How Wally West Became The Flash
Courtesy of Comics Interview #50 and Amazing Heroes #91
In the final pages of Crisis #12, Wally West, the former Kid Flash, found that the physical condition he'd had that prevented him from exercising his powers was abated. He opted to return to a life of crimefighting, and assumed the name and famous crimson suit of his late uncle and mentor, Barry Allen. According to George Pérez, "that became almost an 11th hour decision after DC couldn't quite come up with an idea for a new Flash. No one could think of anything without feeling like they were somehow insulting the name by giving it to a concept that had nothing to do with Barry Allen!"
Pérez adds, "Basically, they just ran out of what they could think of. After trying to figure out a new Flash, they realized they weren't getting anywhere. One idea was unacceptable, another idea was unacceptable, and the end of the series was starting to come up. We needed something. They couldn't think of a new Flash that would be unique unto him or herself, so unfortunately they decided to go for Wally West as the Flash. Which was a logical thing, but what bothered me is that technically we just killed the costume, because he's the same basic character and anyone who picks up the book without any real knowledge of who Wally West or Barry Allen were is going to immediately think it's the same character. So there was no real reason in my mind to have killed him off, since all you did was technically kill off Barry Allen, who was not the problem - you kept the Flash, who supposedly was the problem. (Laughter.)"
Pérez says that no one liked the idea of creating a female Flash, if for no other reason than the gimmick of creating female versions of former male characters had already been done twice in Crisis (with the new Dr. Light and Wildcat). "We still had the Wally West storyline up in the air from the Titans. Marv came up with the idea first, I liked it, and we let the mantle go on to a younger character. Now there are still two Flashes... but one - the Golden Age Flash - "is definitely a much older man and one is a teenager. It's much more of a father/son relationship than before. It opens up a whole new idea for stories. "I think our decision to make Wally West the Flash worked out nicely - after all, he's the only other person who ever wore the costume.
For him, it was just a case of going back to his roots, says Pérez, referring to the fact that Kid Flash's original costume, which he wore during the first few years of his career, was nothing more than a kid-sized version of the Flash's suit. "By doing this, we firmly established that the Flash did exist in the DC Universe, unlike Supergirl, who will pretty much have to be disavowed now. He lived, he died, and this is now a tribute to him. He remains active in DC history.'
Of course, unlike Barry Allen, who could travel at faster-than,-light speeds, the new Flash is "only" as fast as the speed of sound. "Marv and I debated as to how much we should tone down his powers. I, myself wanted him a little faster, probably able to reach the speed of light so that his name would make sense. I had absolutely no problems with it, though - between the speed of sound and the speed of light, you're not talking about that much difference in terms of what you can show in a comic book, anyway!'
What If The Flash Lived?
BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! flash lives!!!
courtesy of http://www.marvwolfman.com
"For those hundreds of people who have been asking how I intended to bring back Barry Allen from death in "Crisis On Infinite Earths" the answer will now be revealed once an for all! If you remember, Flash was moving backward through time, from the future to the (1985) present. Occasionally he would pop up for an instant before the time stream closed up on him once again. My idea was to pluck him out of one second of time. From this moment on Barry would know that the time stream could close in on him for the last time at any instant. For the first time in his life, Barry understood that every moment mattered to him. He therefore had to do as much good as he could knowing any moment might be his last. Because it was felt by some (not me) that Barry wasn't as dynamic a character as many others, I thought this character alteration would make him more interesting to the readers at large. I could bring him back from the dead and add a dynamic tension to the character that others felt he lacked. I proposed this solution from Day one, but for good or bad - your decision - it wasn't taken. Was I right? Well, I think it would have given Barry the 'oomph' some thought he lacked. On the other hand, Wally West as the new Flash has been an incredibly popular character for fifteen years now."
- Marv Wolfman
The Unused Flash: Mackenzie Ryan
From Amazing Heroes Preview Special #2 [1986]
A last-minute entry into the Preview Special, The Flash is shrouded in mystery. Created by Len Wein and Mary Wolfman, who at this point are scheduled to co-write the series, The Flash is reported to bear absolutely no similarities to the long-time DC star who met his end in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Editor Alan Gold assured Amazing Heroes that this new character won't even be a super- speedster, but will instead be able to manipulate various forms of energy - light, sound, and so forth - in order to defeat his foes. In his secret identity of Mackenzie Ryan, the Flash will be a technician at STAR Labs in Metropolis, working side-by-side with Jeanette Klyburn. Says Gold, "Mackenzie is more than just friendly with Jeanette. Whether or not they're lovers is still open for debate at this point, but he's definitely the only non-work interest in her life. Mac is also a single parent, with a daughter somewhere between the ages of eight and twelve. "The only other thing I can say right now is that there will be a new, major DC villain in the first issue. He has no name as of yet, but his origin and the Flash's origin will be inextricably connected" No artist has yet been chosen for the book, which has just seen its release date pushed into the far future, but both Gold and Wein indicate Chuck Patton to be the most likely candidate.
