I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I had no doubt that they would go with the New 52 Flash background. It especially makes sense when you consider that this guy is going to headline his own show and what better plot to bring to a show then having a CSI guy try to find out who really killed his mother and free his dad. Although from the description, it looks like that Flash show will eventually get a Reverse Flash at some point
On to the episode itself. i liked it. I was shocked about what went down between Roy and Arrow. I didn't see that coming and I am wondering how that is going to change Roy for the better or worse. The plot twist with Malcolm is very interesting and I am so excited for the show to introduce Ra's Al Ghul to the show. I wonder who will play him? Anyway, the flashbacks are still good and I'm hoping that at some point we'll see Slade and Shado in present day stuff as well as the flashbacks. I think it would be kind of cool.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I'm not watching this show, so I can't complain about the actor cast as Allen. I can say, love it or hate it, the n52 IS the status quo. Its the new foundation, so it only makes sense its what's used. I'm convinced moving forward if you're expecting ANYTHING from the old regime not in the n52, you'll be disappointed.
I liked this Barry Allen but man I got to learn about all the new 52 stuff now because I can't explain some of this stuff to my wife now since its not old 52. I like now they are going to have enhanced humans now. I hate to say but it was fun seeing Ollie get his ass handed to him for once. Very good episode.
It wasn't the first time Ollie got beat down. Merlin did it pretty much every time they fought. He was almost killed at the end of the first season. It was only because Ollie had the arrow that he stuck into both of them that gave Ollie the win but he didn't win every fight.
I actually quite liked the actor and his portrayal of Barry. Would've had more issue with his age had it not been part of the story. Shows gotten better this season in some ways, but still has a pretty high eye roll per episode factor for me. i think theyre throwing too much out there to keep track of this season too.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I agree with that last statement, which is why I said I wasn't surprised. Doesn't mean I really have to like it; I just have to take it.
I'm not against anything new. But what we've got isn't new -- it's refurbished, and not really as good as the original model. (Not so far, anyway, but I could be proven wrong.) If they wanted new, they'd have a new Flash cut from new cloth: a new identity, different back story, maybe even new variations on the whole speed power thing. Instead, we're getting Barry Allen, but in name only -- the current Barry has little in common with the original Barry of the 50's through 80's, and I mean beyond the surface details of what era he currently lives in and whether he carries a slide rule in his pocket or an iPhone.
I certainly didn't mind when DC did away with Barry during the Crisis (well, I sort of did, but, as he went out as a Hero, I didn't mind all that much) and reintroduced Wally West as the New Flash: different character with mostly the same powers, new problems, new (and old) villains, different situations, etc. It was good, and it worked. It also had the element of Legacy to deal with.
But the New52 version of Barry has been hard to take, especially with the new backstory... they've basically taken the old character, screwed him up into a grimmer and mopey personality instead of the bright and inventive fast-thinking hero he used to be and put him into an unnecessarily busy variant of his old costume. (I actually stuck it out reading the New52 Flash comic for 24 issues, and never have I read a more sleep-inducing series of speedster adventures. I'm not even sure I could recall to you what the stories were about without pulling them out of the box for reference.)
Given all that, why not just simply invent a whole new character instead of breaking the old one? I like Barry -- or at least I did -- but I probably could get behind the New 52 Flash a lot more if he wasn't Barry.
Except for the new costume. That's still ugly no matter who wears it.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I agree with that last statement, which is why I said I wasn't surprised. Doesn't mean I really have to like it; I just have to take it.
I'm not against anything new. But what we've got isn't new -- it's refurbished, and not really as good as the original model. (Not so far, anyway, but I could be proven wrong.) If they wanted new, they'd have a new Flash cut from new cloth: a new identity, different back story, maybe even new variations on the whole speed power thing. Instead, we're getting Barry Allen, but in name only -- the current Barry has little in common with the original Barry of the 50's through 80's, and I mean beyond the surface details of what era he currently lives in and whether he carries a slide rule in his pocket or an iPhone.
I certainly didn't mind when DC did away with Barry during the Crisis (well, I sort of did, but, as he went out as a Hero, I didn't mind all that much) and reintroduced Wally West as the New Flash: different character with mostly the same powers, new problems, new (and old) villains, different situations, etc. It was good, and it worked. It also had the element of Legacy to deal with.
But the New52 version of Barry has been hard to take, especially with the new backstory... they've basically taken the old character, screwed him up into a grimmer and mopey personality instead of the bright and inventive fast-thinking hero he used to be and put him into an unnecessarily busy variant of his old costume. (I actually stuck it out reading the New52 Flash comic for 24 issues, and never have I read a more sleep-inducing series of speedster adventures. I'm not even sure I could recall to you what the stories were about without pulling them out of the box for reference.)
Given all that, why not just simply invent a whole new character instead of breaking the old one? I like Barry -- or at least I did -- but I probably could get behind the New 52 Flash a lot more if he wasn't Barry.
Except for the new costume. That's still ugly no matter who wears it.
The best thing to happen to Barry was Crisis. The worst thing was Rebirth. Now it seems like DC is trying to force us to realize why Barry was so great a Flash. Truth is, having him alive can never live up to the impression of greatness he had while dead.
Plus, Wally has to suffer for that move by DC, which also sucks.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I agree with that last statement, which is why I said I wasn't surprised. Doesn't mean I really have to like it; I just have to take it.
I'm not against anything new. But what we've got isn't new -- it's refurbished, and not really as good as the original model. (Not so far, anyway, but I could be proven wrong.) If they wanted new, they'd have a new Flash cut from new cloth: a new identity, different back story, maybe even new variations on the whole speed power thing. Instead, we're getting Barry Allen, but in name only -- the current Barry has little in common with the original Barry of the 50's through 80's, and I mean beyond the surface details of what era he currently lives in and whether he carries a slide rule in his pocket or an iPhone.
I certainly didn't mind when DC did away with Barry during the Crisis (well, I sort of did, but, as he went out as a Hero, I didn't mind all that much) and reintroduced Wally West as the New Flash: different character with mostly the same powers, new problems, new (and old) villains, different situations, etc. It was good, and it worked. It also had the element of Legacy to deal with.
But the New52 version of Barry has been hard to take, especially with the new backstory... they've basically taken the old character, screwed him up into a grimmer and mopey personality instead of the bright and inventive fast-thinking hero he used to be and put him into an unnecessarily busy variant of his old costume. (I actually stuck it out reading the New52 Flash comic for 24 issues, and never have I read a more sleep-inducing series of speedster adventures. I'm not even sure I could recall to you what the stories were about without pulling them out of the box for reference.)
Given all that, why not just simply invent a whole new character instead of breaking the old one? I like Barry -- or at least I did -- but I probably could get behind the New 52 Flash a lot more if he wasn't Barry.
Except for the new costume. That's still ugly no matter who wears it.
Allow me to clarify. When I said new, I meant currently being produced. I know I see far more of your posts declaring disappointment in x than offering thin praise or even backhanded complements for anything being produced currently. I completely get the frustration... I'm a Legion fan and I'm not sure that DC has a property that they've allowed to be crapped on more frequently (by and large, for me, that goes back to post-Zero Hour and the Jughead Legion - I would submit that Zero Hour was at least a dark a time as the New 52). Even so, refurbished isn't always bad - Crisis was a refurb and new isn't necessarily better ( see Az-Bats and Kyle Raynor).
Ultimately, DC had decided that legacy characters aren't what they want to do. Instead they're doing Ultimate DC Universe but, unlike Marvel, they were actually willing to stick their necks out and not maintain the source characters as well as the Ultimate characters. As much as I would prefer to have the old DC universe back, this is what we've got so I read what I enjoy and drop what I don't, occasionally dropping a note to tell them that they're no longer getting my dollars and why.
As for why they don't invent a new character, I'm pretty sure that we both know that they're re-exerting their copyright/trademarks.
I finally caught up to current on Arrow. I enjoyed the new Barry Allen kid. I liked that he was perpetually late. I liked the brainy-science-CSI elements and I liked the X-files, "I want to believe" element. If this is the kid that will head up the Flash TV show, cool. That freak of the week as a frame to search for the one armed man that killed his wife...wait, that's the Fugitive, well, either way it's kind of a tried and true plot devise isn't it? And I like that he's a skinny kid. Send Felicity over to Central City as a spy code named Iris and I'd be tickled pink. Oh, and the kid is young, but we knew that.
I finally caught up to current on Arrow. I enjoyed the new Barry Allen kid. I liked that he was perpetually late. I liked the brainy-science-CSI elements and I liked the X-files, "I want to believe" element. If this is the kid that will head up the Flash TV show, cool. That freak of the week as a frame to search for the one armed man that killed his wife...wait, that's the Fugitive, well, either way it's kind of a tried and true plot devise isn't it? And I like that he's a skinny kid. Send Felicity over to Central City as a spy code named Iris and I'd be tickled pink. Oh, and the kid is young, but we knew that.
Felicity has to ultimately get a job with Dr Martin Stein for the Firestorm spinoff.
I'm a bit disappointed myself; Barry seemed much, much younger than I'd expected -- he looked like he was a high school senior or something. And, though I'm not surprised, I was really disappointed that they went with the current New52 history of the murdered mother; I never liked that particular backstory.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
I'm not really getting why you're even bothering with anything new. It seems like it's all disappointing to you. Certainly, the horse that the New 52 rode in on is not only dead and flogged, but I'm pretty sure that it's been flogged enough to classify as flensed.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
I agree with that last statement, which is why I said I wasn't surprised. Doesn't mean I really have to like it; I just have to take it.
I'm not against anything new. But what we've got isn't new -- it's refurbished, and not really as good as the original model. (Not so far, anyway, but I could be proven wrong.) If they wanted new, they'd have a new Flash cut from new cloth: a new identity, different back story, maybe even new variations on the whole speed power thing. Instead, we're getting Barry Allen, but in name only -- the current Barry has little in common with the original Barry of the 50's through 80's, and I mean beyond the surface details of what era he currently lives in and whether he carries a slide rule in his pocket or an iPhone.
I certainly didn't mind when DC did away with Barry during the Crisis (well, I sort of did, but, as he went out as a Hero, I didn't mind all that much) and reintroduced Wally West as the New Flash: different character with mostly the same powers, new problems, new (and old) villains, different situations, etc. It was good, and it worked. It also had the element of Legacy to deal with.
But the New52 version of Barry has been hard to take, especially with the new backstory... they've basically taken the old character, screwed him up into a grimmer and mopey personality instead of the bright and inventive fast-thinking hero he used to be and put him into an unnecessarily busy variant of his old costume. (I actually stuck it out reading the New52 Flash comic for 24 issues, and never have I read a more sleep-inducing series of speedster adventures. I'm not even sure I could recall to you what the stories were about without pulling them out of the box for reference.)
Given all that, why not just simply invent a whole new character instead of breaking the old one? I like Barry -- or at least I did -- but I probably could get behind the New 52 Flash a lot more if he wasn't Barry.
Except for the new costume. That's still ugly no matter who wears it.
Allow me to clarify. When I said new, I meant currently being produced. I know I see far more of your posts declaring disappointment in x than offering thin praise or even backhanded complements for anything being produced currently. I completely get the frustration... I'm a Legion fan and I'm not sure that DC has a property that they've allowed to be crapped on more frequently (by and large, for me, that goes back to post-Zero Hour and the Jughead Legion - I would submit that Zero Hour was at least a dark a time as the New 52). Even so, refurbished isn't always bad - Crisis was a refurb and new isn't necessarily better ( see Az-Bats and Kyle Raynor).
And now we're calling it the Jughead Legion!? A week or so ago it was the Archie Legion. Frankly, the rebooted Legion was a breath of fresh air and a surge of new life for the series; there was nothing dark about it at all. In fact, after the mess of the dystopic 'Five Years Later', it was a welcome change.
Nothing wrong with Azrael as Batman either; it was a limited storyline. And I never had anything against Kyle Rayner, only the way they destroyed Hal Jordan's character in order to make room for him. And I certainly disagree that Zero Hour was anything like a 'dark time' at DC.
If I'm not offering any praise for DC's books at this time, it's because I don't think very many of them are praiseworthy; I think most of the New52 has proven to be crap. I have praised a few of them: I thought Morrison's run on Action Comics was genius. I enjoyed the Stormwatch series for the most part. I am still reading and enjoying All-Star Western, Earth-2 and Worlds' Finest which have all had interesting storylines and good art despite all of the radical changes, something none of the rest of the line has attained. I also think that the very best books DC is putting out currently aren't actually DC books -- they're from the Vertigo line.
If you want to see me praise some books, read my posts about Daredevil. Or The Avengers. Or the New X-Men. Marvel is doing far more right these days than DC... and I say that as an old DC fan.
Ultimately, DC had decided that legacy characters aren't what they want to do. Instead they're doing Ultimate DC Universe but, unlike Marvel, they were actually willing to stick their necks out and not maintain the source characters as well as the Ultimate characters. As much as I would prefer to have the old DC universe back, this is what we've got so I read what I enjoy and drop what I don't, occasionally dropping a note to tell them that they're no longer getting my dollars and why.
As for why they don't invent a new character, I'm pretty sure that we both know that they're re-exerting their copyright/trademarks.
Oh, I'm aware that that trademark protection played a big part here. I just think it wasn't worth it and that all they've accomplished is to allow themselves to be hobbled by it, leaving themselves unable to come up with anything new or fresh for the future. (Think about it: how much of the New52 is actually new? Has anything new been invented or developed in the last couple of years? To my recollection, only The Movement. As has been mentioned in these forums many times already -- by folks other than myself -- all we're getting are regurgitated ideas, concepts and gimmicks from the Marvel of the 90's, by expatriated Marvel editors and creators.)
And if DC is really trying to create an 'ultimate universe', they may want to take note of two important facts about Marvel's Ultimate Universe: 1) it was a parallel universe that did not affect, disrupt or displace the original, which continued to run its own course, and 2) Marvel is currently doing away with it.
And now we're calling it the Jughead Legion!? A week or so ago it was the Archie Legion. Frankly, the rebooted Legion was a breath of fresh air and a surge of new life for the series; there was nothing dark about it at all. In fact, after the mess of the dystopic 'Five Years Later', it was a welcome change.
Lot's of people have been referring to it as the Archie Legion for quite some time. For me, Archie has some positive connotation to it while Jughead makes it just as bubble-gummy without the positive implications. For me, 5 Years Later was a fascinating evolution of characters that had been allowed to grow and mature with me. Sure it was dystopian, but I was OK with that - post Crisis, the removal of Superman as the inspiration and a source of optimism for the Legion could easily be seen as a source for some cynicism. Post-Zero Hour, the stories were, for me, flat and uninspired with little to differentiate them from the Silver Age stories that they were effectively retelling. The return to the post adolescent characters was a huge letdown.
Nothing wrong with Azrael as Batman either; it was a limited storyline. And I never had anything against Kyle Rayner, only the way they destroyed Hal Jordan's character in order to make room for him. And I certainly disagree that Zero Hour was anything like a 'dark time' at DC.
I can agree with you on Kyle/Hal, though Az-Bats seems to have been exactly the darkening of a character/storyline that you seem to regularly vocally reject and declare disappointment in. However, Zero Hour was, for me, the impetus to exit comic collecting entirely for an extended period of time.
If I'm not offering any praise for DC's books at this time, it's because I don't think very many of them are praiseworthy; I think most of the New52 has proven to be crap. I have praised a few of them: I thought Morrison's run on Action Comics was genius. I enjoyed the Stormwatch series for the most part. I am still reading and enjoying All-Star Western, Earth-2 and Worlds' Finest which have all had interesting storylines and good art despite all of the radical changes, something none of the rest of the line has attained. I also think that the very best books DC is putting out currently aren't actually DC books -- they're from the Vertigo line.
If you want to see me praise some books, read my posts about Daredevil. Or The Avengers. Or the New X-Men. Marvel is doing far more right these days than DC... and I say that as an old DC fan.
I must have missed any effusive praise that you've offered for any titles (possibly because I refuse to read any Marvel due to pricing, their double shipping policies. Instead, I'm spending a few more dollars with IDW, Dark Horse, Image and, especially, Valiant.
Oh, I'm aware that that trademark protection played a big part here. I just think it wasn't worth it and that all they've accomplished is to allow themselves to be hobbled by it, leaving themselves unable to come up with anything new or fresh for the future. (Think about it: how much of the New52 is actually new? Has anything new been invented or developed in the last couple of years? To my recollection, only The Movement. As has been mentioned in these forums many times already -- by folks other than myself -- all we're getting are regurgitated ideas, concepts and gimmicks from the Marvel of the 90's, by expatriated Marvel editors and creators.)
I have to, mostly, agree with that. I've been seeing original things in a number of the titles that I've been reading. While I'm less than enthused about the constant events, the Green Lantern books continue to explore new concepts and ideas. Same thing with Aquaman and Batwoman.
And if DC is really trying to create an 'ultimate universe', they may want to take note of two important facts about Marvel's Ultimate Universe: 1) it was a parallel universe that did not affect, disrupt or displace the original, which continued to run its own course, and 2) Marvel is currently doing away with it.
1) I personally think that Marvel making it a parallel line was a cowardly thing to do. Ultimately (no pun intended), it worked out well for them financially, but it meant that if the experiment failed, they wouldn't have damaged anything in the main 616 books. While I think that the experiment has failed with DC, I think that there was significantly more courage and integrity 9with exception of Batman and Green Lantern) in the way DC did it - they wanted to update and make characters and books more accessible and did it in a way that didn't just create a parallel universe. As much as I would prefer the older versions, I appreciate the commitment that they've shown.
2) Sure they are - the intended purpose - making the books more accessible and more current is hard to maintain when they're over 10 years into a continuity. Besides, isn't that what Marvel Now is about?
I have to say that the more recent episodes were much more interesting to me than the "Laura is an alcoholic/hates Green Arrow for no particularly understandable reasons" ones. Did call Black Canary identity, but only because of some interview I happened to catch where someone (not sure who) gave a clue. Anyway, as far as Barry Allen goes, I loved the little nods in his intro ep...like him messing with the chemicals on the shelves while we hear a thunderstorm and see lightning flashes.
But I'm with the people on here who have expressed some degree of disappointment on the casting of Barry Allen. Have no problem with them using the New 52 Barry Allen, but he isn't an intern, is he? I thought he was a full-fledged, experienced adult. This Barry Allen doesn't seem strong enough to be a central character in his own show. I don't need the guy to be John Wesley Shipp, but I can't think of ANY portrayal of Barry Allen where he didn't convey a sense of competence/authority. This version seems like a more science-y version of a young Wally West...but without the sense of comedy.
It was bugging me all through the episode, but now I suddenly remember where I've heard the name Cyrus Gold before: it's the real name of Solomon Grundy, when he was alive.
The Flash origin was pretty cool. I smiled as soon as I saw it. However, what really surprised me was who Brother Blood's boss was. THAT was awesome and I am so excited to see what comes next when the show comes back on. Also, it looks like Roy might have been effected from what happened to him in this episode. I'm going to be very interested on how that plays out during the second half of the season. Also, does it seem like Ollie and Felicity might get together? I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Comments
Haven't seen the show yet. I was going to avoid it until I heard about how good it was.
Still, it's just the first appearance, and I hate to judge on just that. We'll see how it all develops and how the actor pulls it off.
On to the episode itself. i liked it. I was shocked about what went down between Roy and Arrow. I didn't see that coming and I am wondering how that is going to change Roy for the better or worse. The plot twist with Malcolm is very interesting and I am so excited for the show to introduce Ra's Al Ghul to the show. I wonder who will play him? Anyway, the flashbacks are still good and I'm hoping that at some point we'll see Slade and Shado in present day stuff as well as the flashbacks. I think it would be kind of cool.
I think he looks young as well, but it is what it is. They're going to do stories with casts targeted toward the CWs demographic and using stories that will identify with the product that they're currently producing just in case there is a cross-media consumer.
M
I'm not against anything new. But what we've got isn't new -- it's refurbished, and not really as good as the original model. (Not so far, anyway, but I could be proven wrong.) If they wanted new, they'd have a new Flash cut from new cloth: a new identity, different back story, maybe even new variations on the whole speed power thing. Instead, we're getting Barry Allen, but in name only -- the current Barry has little in common with the original Barry of the 50's through 80's, and I mean beyond the surface details of what era he currently lives in and whether he carries a slide rule in his pocket or an iPhone.
I certainly didn't mind when DC did away with Barry during the Crisis (well, I sort of did, but, as he went out as a Hero, I didn't mind all that much) and reintroduced Wally West as the New Flash: different character with mostly the same powers, new problems, new (and old) villains, different situations, etc. It was good, and it worked. It also had the element of Legacy to deal with.
But the New52 version of Barry has been hard to take, especially with the new backstory... they've basically taken the old character, screwed him up into a grimmer and mopey personality instead of the bright and inventive fast-thinking hero he used to be and put him into an unnecessarily busy variant of his old costume. (I actually stuck it out reading the New52 Flash comic for 24 issues, and never have I read a more sleep-inducing series of speedster adventures. I'm not even sure I could recall to you what the stories were about without pulling them out of the box for reference.)
Given all that, why not just simply invent a whole new character instead of breaking the old one? I like Barry -- or at least I did -- but I probably could get behind the New 52 Flash a lot more if he wasn't Barry.
Except for the new costume. That's still ugly no matter who wears it.
Plus, Wally has to suffer for that move by DC, which also sucks.
M
Ultimately, DC had decided that legacy characters aren't what they want to do. Instead they're doing Ultimate DC Universe but, unlike Marvel, they were actually willing to stick their necks out and not maintain the source characters as well as the Ultimate characters. As much as I would prefer to have the old DC universe back, this is what we've got so I read what I enjoy and drop what I don't, occasionally dropping a note to tell them that they're no longer getting my dollars and why.
As for why they don't invent a new character, I'm pretty sure that we both know that they're re-exerting their copyright/trademarks.
Nothing wrong with Azrael as Batman either; it was a limited storyline. And I never had anything against Kyle Rayner, only the way they destroyed Hal Jordan's character in order to make room for him. And I certainly disagree that Zero Hour was anything like a 'dark time' at DC.
If I'm not offering any praise for DC's books at this time, it's because I don't think very many of them are praiseworthy; I think most of the New52 has proven to be crap. I have praised a few of them: I thought Morrison's run on Action Comics was genius. I enjoyed the Stormwatch series for the most part. I am still reading and enjoying All-Star Western, Earth-2 and Worlds' Finest which have all had interesting storylines and good art despite all of the radical changes, something none of the rest of the line has attained. I also think that the very best books DC is putting out currently aren't actually DC books -- they're from the Vertigo line.
If you want to see me praise some books, read my posts about Daredevil. Or The Avengers. Or the New X-Men. Marvel is doing far more right these days than DC... and I say that as an old DC fan. Oh, I'm aware that that trademark protection played a big part here. I just think it wasn't worth it and that all they've accomplished is to allow themselves to be hobbled by it, leaving themselves unable to come up with anything new or fresh for the future. (Think about it: how much of the New52 is actually new? Has anything new been invented or developed in the last couple of years? To my recollection, only The Movement. As has been mentioned in these forums many times already -- by folks other than myself -- all we're getting are regurgitated ideas, concepts and gimmicks from the Marvel of the 90's, by expatriated Marvel editors and creators.)
And if DC is really trying to create an 'ultimate universe', they may want to take note of two important facts about Marvel's Ultimate Universe: 1) it was a parallel universe that did not affect, disrupt or displace the original, which continued to run its own course, and 2) Marvel is currently doing away with it.
2) Sure they are - the intended purpose - making the books more accessible and more current is hard to maintain when they're over 10 years into a continuity. Besides, isn't that what Marvel Now is about?
But I'm with the people on here who have expressed some degree of disappointment on the casting of Barry Allen. Have no problem with them using the New 52 Barry Allen, but he isn't an intern, is he? I thought he was a full-fledged, experienced adult. This Barry Allen doesn't seem strong enough to be a central character in his own show. I don't need the guy to be John Wesley Shipp, but I can't think of ANY portrayal of Barry Allen where he didn't convey a sense of competence/authority. This version seems like a more science-y version of a young Wally West...but without the sense of comedy.
http://www.newsarama.com/19773-arrow-season-2-mid-season-finale-five-things-to-watch-for-in-truly-game-changing-episode.html