This week we're going to do something a bit different than usual on poll position. Rather than doing a poll that will lead to a list, we're just going to have a self contained poll. No suggestions, no list. Now the reason why is simple. There are many famous instances in comics of a hero taking up the mantel of another hero (Sam Wilson taking up the Captain America role from Steve Rogers for example). However, there are only three examples of this happening where more than one character was given the opportunity to not only make a mark on the role but to make it their own. And probably the most famous of those three is The Flash. So this week, I want to know who, in your opinion, is the best of the 4 men to have taken up the mantel of the Scarlet Speedster.
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This is a tough one. Not just the different generations of The Flash, but you have different iterations of the same person across multiple media formats (comics, TV shows, animation…). There’s no end. There’s an infinite number of Flashes (ahem).
Then there is the upcoming Justice League movie. I watched the clip. That Flash is Barry Allen in name only. He’s actually Wally West.
And a reminder, Arrowversers, new Flash on Tuesday! And they moved DC’s Legends of Tomorrow right after. Then a new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
Which begs the question who decided to run Supergirl against Gotham? And when is iZombie returning?
Good poll. This is my take on these characters. This view comes with very colored lenses….
Jay was never my Flash. For me he was always the wise man people would go to for advice or help in difficult situations, but never the main character. He was Flash in name, but, for me, was always “that other Flash”.
Barry, was the Flash when I was a kid. Kid Flash existed, but wasn’t very prominent. The first story with him that really touched me was his last for a long tome. Crisis on Infinite Earths, where he sacrifices himself to save the Universe. That made him, for me, the ghost that Wally always chased.
Bart is great for me as Impulse/Kid Flash, but he’s too much of a punk to be the Flash. I particularly HATE his “last” story as the Flash when he dies taking a beating by the rogues, only to be brought back in the future by the Legion of Superheroes as a kid again (being Kid Flash) and somehow his adult self is “erased” from existence. (There is a topic for another “what were they thinking” post)
Wally is the one I ” saw” grow up and take the mantle. Through thick and thin, he “was chased” by Barry’s ghost. Always doing greater and greater things but pushing himself to be better for the ideal of a mentor he could never fulfill. He was the one I “bonded” with. As much as I like Barry (particularly in the TV show), Wally (original Wally, not New 52 Wally), is my Flash!