When it comes to seminal figures in the DC history, few characters are more significant than Barry Allen.
His successful debut in Showcase #4 kicked the Silver Age into high gear. The DC multiverse was unveiled in the pages of Flash #123. His spectacular death in Crisis On Infinite Earths #8 spelled the end of a comic-book era.
Yet the Interblogonet treats the guy like an Amway salesman.
Whenever the Flash is mentioned on a blog or message board, the topics usually concern fandom’s hatred of Bart Allen, a plea for Wally West’s return and (maybe) a kind word or two for Jay Garrick.
But poor Barry? Prevailing sentiments tends to range from “never really liked him” to “more interesting dead than alive.”
The Keeper realizes the character’s stature suffered greatly in the ’70s, but he wasn’t the only DC hero who sleepwalked through uninspired plots and Colletta-ized artwork in the Bronze Age.
(Does anybody recall the David V. Reed Batman?)
Like the Dark Knight, Barry possessed enough redeeming qualities to overcome poor storytelling. The Silver-Age Flash is much, much more than DC’s resident martyr.
Skeptical? Here’s a few reasons why the Keeper is an avid Barry booster.
He was a fanboy!
He was a CSI expert decades before it was cool!
His rogues gallery included a talking ape!
He loved Hal Jordan!
(A man-crush and love of comic books! Barry would have been a great blogger … )
His love interest possessed more depth than Lois Lane and Carol Ferris combined!
He broke the fourth wall!
He actually wanted to help people!
(Remember when super-heroes did more than brood and beat up bad guys?)
And last but not least, he told the Justice League to stuff it!
Cool, eh?
Despite our high opinion of Barry, however, the Keeper does not want the character to be resurrected. If he came back today, the Flash would be portrayed in the same joyless light as Hal Jordan or the Teen Titans.
No thank you.
We would just be happy if the character’s role in DC history was properly acknowledged. Barry might not have been the first (or last) hero to use the codename “Flash,” but he definitely deserves to be remembered as THE Flash.
