DC's Ultimate Flash Called Out How Barry Allen Ripped Off Wally West - Screen Rant

The dynamic Flash duo of Barry Allen and Wally West are an incredible pair in DC Comics. Together, they've saved the day and made the hero a popular staple within the Justice League for many decades. However, by now, the two have developed a tendency to become interchangeable in the worst way.

Jay Garrick was the first Flash in comics, but later Barry Allen became one of the most popular characters to wear the mantle. Wally took over the mantle in the '80s during Crisis on Infinite Earths and in recent years, the two have been a little difficult to tell apart. This has become so true, that merging Barry and Wally into a single hero doesn't result in a noticeably hybridized hero in alternate universes.

Superman/Batman #60 and #61 (2009) have the creative team of Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, and Rob Leigh. Within these issues, the World's Finest are transported to a dream world where the Teen Titans are merged with the Justice League, resulting in hybrid heroes. For example, Beast Boy and Hawkman become Hawkbeast - a large green hawk with a mace. Similarly, the Justice League's Flash (Barry Allen) is merged with the Teen Titans' Kid Flash. However, this hero is simply called Flash and there aren't many ways of noticing that Barry and Wally have been combined.

Flash's suit in this two-issue arc most closely mirrors Barry's, however, when Superman confronts him upon entering the world, he refers to him as Wally. This causes this Flash to be confused about how the Man of Steel knows his name. When Batman and Superman finally start to figure out how this world works, they assume Wally is the exception to the combinations for one main reason: he has been on both teams. However, that isn't fully the case. Wally and Barry HAVE been combined into Wally Allen - they're just too similar for there to be an immediately noticeable difference.

Justice League Infinity #1 (2021) showcases Wally in the role of the Flash. However, Barry Allen's resurrection in 2008 provided numerous personality changes that were more in line with Wally. This is likely due to long-time criticisms of Barry not being as interesting as his younger counterpart. However, DC has failed to make him truly distinct. The main Flash mantle might as well be occupied by a single character since combining the two into one doesn't cause much of a difference. Most of the fun and absurdity of Superman/Batman #60 and #61 is seeing how well or poorly the various hero (and villain) combinations work in action. Flash ends up being one of the most disappointing since there is no discernible change in the hero. Superman and his son, Jon Kent are distinctly different heroes with noticeably different suits. Having both Flashes maintain similar personalities and absurdly similar suits has sadly allowed DC to blend Barry Allen and Wally West beyond independent recognition in not just animated media, but also multiple comics.

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Samantha King (796 Articles Published)

Samantha King is a Comic News Writer for Screen Rant. She has a B.A. in English & American Literature with a concentration in Shakespeare and a minor in Creative Writing from UTEP. She also has a M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas. Samantha used to get in trouble for reading comics in class back in high school, but she gets the last laugh. She took a graphic novel course in college and now gets paid to write about comics. She runs her own blog at: https://ift.tt/nGWBzAR