Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Bart Allen Bites It????


Flash 13
Originally uploaded by Heidi Meeley
DC has just released this image of the cover of Flash The Fastest Man Alive #13, with the ominous tag line "The Countdown Continues". What does this mean for Bart Allen? What has Iris Allen been up to all this time? What are the rogues up to?

Most importantly: why does it always have to be the Flash that bites it?

The good is that this could be clearing the way for Barry Allen to return. The bad is that I have grown very fond of Bart and would hate to see something happen to him. I miss Wally and Linda something terrible as it is. The issue goes on sale next week, so I guess we won't have to wait long to find out the final fate.

What do you think this means for the future of the Flash?

16 comments:

Nick said...

Grr...Barry Allen needs to stay dead, he had a heroic death, they need to bring back Wally pretty bad though I will agree with ya.

Swinebread said...

Maybe we can kill everybody off in a big crisis and then restart time and bring ‘em all back again. What ya think?

Anonymous said...

"Most importantly: why does it always have to be the Flash that bites it?"

Good question. DC seems to think it's some kind of macabre tradition to have a Flash either disappear or die just prior to a universal (or multiversal) conflagration. You may recall they did something similar to Wally in the ramp-up to Zero Hour (DC's kinda-sorta Crisis of the early 90's).

However, last year I took a look back through my Flash collection, and it hit me: The Flash (specifically Barry Allen) has been in DC's "crosshairs" for years.

Regarding Bart's fate, I recall before the Flash title relaunch Dan Didio (in typical cryptic fashion) warned us not to get too attached to the person we see as the Flash in issue #1...implying that that person would be killed or quit somehow to make room for yet another Flash. Maybe this was their plan all along....I have no idea.

Even if it was in the cards for a long time, I think their handling of the transition from Wally to Bart was, at best, clumsy or, at worst, incompetent. The TV writers they hired really seemed to blow it, and the early issues had some pretty rough artwork. Not a formula for success...especially since the Flash series just prior to the Crisis was a fairly successful title.

What does this mean for the Flash's future? Depends which Flash you're talking about. I don't have strong feelings either way about Bart (though I did dislike the "airhead" chracterization that had stuck with him for so many years), and I grew to like Wally over his long "run"...but my heart is still with Barry Allen. I don't know...there's just something about the Flash coming back to the helm, especially after so many years of being DC's sainted Martyr Boy. Hey, if Green Arrow and Hal Jordan can come back from the dead, why not the final remaining member of the Silver Age gang?

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Yup. I did a little digging and here's the actual quote from Didio (taken from a Newsarama interview, published about a year ago):

"“The costume will be very familiar,” Didio said with a chuckle, “Although you may not want to get too attached to the first Flash you see…”

Click here to jump to the interview.

Vaklam said...

Mark's got a point. We've been seeing variations of this cover for decades.

Lisa said...

Unfortunately it seems that death, or at least some sort of disapearance that can seem like death, sells this comic book. Well, to be honest it sells most comics these days. But the Flash numbers before the relaunch had gotten fairly high with those last couple of issues. Then they started out stron for the new series as part of One Year Later. But the sales have started to slow and a lot of people say they don't like Bart. Now that they're hyping up the comic for this big death/new Flash event we've gotten lots of people to pre-order it, so numbers will definately go up. Plus DC made it returnable for stores that ordered 200% more than what they initially ordered.

Carl said...

I dropped the new Flash like it was an open canister of medical waste, flung it from my collection is more apt. I had formerly like Bart as Impulse, then Kid Flash and enjoyed him in The Flash and Titans books. Then they flushed Wally and made very, very uninteresting Bart the new Flash. Ick, I just got used to another lost title that I formerly loved being put on the ignore list. And I really don't see the problem with Barry Allen coming back. Hell, most of the current fans never read a single one of his stories unless back issues or reprints since he's been dead since 1985, so he's not as important to them. And after they basically sabotaged and ret-conned Hal Jordan's past into an unstable psycho superhero that it took serious writing and years to fix, DC Comics owes us. So, sorry, I'd step on Bart Allen's corpse to get Barry Allen back. Sad, but true...

Heidi Meeley said...

Nick, I would like to see Barry remain the legend he has become rather then a rehash to further a story. As much as I love the character, I am really torn.

Wally, on the other hand, didn't get a good ending in my mind. I am still pretty miffed about that one!

Heidi Meeley said...

Swinebread: I would imagine DC has thought of that. God knows it might happen if they are really doing a "Final Crisis" like rumor has it!!

Heidi Meeley said...

Mark, thank you so much for the link! It makes sense now from all the teasing.

I am still iffy on bringing Barry back because I don't want it done the wrong way. The story should be majestic and intense, and I am worried it won't be that way. I guess I am worried about being disapointed. Yikes.

Also, Wally's demise sucked. I miss Linda as well. I really want to see some closure there.

It sounds like you would like to see the last of the "three" back, and I don't blame you. As a classic JLA fan, I get pangs every once in a while as well. It just makes me nervous....

Thank you for the really insightful comments- you always put it in perspective!

Heidi Meeley said...

Vaklam: that is true! I should see if I can talk my hubby into digging some of them up. He is good with research like that.

You and Mark make a good point in that respect!

Heidi Meeley said...

Lisa, I will keep an eye out on your blog for any figures on the Flash sales. I am fascinated to know what will happen, especially with DC being so confident. It is kind of like the whole New Avengers #31 brouhaha, with the companies being tight lipped, but pushing for high volume orders.

My local retailer said that Flash sales have been soft since the relaunch, so this should be interesting.

Heidi Meeley said...

Carl, you don't mince words, my friend! I can see you would like to have Barry back as well!

Andy said...

I just read #13, and it appears as though Bart is dead.

Barry needs to stay DEAD. Bringing him back is an absolutely terrible idea. His story was great and it ended great. Plus, his personality (a boy scout) doesn't allow for very compelling storytelling.

Wally, on the other hand, NEEDS to come back. He had the best story of all the speedsters, and he really is the only one who can be brought back, since he's just residing in the Speed Force.

mack said...

they should bring back bart as impulse or kid flash. they made him into the flash much to fast