I too would like it if they found a way to incorporate that Barry was the first “scarlet speedster” and that Wally came by his powers through Barry or being chosen by the speed force (though I don’t remember whether they ever resolved which it was).

Geek talk mostly aside though, the reason the Barry Allen Flash was killed off was because sales were flagging because he had too cookie cutter of a personality.

If they use the name Barry Allen and make him a forensics expert, they’re still going to have to give him Wally’s personality to make him as engaging a character as they can if they want the franchise to succeed.

Still, this sounds like it will be a complete joke if it does happen. It’ll be worse than a DC version of Fantastic 4. Comedy is easy, they need a serious action/sci fi director with a respect/love for the character, if they do it seriously they can throw humor in every now and then and the film works great. But this just seems hazardous to the Flash legacy, IMO. Any hopes of seeing Barry (or anyone else) speeding across the screen over the next few years have been completely shot for me. I don’t want to see The Flash film made into a joke, I don’t want them to make him dumb for the kiddies like they did on the JLU show either.

I believe a large part of the reason of why a Flash film hasn’t been made yet is because not too many people are familiar with the character, and the fact that there have been more than 3 versions of him over the last 50 years. So I have written a *brief* summary on the Flash and his history, and my thoughts on which version of the Flash would be best for film. Please read on, I hope this will be a help to you :D :

1940 - JAY GARRICK, FIRST APPEARANCE FLASH, FLASH 1
hair: dark brown/black
eyes: brown

Jay Garrick aka the Flash debuted in 1940. He received his super speed powers
from inhaling hard water vapors when he was in college. He then became the
college football star and eventually donned a red shirt with a big, yellow lightning bolt across it and wore a World War1 helmet with wings, reminiscent of the Greek god Mercury, called himself the Flash, and fought crime. At first his identity seemed to be publicly known, this was later changed into it being secret. Although he was technically the very first character with super peed powers to call himself the Flash, he was not much like the Flash as we think of him today. In many ways he was a concept for the contemporary Flash. For instance, he could not run at light speed, he didn’t wear a mask or gloves, etc. Here is a picture of him . As you can see, he is not what think of when we think of Flash. Throghout his carreer as Flash he helped found the JSA (Justice Society of America), a precursor to the JLA (Justice League of America)/a JLA prototype. In the late forties, after World War 2, when people began to lose interest in the superhero genre,many superheroes faded into obscurity. The Flash was no exception. His book was caceled in 1949.

1956 - BARRY ALLEN, FLASH 2.A
hair: blonde
eyes: blue

Years later, DC decided to take a second crack at the superhero genre. With the
new interest in science fiction, DC decided to revive several of their old characters, this time with a more modernistic, sci fi oriented take (Jay Garrick and the other golden agers stories were more whimsical, almost magical). They would keep the old names and make the powers similar to the golden age heroes, but their stories, aliases, origins, personalities and appearances were completely reinvented into what we know them as today. The Flash was the first to undergo this transformation. In 1956, the all new Flash debuted, and introduced everything about the Flash as we know him today. He was Barry Allen, a 24 year old police scientist with a record for being slow/easy going, who, while working late in his lab one night, was hit by lightning during an electrical storm and doused in random, supercharged chemicals sitting on a nearby shelf. As a result of the accident, “slowpoke” Barry Allen had gained super speed powers. He could do more than just run fast, he could vibrate his molecules so fast that he was able to pass thru solid objects, he could see things super fast, he could run across water or up the side of a building, because of his super metabolism he could heal faster than an ordinary human being, could retain all the information he read at super speed, and, if he vibrated at a certain frequency, he was able to travel to other worlds/dimensions. He was also the fastest of all the Flashes, capable of moving at light speed with ease, at the speed of thought, and, nearly straining himself, has moved at ten times the speed of light (1,860,000 mph). The new Flash was notably more humorous in personality than the first appearance Flash, and he was arguably the smartest of the Flashes, being a scientist. With the debut of the new Flash, the familair red and gold costume , logo/symbol and many other things that have made the Flash iconic were introduced, such as the Rogues Gallery and Central City. In this new reality/continuity that DC had created, it was established that the old Flash, Jay Garrick, along with all the other golden age heroes, and all their exploits, took place in comic books. Inspired by his childhood comic book hero’s (The Flash, Jay Garrick) adventures, Barry called himself The Flash and became a crime fighting adventurer. He created many things that made the Flash what he is today, such as the red costume with gold boots and trim, complete with a mask that concealed his identity and the familiar lightning over white circle symbol. He was the most inventive of the Flashes, creating such phenomenon as the Flash ring, in which he concealed his costume, which was super compressed with the air sucked out of it, and when released, expanded upon contact with air. He is the first “modern” Flash, every Flash since him has been a variation and direct continuation of him (not a reinvention like Barry is to Jay). Everything we know about the Flash today trickles down from Barry. Although considered slow and even lazy by some (a facade he kept up as not to be suspected as the Flash, of course) throughout his career as a forensic scientist, Barry Allen always got his cases done, and made an amazing scientific discovery; the tachyon, a subatomic particle that could only exist a t speeds higher than that of light. Eventually Barry married his longtime college girlfriend, TV reporter Iris West (who landed the first interview with the Flash), and later in his marriage revealed to her that he was the Flash. Throughout his career as the Flash, he helped found the very first JLA, became best friends with Green Lantern Hal Jordan (as both a superhero and in his personal life), and defended Central City from many supervillains such as Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Reverse Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and the Weather Wizard. Eventually, Barry *died* saving the universe from an evil supreme being only he could stop called the Anti Monitor during Crisis on Infinite Earths. He needed to move faster than he ever had before, hundreds of times faster than the speed of light, to prevent the Anti Monitor’s tachyon particle cannon from destroying the universe, and in doing so moved so fast that he was vaporized. He was presumed dead, though all that was left of him was his costume. In DC Uni verse #0, Barry Allen materializes and returns in the Final Crisis as the Flash.

1985 - WALLY WEST, FLASH 2.B
hair: red
eyes: green

In 1985, when Barry Allen/Flash was presumed dead, the Flash’s sidekick and
nephew took over as Flash. Enter Wally West. When Wally West was a child he was a huge fan of the Flash. At age 10, one day while visiting his Aunt, Iris West,
he spent an afternoon with her boyfriend, forensic scientist Barry Allen at his
lab and met his hero, the Flash. Suddenly, lightning struck and Wally was doused
in supercharged chemicals, in the very same lab Barry had received
powers in, and Wally too had received superspeed powers. Although he was not as powerful as Barry at first, he donned a costume and became Kid Flash, sidekick to The Flash and kept his identity secret, like his Aunt’s boyfriend and eventual uncle, Barry Allen. When Barry *died*, Wally took over as the Flash. At first Wally was snotty and temperamental, but eventually he became responsible for the Flash legacy. Wally West is a part time mechanic, he usually doesn’t have a consistent job, but is a full time superhero. Up until reccently, Wally’s identity was public, he was a public superhero, viewed as kind of a celebrity, which factored into his popularity.For about 5 or so years now, Wally’s identity has been secret. He eventually married Linda Park, a former TV reporter, with whom he had twins with. During his career as Flash he discovered the Speed Force, an extra dimensional energy that is the source for all the speedsters powers, and since his interaction with it he has gained new powers. Wally is also the first sidekick to fulfill the “promise”/responsibility of actually taking over the mentor’s role as a superhero. During DC’s Infinite Crisis, as Wally and other heroes attempted to avert the evil Superboy Prime at top speed, he and his family were sucked into the Speed Force and taken to an alternate reality. In 2006, the Flash as presumed dead or missing. Wally West and fam returned in the JLA comic’s “Lightning Saga” story-arc.

2006 - BART ALLEN, FLASH 2.C
hair: brown
eyes: yellow

Bart Allen is Barry Allen’s grandson from the future. Before Barry *died*, he and his wife, Iris were living in the future. When Barry died, Iris was pregnant. She gave birth to the Tornado Twins, one of whom was Don Allen, who, as an adult, married and is the father of Bart Allen. Although Bart Allen inherited his grandfather’s super speed powers, he suffered from a hyper-accelerated metabolism, he was aging at a faster rate than that of an ordinary human being thus causing him to appear the age of twelve when he was chronologically only two years old. To prevent him from developing mental health problems he was raised in a virtual reality machine which created a simulated world that kept pace with his own scale of time. When it became clear that this method was not helping, his grandmother, Iris Allen, took him back in time to the present where the present Flash, Wally West, tracked him down in a race across the world. By forcing Bart into an extreme burst of speed, Wally ma naged to shock his hyper-metabolism back to normal. Because of his impulsive personality, Bart was dubbed “Impulse” for a time, and not wanting to be affiliated with the Flash at first accepted the title but eventually became the new Kid Flash, sidekick to Wally’s Flash. Originally, Bart was very sarcastic and immature in personality. When Wally West disappeared, Bart took over as the new Flash. In his secret identity, Bart is also mechanic. In 2007, Bart was murdered by the Rogues (a group of Flash enemies), led by Inertia, Bart’s evil clone.

THE FLASH IN TV AND ANIMATION FACTS:

JUSTICE LEAGUE/ JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED ANIMATED FLASH:

- This Flash’s origin (forensic scientist accidentally gets hit by lightning and doused in electrically charged chemicals, gains super speed powers because of it), job occupation (forensic scientist), status as being the only/the first Flash (he was never Kid Flash), the Flash costume ring, the city he lived in (Central City), the enemies he fought and his somewhat friendly relationship with them (Wally West treated them like scum in the comics) were all elements of BARRY ALLEN’s story.

- This Flash’s name (Wally West), appearance (red hair, green eyes) and the fact that Linda Park appeared in an episode were all elements of WALLY WEST’s story.

- This Flash’s personality is similar to BART ALLEN’s when he was Impulse.

THE BATMAN ANIMATAED VERSION:

- Altho never seen in his secret identity on he show, this Flash was BARRY ALLEN ( the producers said so ). He is from Barry’s city (Central City), used abilities that only Barry could do (such as the molecule vibration), fought the Mirror Master (Sam Scudder version, one of Barry’s original enemies), and helped found the JLA with fellow members Green Lantern/Hal Jordan and Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (both best friends of Barry’s in the comics). Also, it would have been impossible for this show’s Flash to be Wally West or Bart Allen, as the show’s Robin was Dick Grayson, who is the same age as Wally West and much older than Bart Allen.

- This show’s Flash’s personality is similar to that of Impulse’s and the 1990s Flash TV show’s Barry Allen.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER ANIMATED VERSION:

- Other than his eyes being colored brown in some scenes, this Flash was entirely Barry Allen.

SMALLVILLE TV SHOW VERSION:

- An episode of the Smallville live action TV show featured a speedster named Bart Allen. Bart carries around identification with the names “Jay Garrick”, “Barry Allen”, and “Wally West”. In a later episode he appears using the codename Impulse and wearing a costume of sorts.

1990s FLASH TV SHOW VERSION:

- Barry Allen was the Flash in this live-action TV series, although this character incorporated elements of Wally West’s story at the time such as Dr. Tina McGee and S.T.A.R. labs. The TV show was comparatively much darker than the comics.

So which Flash should the Flash film be about? Barry Allen, of course. He’s the most self contained and is the original Flash (red suit, etc) and he doesn’t have any continuity baggage of being a sidekick like Wally or Bart and was the first Flash as we know him today, he would therefore be best for the Flash’s big screen debut. Even if you want to see Wally or Bart as Flash in a film one day, Barry Allen HAS to be established in the film somehow in order to tell their stories, as they are directly related to Barry and are continuing his story. Without Barry, Wally and Bart have no reason for being, so it would be wise to start with Barry and then go from there. Besides, everyone wants to see Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in a Green Lantern movie, and everyone hopes that GL and Flash will lead into a JLA film, another good reason for why Barry should be Flash; he and Hal Jordan were the same age and best friends and established the JLA together, to do any other Flash than Barry with Hal in JLA would be ridiculous, Hal is over 17 years older than Wally West (he’s like an uncle to him) and He is over 30 years older than Bart Allen, there would be no chemistry. So, like the comics, start with Barry and go from there. The only reason why Wally and Bart worked is because they already had this long, established history/continuity of Barry Allen, Wally didn’t just suddenly go from Kid Flash to Flash, there was a whole Barry legacy that had been explored for years with Waly as his protege which made Wally all the more potent of a character. To do any other Flash than Barry first, be it Wally or Bart, is to take away from that character. They must start with the origin of the Flash, which is Barry Allen’s story. I want to see him create the suit, experiment with his new found powers, how he became a superhero, the first villains he fought, etc, I want to see the origin of the Flash, and I think audiences will appreciate that.

I think anything moving at the speed of light will hurt regardless of mass. Also if you really want to get “geeky” the science aspect would be amazingly fun to play with in terms of a character like this.

That power of his could garner him quite a number of abilities that could kill people. I remember one time reading in an issue that since he moves so vast, he could vibrate through solid matter and go through anything. Imagine what that would do to a persons body? or if he threw a handful of gravel at someone with that type of speed?

I shouldn’t have laughed at that picture. But I did.

And this picture is just awesome
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/1096/2137a9950nf3.jpg

You can give any material a real since of epicness. He actually does have some cool villians. Also when you think about the scientific aspect of his “power”. It makes more room for really amazing shit to do in a movie based on a character that can run at the speed of light. Which they touched upon in the tv series at times. I like how he always burned through his bodies energy and always had to replenish himself with tons of food or had to deal with his powers wearing him down if he didn’t care for himself the right way.

His speed and his iconic costume alone is enough to get him popularity in film. If you set this guy up right, he could be just as popular if not more than the other heroes found in films today.

I’m not sure Nolan would be good for a character like The Flash. But just get the project away from Goyer’s directing hands please!

By god, get Nolan on this right away! I don’t want any other director fucking this up!

Hell, he could win the silver and bronze as well by finishing three times in a row.