Why The Legacy of The Flash Matters
In the hallowed halls of the Justice League Watchtower, the greatest heroes of the DC Universe walk the halls. Among them is Flash the fastest man alive. Today, the man in red and yellow is Wally West, the former sidekick turned superhero statesman.
Wally is the third person to play the role of Scarlet Speedster. Before him came Barry Allen and Jay Garrick. These three men have kept the Flash’s legacy alive for almost 90 years. But what was once the story of a legacy hero passing the torch to each generation has stagnated over the past 20 years.
Now, more than ever, the time has come for the current Flash to pass the baton and let a new generation take up the mantle.
Why Flash’s Legacy Matters
Arriving at the beginning of the Golden Age, Jay Garrick quickly became a major character. Jay, a college student who gained his powers in a lab accident, helped found the first superhero team in history, the Justice Society of America, and was the first hero to appear regularly in three comics at once (Flash comics, Full Flash Comics, and All Star Comics).
With his silver helmet and bright red shirt with a large yellow lightning bolt, Flash instantly captured the imagination of children and soldiers who fought in World War II. But, as with most superheroes, Jay Garrick faded away in the late 1940s, apparently thrown into the trash can and never seen again.
A New Spark is Needed for Today’s World
As someone who has grown up with the character, I love watching Wally West go from a cocky, misogynistic twenty-something to a married man with three kids, a dog, and a house with a white picket fence. But that’s my Flash, and today’s younger readers deserve a Flash who experiences the world the way they do. One that connects to the past, but leads to the future, just like Barry and Wally did.
This doesn’t mean the other Flashes should flee into the sunset. Just like now, they should be present, but they should not be the center of attention. Instead, a character who arrives with a new beginning can take the Scarlet Speedster’s legacy to new heights.
Who Should Be The New Flash?
Bart Allen, Barry Allen’s grandson from the future, may seem like the perfect choice to become the new Flash, but the reality is that it would be a very bad idea. Created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo, the teenage hero with a severe case of ADHD was never supposed to become The Flash.
And, of course, there are Wally West’s children, Iris and Jai. If a member of the West clan were to take over, Iris would be the obvious choice. She likes to be a hero and has super speed, while her brother prefers to live a normal life. Plus, the West kids are still, in fact, kids (baby Wade being the youngest of them), and it would be nice if they didn’t have to go through a Jon Kent situation to become adult heroes.
Avery Ho is another option. The Flash of China, Avery doesn’t have much of a past for new readers to deal with. A writer could create his supporting cast and build a whole new era for the Scarlet Speedster.
The runway is clear. The starting gun is loaded. All DC has to do is pull the trigger and let a new Flash begin his career.
