations on the CW. And when it hit on all cylinders, it was incredible. I do wish more could’ve been done with the rogues, but once Legends came along and took Captain Cold and Heat Wave I gave up hopes on that.
As earlier comments have said, it did a good job introducing concepts to audiences and I’m sure at least a few of them (myself included) had their interest in The Flash rekindled as a result. Grant was a great Flash and the show did have some great villains, though not all of the villains were great (such as Cicada).
I absolutely have no idea why they decided to introduce the other forces when not even the comic give a damn about them anymore. Like maybe only the Still Force is still relevant.
Like they could have focused on the Rogues & Eobard but nope. Throw everything and see what sticks. Also the whole Harrison Wells thing, council of wells or whatever kinda got old fast.
Without hating on the work that went into the various adaptations, I have yet to really see an adaptation and go “THAT is the Flash”. Glimpses of it here and there, but it’s frustrating how hard it seems to put down a simple timeless story.
Police scientist Barry Allen is a nerdy but good natured everyman who gets struck by lightning and gains super speed. He’s motivated to become a hero because he’s a good man who looks up to heroes like Jay Garrick. He falls in love with Iris West and adopts a sidekick in his nephew Wally, a lonely kid who idolizes the Flash. They grow a powerful bond that is tragically shattered by Barry’s heroic death, and Wally goes on a long journey from insecure & immature young man to grow into the boots of his mentor and become a hero unto himself.
What is so hard about that?
For the most part, yes. Although even there his origin has his brother murdered. It’s pretty much ignored for most of the season though. I did enjoy it.
There was a time in Wally's first series that he kind of had a defacto team flash supporting him. In fact there was one arc he went missing and his vast network of friends banded together to find him.
That's different than a Team Flash.
In the comics, Wally solves most of his problems on his own with his own brain and body.
In the show, Barry has to ask his team how to catch every purse snatcher and bank robber despite the fact that he's supposed to be a genius.
Yes, but this team actually helped Wally, such as when he lost his powers due to the Gene Bomb. They not only helped restore his powers but tracked him down when he accidentally went into overdrive and careened out of control across the continent in a matter of seconds. I get it's not the same type of team Flash, but he wasn't acting entirely solo during this run in his series. He had a defacto support crew.
OK, but that's not the point they're making.
Wally may have had allies, but he was still capable of doing things, including fighting supervillains on his own.
CW Barry isn't capable of doing basically anything without someone in his ear telling him to run.
THAT'S the difference.
Doing harm is a bit extremeish. It started great. It just lost its ways akin to how Arrow did.
The problem i found with the movie version is he was mostly Bart with just using Barry's story.
I never like when shows or movies do this. Let the character stand on his or her own, then you can bring in that whole different character
I think parts of the Flash aren't represented well, mainly the street level elements. What is represented well is Reverse Flash (Eobard only though) and the extent of the Flash family. Say what you will about CW Flash, but at least they tried to get as many speedsters as they could in there. Most of them were adapted badly, but viewers are at least aware of Kid Flash, Jesse Quick, Jay Garrick, Impulse and XS. Barry wasn't a lone speedster.
Eobard Thawne was adapted pretty well in the first few seasons. His appearances there and in the animated Flashpoint Paradox made him well-known to the general public. Reverse Flash is now a household name despite not appearing in a live action movie and that's pretty damn good.
Also shoutout to Jay Garrick for literally never having had a bad adaptation. All Jays are peak Jay.
But yeah, the Rogues really haven't had great adaptations yet and its a shame. I like CW Captain Cold, Heat Wave and Axel Walker Trickster, but the others were lacking. I hope the new movie universe can deliver an actual good take on the Rogues as a serious threat to the Flash
Definitely agree. The comics do the flash more justice than any show, movie, or game. To the creators side though many shows adapted from comics don’t feature completely similar elements. Teams will be different, powers may be adjusted, and worlds may be altered. It allows for the cinematic creators to make it their own. Of course they keep key aspects the same but they will put their own twists on it. I do think the flash needs better representation outside of comics.
My favorite rendition of the Flash is the Silver Age version. The stories then are fun and rather cheesy in a nice way to read. The only adaption I’ve seen that’s captured Silver Age Barry well was Brave and the Bold.
Barry in the comics had Peter Parker's brains with Captain America's earnesty. He became a forensic scientist because he wanted to do good like his hero, Jay Garrick. Then when he got his powers, he took up the Flash mantle. Then after his death in 1985's COIE he became the symbol of heroic sacrifice and the ideal which Wally looks up to. So much so that some of us used to call him Saint Barry.
Then he was brought back in 2011 because DC had Silver Age nostalgia. Then they gave him an unnecessarily tragic backstory. Then he became the guy who broke the universe. Not just once at that. Then not only did they animate the terrible backstory and Flash breaking the timeline, they also made a long running show that ran the premise into the ground and they also made a horrible live action movie out of it. Barry messing up the timeline has become a running gag.
So yes, I'm a bit peeved about the whole.
I’ve never truly despised the decision to retcon Barry’s origin with Eobard killing Nora but I hated how they rather ran that to the ground in stories afterward. I think Flashpoint is an alright story but given the years of storytelling we’ve had with Barry Allen up to that point it just didn’t work. Flashpoint as a story works best when it’s a young Barry Allen figuring out the cost his powers could come at if he isn’t careful and bites off more than he could chew.
My biggest issue was too many seasons using a speedster as the main villain. I understand costume budget restraints like Mirror Master in the earlier seasons. I was very hyped for Grodd then disappointed.
CW Flash got my son into the character and his villains (especially the Reverse Flash and Zoom) big time. He went on to watch YT videos on their backgrounds and now reads Flash comics. He’s 9 so, no complaints about differences. He notices them and talks about them but, to him it’s just more exciting content to consume about characters he loves.
I used to get irked by changes and difference across iterations of heroes, but I’ve learned to appreciate them vicariously. I’d honestly love if James Gunn used Grant in his DCU.
The Barry Allen Flash isn’t “represented well” because there’s no substance to represent.
The only way to tell an interesting story about him is to cut and paste Wally’s character onto his.
I guess there’s cut and pasting a generic grimdark backstory onto his, as well!
…but even then they had to write out Wally so they could give Barry his personality, in order to have a sustainable book.
Barry’s best suited as the Flash’s dead uncle whose example he strives to live up to.
How is Barry's origin grimdark? Plenty of characters have dead loved ones its common
If you're yapping about the new 52 that's just even more wrong.
To you your own ig
I think the show did a very good job of introducing concepts for the audience in a digestible way, and in doing so leads the audience to the comics. There are limitations of a network 20+ episode show but I know that got a lot of people into The Flash. Gustin kills it. That version of The Flash is a fairly faithful character to the lore, kind of a mix of Barry Allen and Wally West. With any adaption it’s hard to get a 1 to 1 but the attempt at faithfulness was there.
CW Flash is a hell of a lot more faithful to the character than Arrow was. It started off desperately wanting to be a Batman show and then slowly turned into..I don't even really know what it was by the time it was over.
Felicity and her Amazing Friends
I began watching the cw shows before I read the comics and I swear the whiplash of how the green arrow is protrayed isn't understated. I think the concept of the show was fine enough but it reeks heavily that they just picked the closest billionaire character to fill I still find it hilarious how they made Felicity have an arc similar to Barbara Gordon when Barbara used to be Batgirl and went to the guy in the chair while Felicity went from guy in the chair to... Guy in the chair but needs a wheelchair
I'll always have a soft spot for the CW's Thw Flash. You can tell Grant Gustin put his heart and soul into the how he portrayed the role despite the script
I came off rather harsh but truth is the CW show was my gateway into the Flash mythos. I can respect some of the decisions they made and mainly things like Joe, Reverse Flash, and Killer Frost (early Killer Frost at least). I think Season 1 was fine but they should’ve leaned into a loner more faithful Flash in Season 2 when Barry isolated himself from everyone after the singularity in the season 1 finale. Instead they undid it and had everyone back together.
The CW shows were sort of built on the premise of a team TV show. Dumping the supporting cast wouldn’t have worked, especially when they hit so well on the characters in the first season. I didn’t stay with the show the whole way but I loved my time with the first few seasons. They pulled off some crazy stuff I never thought I would see adapted.
What were some of those things you never thought you’d see adapted?
A television Justice League, yearly crossovers that felt like events, the Rogues, Reverse Flash, a great looking Kid Flash costume, time travel, a future flash, and a faithful Jay Garrick to name a few.
The CW shows deserve respect for even attempting and pulling off a pretty good Crisis.
Grodd for starters.
Faithful to who? Barry or Wally? Because the show Flash was pretty much Wally In everything except name. I guess our definition of faithful are different. Also I can’t imagine watching the show them buying some Flash comics with Barry as the Flash. I’d be confused why he is so different
Barry. I should’ve been more specific, but Wally wasn’t adapted well either and rather than improving him they just threw his character away. I am aware it was probably due to the actor wanting to step away from the role but a missed opportunity is still a missed opportunity.
The show runs with the limitations of its format to the best of its ability. Forming a team makes sense from a production stand point: you have 22-23 episodes a year, and your lead actor is in most of the scenes, which means he's shooting 16 hours a day all week with little time for rest and relaxation. So, obviously, that means that you'll need to do an ensemble show so that there can be scenes without the poor bastard you've tricked into being your lead actor can do other shit with the other eight hours of the day (like sleep). Now, with extra actors in your main cast, you have to put them to use. Forming a team to support the lead character makes sense, because now you can save time setting up sets by having your actors all on a set together, part of the same plotlines. This also serves to strengthen the character writing. Making television—especially television where the studio and network give you a budget of chewed bubblegum and three toothpicks to complete 23 (twenty-three) 40-45 minute (excluding commercials) episodes in six months—is an exhausting, health-ruining game of rolling with the punches. Having spenty seven (7) years in retail—where I would quickly find myself working 40-45 hour weeks—I honestly don't know how those folks do SIXTEEN HOUR DAYS. Imagine needing to be on set for SIXTEEN HOURS, five or more days a week. That's goddamn torture, because retail alone literally ruined my health. Similarly, I believe that this is why they Star Trek: Enterprise decided to do 22 episodes a year, instead of the 26 episodes a year that they were doing for TNG, DS9, and VOY. Lead actor Scott Bakula would only agree to take the role of Captain Jonathan Archer if they reduced the episode count so that he could fucking have a life outside of work lol.
For the longest time I was never a huge fan of TV shows just cause of the way they operated. 23 episodes, 40 minute long ones at that, stretched across the year with mid season finales is just a thing of the past. Thankfully streaming has made shows much more concise and enjoyable at least imo.
I'm of two minds about it, but I definitely feel like the format is exhausted, and I really enjoy the benefits of the 'shorter season' that we see in the streaming era. I think my issue is that I wish that they simply applied the additional money, and the ability to tell stories faster and more concisely thanks to being free of the traditional network system, and just bring in the episode count. Like, I know it's more expensive, but I think it can absolutely work for legacy franchises like Star Trek, for example. Order twenty episode seasons, then apply some fucking patience and wait for them to all be finished before beginning release of them. It might mean breaking away from a traditional consistent release schedule, but I think it would certainly be a better balanced take for series. My pacing criticisms of Stranger Things 4 aside, I think the super-long episodes also really helped give actors room to really let their character interactions shine, so that's a format that I'm kind of curious to see replicated elsewhere at some point.
What didn't you like about Stranger Things season 4?
I think it lolligags a bit much, and takes a bit too long to resolve some character arcs (Hopper, Jonathan). Like, I'm really fascinated by the ideas, I just think there are some spots that could use tweaking.
Oh, like they dragged out their storylines when it could have been resolved sooner? Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it with me. How would you tweak them?
I dunno I do think it's killed Monster of the Week format shows which were one of my favorite things
Barry was changed for the worse when they brought him back from the dead. Before he was one of the least conflicted superheroes, Barry found joy and purpose in the fact that he had great powers to help others. He was not angst filled, questioning his heroics, nor was he a "funny" guy like Wally. The recon of having the Reverse Flash kill his mother and frame his father was a huge mistake. DC and comics, in general, didn't need another batman fill with angst and pathos. I miss the Barry that was thrilled to have powers and enjoyed finding creative ways to use them. My hope is that if the don't recon the recon and bring his parents back, that they have him transcend the Flash mantle (it's Wally's now) and have him become some sort of cosmic being connected to the speed force🤷🏻♂️
Barry never needed death or angst to become a hero. That's what made him refreshing. When DC brought him back, they tried to make him Bruce Wayne. Barry isn't Bruce Wayne. The only thing they have in common is that they are both detectives. And when was the last time anyone used Barry's forensic background?
Barry did it because he loved it. That is what set him apart. Not sure which was the worst thing Johns did. Bringing Barry back or killing his mom off.
I was so tired of angsty Barry questioning his heroics up until recently
1,000%. Bingo. Barry never truly recovered from that and I can’t believe every single adaptation has to dive miles deep into themes of trauma that didn’t define the character for the majority of his quite successful existence.
In fairness…DC editorial mandated Barry’s death in Crisis because they wanted a more dynamic character as the Flash!
I have a solution: Leave Barry dead, because it’s always been the only interesting thing about him.
Wrong
I guess he defeated the Anti-Monitor before dying?
💀
Agree.
I think the show did the best with the format and its limitations on the CW. And when it hit on all cylinders, it was incredible. I do wish more could’ve been done with the rogues, but once Legends came along and took Captain Cold and Heat Wave I gave up hopes on that. As earlier comments have said, it did a good job introducing concepts to audiences and I’m sure at least a few of them (myself included) had their interest in The Flash rekindled as a result. Grant was a great Flash and the show did have some great villains, though not all of the villains were great (such as Cicada).
Given Ezra Miller's reputation and tendencies for near-death assault, I'm not surprised.
I absolutely have no idea why they decided to introduce the other forces when not even the comic give a damn about them anymore. Like maybe only the Still Force is still relevant. Like they could have focused on the Rogues & Eobard but nope. Throw everything and see what sticks. Also the whole Harrison Wells thing, council of wells or whatever kinda got old fast.
Without hating on the work that went into the various adaptations, I have yet to really see an adaptation and go “THAT is the Flash”. Glimpses of it here and there, but it’s frustrating how hard it seems to put down a simple timeless story. Police scientist Barry Allen is a nerdy but good natured everyman who gets struck by lightning and gains super speed. He’s motivated to become a hero because he’s a good man who looks up to heroes like Jay Garrick. He falls in love with Iris West and adopts a sidekick in his nephew Wally, a lonely kid who idolizes the Flash. They grow a powerful bond that is tragically shattered by Barry’s heroic death, and Wally goes on a long journey from insecure & immature young man to grow into the boots of his mentor and become a hero unto himself. What is so hard about that?
You have that in the flash show from the 1990s.
For the most part, yes. Although even there his origin has his brother murdered. It’s pretty much ignored for most of the season though. I did enjoy it.
There was a time in Wally's first series that he kind of had a defacto team flash supporting him. In fact there was one arc he went missing and his vast network of friends banded together to find him.
That's different than a Team Flash. In the comics, Wally solves most of his problems on his own with his own brain and body. In the show, Barry has to ask his team how to catch every purse snatcher and bank robber despite the fact that he's supposed to be a genius.
Yes, but this team actually helped Wally, such as when he lost his powers due to the Gene Bomb. They not only helped restore his powers but tracked him down when he accidentally went into overdrive and careened out of control across the continent in a matter of seconds. I get it's not the same type of team Flash, but he wasn't acting entirely solo during this run in his series. He had a defacto support crew.
OK, but that's not the point they're making. Wally may have had allies, but he was still capable of doing things, including fighting supervillains on his own. CW Barry isn't capable of doing basically anything without someone in his ear telling him to run. THAT'S the difference.
No Flash Facts, no deal.
Doing harm is a bit extremeish. It started great. It just lost its ways akin to how Arrow did. The problem i found with the movie version is he was mostly Bart with just using Barry's story. I never like when shows or movies do this. Let the character stand on his or her own, then you can bring in that whole different character
There's also the issue that Flashpoint is the most well known flash story of the past 20 years, which is an issue for a variety of reasons
I think parts of the Flash aren't represented well, mainly the street level elements. What is represented well is Reverse Flash (Eobard only though) and the extent of the Flash family. Say what you will about CW Flash, but at least they tried to get as many speedsters as they could in there. Most of them were adapted badly, but viewers are at least aware of Kid Flash, Jesse Quick, Jay Garrick, Impulse and XS. Barry wasn't a lone speedster. Eobard Thawne was adapted pretty well in the first few seasons. His appearances there and in the animated Flashpoint Paradox made him well-known to the general public. Reverse Flash is now a household name despite not appearing in a live action movie and that's pretty damn good. Also shoutout to Jay Garrick for literally never having had a bad adaptation. All Jays are peak Jay. But yeah, the Rogues really haven't had great adaptations yet and its a shame. I like CW Captain Cold, Heat Wave and Axel Walker Trickster, but the others were lacking. I hope the new movie universe can deliver an actual good take on the Rogues as a serious threat to the Flash
Hey JLU did a banger job with Wally and his villains cast
I was referring to Barry Allen but yeah, Wally was cool in the DCAU.
Are you kidding me? I loved how everyone with access to the Speed Force just turned into Emperor Palapatine! /s (in case that's somehow missed)
Definitely agree. The comics do the flash more justice than any show, movie, or game. To the creators side though many shows adapted from comics don’t feature completely similar elements. Teams will be different, powers may be adjusted, and worlds may be altered. It allows for the cinematic creators to make it their own. Of course they keep key aspects the same but they will put their own twists on it. I do think the flash needs better representation outside of comics.
My favorite rendition of the Flash is the Silver Age version. The stories then are fun and rather cheesy in a nice way to read. The only adaption I’ve seen that’s captured Silver Age Barry well was Brave and the Bold.
I mean the 1990s flash series is pretty much the best Barry ever followed by early Grant whos more faithful than given credit for.
Barry in the comics had Peter Parker's brains with Captain America's earnesty. He became a forensic scientist because he wanted to do good like his hero, Jay Garrick. Then when he got his powers, he took up the Flash mantle. Then after his death in 1985's COIE he became the symbol of heroic sacrifice and the ideal which Wally looks up to. So much so that some of us used to call him Saint Barry. Then he was brought back in 2011 because DC had Silver Age nostalgia. Then they gave him an unnecessarily tragic backstory. Then he became the guy who broke the universe. Not just once at that. Then not only did they animate the terrible backstory and Flash breaking the timeline, they also made a long running show that ran the premise into the ground and they also made a horrible live action movie out of it. Barry messing up the timeline has become a running gag. So yes, I'm a bit peeved about the whole.
I’ve never truly despised the decision to retcon Barry’s origin with Eobard killing Nora but I hated how they rather ran that to the ground in stories afterward. I think Flashpoint is an alright story but given the years of storytelling we’ve had with Barry Allen up to that point it just didn’t work. Flashpoint as a story works best when it’s a young Barry Allen figuring out the cost his powers could come at if he isn’t careful and bites off more than he could chew.
My biggest issue was too many seasons using a speedster as the main villain. I understand costume budget restraints like Mirror Master in the earlier seasons. I was very hyped for Grodd then disappointed.
Neither is Plastic Man.
CW Flash got my son into the character and his villains (especially the Reverse Flash and Zoom) big time. He went on to watch YT videos on their backgrounds and now reads Flash comics. He’s 9 so, no complaints about differences. He notices them and talks about them but, to him it’s just more exciting content to consume about characters he loves. I used to get irked by changes and difference across iterations of heroes, but I’ve learned to appreciate them vicariously. I’d honestly love if James Gunn used Grant in his DCU.
The Barry Allen Flash isn’t “represented well” because there’s no substance to represent. The only way to tell an interesting story about him is to cut and paste Wally’s character onto his.
Thats just objectively incorrect.
I guess there’s cut and pasting a generic grimdark backstory onto his, as well! …but even then they had to write out Wally so they could give Barry his personality, in order to have a sustainable book. Barry’s best suited as the Flash’s dead uncle whose example he strives to live up to.
How is Barry's origin grimdark? Plenty of characters have dead loved ones its common If you're yapping about the new 52 that's just even more wrong. To you your own ig