The Flash: Moving Forward or Standing Still?
by S.C.B.
Throughout the
course of the DC animated shows, we’ve been privy to the development of many
characters and families, these developments often taking many episodes
(sometimes seasons) to eventually reach their conclusion (this is especially
evident in shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The
Animated Series, where the singular nature of the episodes would slow the
development process).
Off the top of my
head, I can think of several characters that have changed dramatically from when
they first appeared, but surprisingly few that we actually saw. Batman is the
most obvious victim of this. In Batman: The Animated Series, he was dark
and brooding, yet still maintained a witty (if low key) sense of humor. Hell,
he even laughed in some episodes (I’m going to put the toothy grins down
to animation errors).
Then along came
The New Batman Adventures. This Batman was an embittered and angry crime
fighter, who very rarely even quirked up his lip into the semblance of a
smile. And this version of the character has continued on into Justice League
and its Unlimited companion.
Justice League
was
arguably the first DCAU show to finally have some real character
development. Justice League Unlimited only amplified this effect. Through
these two shows we have been able to see characters interact and grow into a
family of sorts, different relationships and rivalries gradually growing until
they reach some kind of natural outcome. The most obvious of these developments,
is, of course, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern’s romance.
But that’s not
all we’ve seen. We’ve watched Superman wrestle with his inner demons and his
struggle to redeem himself in the eyes of the people he lives to protect. We’ve
seen Batman and Wonder Woman’s… ‘difficult’ relationship. Hell, we’ve even seen
characters from Batman Beyond developed on this show.
But, as J’onn
would say, “Let’s put a pin in that theory for another time.”
I’m here to talk
about Wally West; The Flash. We’ve seen other characters change and grow from
their initial appearances. Has he grown from the speedster we first met way back
in the Superman: The Animated Series episode 'Speed Demons'?
In my opinion, I think he has. In the aforementioned episode, we basically got
the low-down on a character who is, for all intents and purposes, rather
unlikable. He's cocky, rude, loud and a womanizer. In short, he's an ass.
Not a good start.
However, it’s important to note that the Flash’s appearance here was not meant
to be a precedent to a Justice League or Flash show. The creators
had the difficult task (as they did with all Superman: The Animated Series
crossovers) of condensing the key aspects of the character into one 22
minute slot, while still giving Superman (it is, after all, his show) and the
villain enough coverage. Not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination.
And, in the
comics of the time, that was indeed the Flash’s personality. In order to
contrast him from the straight laced and very Superman-ish Barry Allen Flash,
the writers of the comics decided to make the Wally West Flash much more
impulsive and cocky. However, this generally grating attitude was a result of
Wally feeling inadequate of the Flash mantle, struggling to make the transition
from carefree sidekick Kid Flash to full blown hero The Flash.
Eventually, he grew out of this phase, and, if you read about the adventures of
Wally West in, say, Geoff Johns’ run, you will find a Flash very different from
the one depicted in ‘Speed Demons’ and Justice League.
However, when it
came time to use the Flash again in Justice League, the creators fell
back upon the personality they had established in Superman: The Animated
Series. But this was not because of misinterpretation on the part of the
shows production team; they needed someone to fill the ‘wise cracking youth’
slot on the team. Who else could conceivably fill that gap? John Stewart? Wonder
Woman?
This does not
mean that they were not at fault, however. The Flash of the first season falls
victim to the problem that plagued the show in its early episodes; bland
characterization, relying on the situation to excite the viewer, rather than the
characters that are in said situation.
Now, when I say
‘bland characterization’, I do not mean that they lacked interest. But in their
zeal to make each member different from one another, the creative team neglected
to give their characters real personalities. Flash was the young, impulsive
member, Green Lantern was the hardass military guy (I swear, he didn’t get along
with anyone in Season 1), Hawkgirl was the tomboy while Wonder Woman was
the prom queen…
So far, so
Teen Titans.
Just so I am
clear, I am in no way insulting Teen Titans. It is simply a well known
fact that the creators of that show were intending for a very simple outlook
when they developed the characters for the series. The creators (and the
viewers) of Justice League, however, were used to something a bit more…
mature.
Obviously, the
show in question is intended for children, but the magic of the DCAU shows is
their potential appeal to everyone, be they child, teenager, or adult. By
relying on stereotypes when they developed their team members, it gave a sense
that they were talking down to the viewer, basically pointing out which ‘slot’
each Leaguer filled.
However, there
were exceptions to this regarding the Flash. ‘Paradise Lost’ gave us a
glimpse of the Flash’s first redeemable feature; his heart. Before that point,
Flash had been, as said before, loud, rude, and very ‘surfer dude’. However, his
angry response to Diana’s banishment showed something else to The Fastest Man
Alive beside the brash, womanizing exterior. This went on in the excellent three
part episode ‘The Savage Time’, where Flash yells at Hawkgirl for leaving Green
Lantern behind. There was a fierce loyalty to his friends beneath his light
hearted demeanor.
Another sticking
point (especially from a Flash fans’ point of view) was how inexperienced and
generally ineffective Wally was when it came to the use of his powers. The most
blatant example that comes to mind is ‘In Blackest Night’, where a stray piece
of rubble knocks Flash clean out. However, this was forgivable; this was a
learning experience for the creative team, usually used to only having to
storyboard a maximum of three characters.
Also, the very
nature of the Flash’s powers make him difficult to use in any kind of fight
situation without making him look like an idiot. Bruce Timm once jokingly
said that he wished they could kill him off, because he could conceivably be
everywhere and defeat everyone before they could even move. So, some
toning down was required, as it was with Superman for his own series. However,
how effectively Flash used his powers reflected his personality as well; his
constant trip ups and falls showed a certain immaturity and lack of strategy on
his part.
The second season
brought further developments in both his personality and the use of his powers,
the most notable of this obviously being ‘A Better World’, which not only
displayed the Flash using his powers in interesting (and let’s face it,
downright cool) ways, also firmly showed his importance to the League as a
whole, much like ‘Hereafter’ did for Superman.
“Absence makes
the heart grow fonder,”
and this was particularly true of the Justice Lord universe’s Flash. Although
there were undoubtedly other extenuating circumstances (Lex Luthor becoming
President of the United States, for one), it is the death of the Flash and the
loss of his young and idealistic view of right and wrong that prompts Justice
Lord Superman to do what he does, and continue to do so.
There were other
episodes in the second season which highlighted the Flash in some way or another
(‘Only a Dream,’ ‘Eclipsed’ and ‘The Secret Society’), but none of those
episodes displayed the Flash’s importance and place in the League more clearly
and powerfully than ‘A Better World’.
Then, of course,
came the first season of Justice League Unlimited, and the great
disappearing act that was the Flash. Of course, he popped up in ‘Initiation’ and
‘The Return’, but these were cameos at best. A pained grunt does not an
appearance make.
The reason for
this, it has been revealed, was because the creative team were giving him a
break in an attempt to evolve the Flash’s character beyond the ‘comedy relief’
he was in past seasons. However, he returned in the Season 2 (or 4, depending on
what episode guide you read) episode ‘The Ties that Bind’, basically the same as
he was before.
Although not
particularly enlightening on the Flash front, it gave the viewer a look at
another aspect of the Flash’s character not glimpsed before; his desire to be
taken seriously as a hero. It is implied through his dialogue to Elongated Man
that the reason he didn’t appear in Season 1 of Justice League Unlimited
was because the League considered him somehow less of a mature hero than the
rest of the original seven:
“Better than
being treated like a teenage sidekick! I was one of the original seven!”
However, the
creative team made sure not to allow the Flash to slip away again, featuring the
Flash in some kind of speaking role in episodes such as ‘The Doomsday Sanction’,
‘The Balance’ and ‘Flashpoint’. In each, he displayed his role at the seven
seated conference table (figuratively and literally); to keep the original seven
League members on the right track, as this quote from ‘The Doomsday Sanction’
indicates:
“How long is this
going to take? I thought we had an island to evacuate.”
And then, later
in the same episode, we see a troubled frown from the Flash following the
sinister and still downright disturbing Doomsday ‘execution’. Just that simple
frown speaks volumes about the Flash’s character.
The difference in
these episodes compared to his role in earlier Justice League episodes is
that the other League members gradually begin to listen to what he has to say,
even if they do dismiss it outright (for example, Wonder Woman’s quick dismissal
of Flash’s above statement).
And then we come
to the episode that had Flash fans (myself included) overjoyed; ‘Divided We
Fall.’ However, the more important part of the episode is not in fact Wally’s
incredible defeat of Brainthor, but rather his confrontation with his ‘Reverse
Flash’ counterpart:
“Slacker! Child!
Clown! We have no place among the world’s greatest heroes!”
“Says you! I’ve
got my own seat at the conference table! I’m gonna paint my logo on it!”
This shows leaps
and bounds in Flash’s character, if only in a subtle way. First of all, let’s
look at how easily Flash deflects his counterpart’s blows, both physical and
verbal. As the ‘Reverse Flash’ picks upon everything that Wally stated in ‘The
Ties that Bind’, he easily dismisses them all, not once doubting himself or his
resolve, just like the other heroes (with the obvious exception of Superman).
The fact that he even jokes about it proves that he and the writers are
comfortable with his place as the comedy relief of the group; the difference
being he is the comedy relief with the big heart.
When Season 3
rolled along, we were shown just how far the Flash has come. In Season 1, his
reaction to any woman who could slip into a bikini could be summed up by a line
in the Static Shock crossover, ‘A League of Their Own’:
“Hello, ladies.”
His reaction to
the confident Fire in ‘I am Legion’ is, of course, anything but. As I have
mentioned earlier, Flash’s womanising antics stemmed from insecurity with
himself in the comics, and it is conceivable that is the case in ‘Speed Demons’
and Justice League (this is more than likely the situation, taking into
account the Kid Flash mannequin seen in ‘Flash and Substance’). And, after
finding self gratification in episodes like ‘A Better World’ and ‘Divided We
Fall’, he has finally grown into a man that doesn’t feel the need to cover his
insecurities with a loud, brash persona, as shown by how he responds nervously
(and often incoherently) to Fire’s advances.
Another
interesting development in ‘I am Legion’ is Flash’s newfound brother/sister
relationship with Shayera, something that would have been impossible with the
Flash of old. It’s almost difficult to believe that this is the same Flash that
asked Hawkgirl for ‘mouth to mouth’ in ‘Eclipsed’.
However, the most
clear indication of the Flash’s development is the superb episode ‘Flash and
Substance’. In this episode, we see a Flash that actually has a life outside
of the costume (showing that the creative team have moved away from the idea
that, in Dan Riba’s words, ‘Flash sleeps in that outfit’), and a very
comfortable one at that – he’s good at his job (in a police forensics lab - a
surprising move for the usually portrayed as dim Wally) and very popular in his
workplace.
Then comes his
appearance in costume, and only then do we get such a crystal clear display of
what makes the Flash the Flash. Adored by the public of Central City, the
Scarlet Speedster is shown to be the most ‘public’ hero, even more so than
Superman. For while the Man of Steel is loved and appreciated in Metropolis, it
is highly doubtful that he is on a first name basis with the cab drivers of the
city, or that he would volunteer to paint a citizen’s fence. As a public hero,
Superman is still rather aloof, perhaps as a side effect of his default mode of
transport; flying, whilst the Flash is always on ground level.
The earlier
mentioned newfound attitude to women is further reinforced by Flash’s nigh on
ignorance of Linda Park in ‘Flash and Substance’, whereas if she had made an
appearance in Season 1 or 2 of Justice League, it is highly doubtful that
Flash would have ignored her in such a way.
Something else
that had radically changed is how the other League members perceive him, which
is why Batman and Orion were the perfect choices as counterpoints to Flash’s
light-hearted world. That Batman, the most dark and brooding member of the
League, can see the Flash’s heroic qualities, shows how serious the Scarlet
Speedster is about his chosen vocation. Orion, representing Batman’s old point
of view, helps to accentuate this.
Also, by using
Batman, the creators have (I presume unintentionally) provided a rite of passage
of sorts, using the first (and arguably the best) DC character of the DCAU to
judge the Flash. If Batman, the bar at which all other superhero shows are
measured, understands and respects the Flash, it implies that the fans of the
show can stop thinking of Flash as the inexperienced and immature teenager he
was earlier in the show.
In ‘Flash and
Substance’, Orion says;
“Central City
builds statues to this fool… who makes bad jokes… who wastes his time with
pitiful men like the Trickster… I don’t understand.”
And Batman is
correct in his response. Orion doesn’t understand what the Flash is
about. Orion is still mistaken even at the end of the episode, when he states;
“Now I
understand; you play the fool to hide a warrior’s pain.”
Again, he has
missed the point brilliantly. The Flash doesn’t use his humour because he is
hiding some kind of fierce warrior (or any serious insecurity) inside; he uses
humour because he feels like being funny. His humour does not show any kind of
immaturity on his part; on the contrary. When faced with an emotionally heavy
situation, he doesn’t make a nervous joke; he goes with his gut emotional
reaction. Just look at his response to Shayera and J’onn’s (respective)
departures from the League.
The very epitome
of the Flash is that he is one of the few superheroes who does not begrudge his
special abilities from day to day; he simply loves being the Flash, and is a
superhero and helps people because he feels like it, not from any kind of
responsibility. His reasons for becoming a superhero can be summed up by his
line in ‘Flashpoint’:
“People need us.
We help them.”
Keeping this
aspect of his character in mind, the creators of the show have managed to create
a likeable and relatable character out of a stereotype that could have easily
continued. They have performed the difficult task of developing a character
while still keeping what makes the character iconic intact. Before, his constant
jokes and one-liners were to hide his insecurities, not to mention to continue
his role as ‘young jokester’ of the team. Now, they prove only one thing:
The Flash is
a mature superhero. He’s just not serious about it.
“Dude; the bad
guys went down, and nobody got hurt. You know what I call that? I really good
day.”
-S.C.B.
|