Flash Annual #3

[flint_marko]

Comments

[nyadnar17]

So the new black Flash is a kid on the path of crime because his father is a career criminal until a white man shows him the way.....are you fucking kidding me?

[hybrid2]

That's what white men do.
You're welcome.

[flint_marko]

His father isn't a criminal; he idolized his uncle, who became the Reverse Flash.

[onceaskrull]

THANK YOU. I was super uncomfortable with how Wally was introduced and how the story appears to be setting up Great White Saint Barry to put Wally on the "right path".

[starwolf_oakley]

Would things be better if the races were reversed? Avuncular black men guiding young white teens isn't that popular either. Or so popular it has become an annoying cliché.

[silicondream]

*Is* he black? He just looks kinda generic-o-ethnic. You know, he's being filmed in deep shadow and his hair has texture!! but he's got blue eyes (not green eyes? shutup) cuz those pop off the page, right Storm?

[burkeonthesly]

Wait, that kid's supposed to be black? I didn't even see it until the last two panels.

[sun_man]

biracial Flash

[onceaskrull]

The writing (not to mention the art) on this is just so mediocre. And can I just come out as unequivocally stating that I am sick and tired of "wayward, jaded/destructive teen" as the stock character that DC keeps trotting out?

Look, I'm perfectly fine with them changing Wally's race. There are essential components to Wally's character and race was never one of them, but this was just such a poor way to introduce the character.

Also, the colorist gave Wally BLUE eyes? Why in the ever-loving frack? Why not green? WHY NOT GREEN? This bothers me even more than the lack of red hair.

I'm giving it two more issues to see if maybe the clumsy introduction course corrects into an actual three-dimensional character, but I'm not optimistic.

[espanolbot]

'Cause all superheroes in the DCU must have blue eyes regardless of their ethnicity.


Give it time and when Cass Cain comics back (which I think will happen in the near future, what with hints the BE writers have dropped in interviews) she'll probably have blue eyes too... even though in the comics her eyes seemed to change from brown to green depending on the issue.

[chrisdv]

This was absolutely terrible.

If this is the standard of writing going forward, I'm dropping the book.

[polly1788]

so is that hair going down iris face in the second panel or is she wearing a mask

Is it just me, or...

[drtechnobabel]

Does Wally appear to spontaneously gain 15 pounds in the second panel, then lose it again just as fast by the third? That's the most dramatic example, but it highlights a problem I'm noticing here, which is that the artist doesn't seem to have a consistent idea of what Wally should look like. As a result, he changes appearance from panel to panel, most noticeably with his face.

[wtfomfg2]

Wow. This is awful. Also, I know that's Iris, but all I can see in Mayday Parker.

[halloweenjack]

Sal Buscema, ladies and germs.

[deepspaceartist]

Yeah, that's not Wally. It's a new, completly different character that had Wally West's name slapped on him for some reason.

Then again, that seems to be true for most New DC characters that aren't important silver age white people, Lanterns or part of the Bat Family.

[zabilac]

I'm sorry. But I just can't get into this.

[bmaryott]

I hate to say this, but other than the black hair he really doesn't seem black.

Maybe it's his blue eyes that throw me off.

[junipepper]

Well, he's biracial. Blue eyes can happen, and do. Still, I'd have preferred they go with green, for old time's sake.

[superfangirl1]

So if Wally is 12 here. That means he was 17 when he died 5 years from now?

I like that Wally is a misunderstood kid who is lashing out and just need a good father figure role model to give him a sense of purpose.

[shadowpsykie]

I like that Wally is a misunderstood kid who is lashing out and just need a good father figure role model to give him a sense of purpose.

i think it would be less problematic if St. Barry the (literal) white Knight, wasn't the role model... it reads "Missguided minority youth needs to be guided by white man"

[freezer]

So turning Billy Batson into a delinquent asshole was so fun for DC, they decided on repeat with Wally?

Yeah no.

[dustbunny105]

Wait, they did what to Billy?

[crimsonmoonmist]

I dunno, while the "troubled teen being shown the way" cliche doesn't exactly captivate me, I'm willing to see how this new Wally develops over time.

[thatnickguy]

"How to Write Comics: The DC Way.

If you ever need to write a teenager, make sure they're a delinquent. Otherwise, there's absolutely NO way that they can be interesting."

[shadowpsykie]

stargirl isn't Dick wasn't, Tim wasn't, Miguel wasn't,

[spacebetween]

I miss the old Wally to be honest. Now don't get me wrong I don't have anything against that they made him black, but really they could have made this a whole new character.

Also not a fan of how they are handling this.

[icon_uk]

The Wally West name has brand recognition and allows them to get a foot in the door a new "untested" black character might not manage.

[ablackraptor]

Remember when this was first solicited and we all assumed he was going to be the Blue glowy electric Flash? I kinda wish he was now, in retrospect. At least they'd avoid this whole 'angry black youth needs guidance of good honest white folk to set him on the right path' thing they're doing instead.

Also, was it so hard to keep his red hair?

[zechs80]

How did they get Stephanie Brown's New 52 origin so right and Wally's so wrong? Also if they need more minority characters why not introduce that female Flash in JLU Beyond or a new character entirely? This new Wally is a completely different character with just the name of "Wally West" attached to lure old readers in thinking it's going to be business as usual. Well it ain't. This just feels wrong.

[obsidianwolf]

Given the implications with Steph's mom in the last issue I'm not sure Steph's introduction is going to stay so successful. I mean I'm sure DC can screw it up before Eternal is over with.

[big_daddy_d]

So here is the one bit of credit I give: he at least looks like Wally.. for now. Seriously it's Wally with a different color palette. It's as if the artist drew him, then just when he gets the red coloring to apply to his hair, someone yells "STOP!! Make it black! In fact, make HIM black! We got a tv series to promote people!" Also he has a hint of the snark the old Wally possesses.

Now I already revealed my displeasure at the change in a previous post and I stick by it... now we got Wally as a black youth... who seems to have a"fuck the police (in this case, fuck the Flash)" attitude. He seems angry, has an absentee father, mother is gone annnd now we got Mr. Allen to show him the way and be his mentor.

1. Haven't we seen this plot in dozens of movies and tv shows?

2. Can we ease up on the angry young minority trope? Seriously..can we? I'd say DC is better than this but we know better..

[icon_uk]

At least he doesn't have a skateboard