Crisis Kid Confession-part deux
DetectiveChimp
Posts: 5
So happy to hear the return of the crisis tapes. Realizing this event is many issues away, I would to get your take on one point. Is it just me or did the Flash really get a raw deal? The death of Supergirl was treated like the passing of a pope, but her legacy at that time was nothing more that a super-also ran with several failed series and one god awful movie to her name. Granted, she did have a long history in the DCU but longevity doesn't not always equal quality. The Flash single handedly restarted the super hero comic book craze in the post Wertham 1950s, opening the door to updates of classic characters and the creation of new ones, including, arguably, serving as a catalyst for the Renaissance over at Marvel. Yes, his sales were flagging and, yes, the character was not going to go away forever as Wally West would take over the mantel. However, given the character's place in the DC universe and history of the medium, I've always felt like his dying alone and unnoticed for several issues, followed by no memorial service was not the send off he richly deserved. Your thoughts?
Comments
I've written before, too, about how there wasn't this beast called the internet back then. So when I walked into the comic book store and saw that iconic cover...that was the first time I'd even heard about it. Nowadays of course, the news would be out three months in advance to boost sales on the issue and there'd be a dozen blogs about how long THIS death might stick...but in the mid 80s? Yeah, it was still a pretty big deal.
To me the real trick with the Flash's demise was most of us were catching our breath at "Holy crap they just killed Supergirl" that we weren't expecting the Flash to die right on the heels of it. I agree it might have been overshadowed by Supergirl's demise, but then again, I was just as floored by it.
* The actual reason SG was killed was of course to make Kal the sole survivor of Krypton. That's the behind-the-scenes rationale anyhow.