![\"Barry](\"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/images\/flash_big_163.jpg\")
The question comic readers everywhere\u00a0should be asking is, “How long will Barry Allen be back for?”\u00a0<\/p>\nThe question comic readers everywhere\u00a0should be asking is, “How long will Barry Allen be back for?”\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s no longer a question of IF<\/em> he’s coming back. That was pretty much made clear in DC Universe #0.\u00a0 And if you thought that might be a trick, check out this article from the New York Daily News<\/a> (with interviews from Grant Morrison & Geoff Johns).\u00a0 Additionally, Mark Waid substantiated the rumor during a recent recording of a Word Balloon interview<\/a>.\u00a0 Mark said, “If I didn’t know some of the creative people behind the next step, I’d be in a bell tower with a rifle right now…(but), I have some faith and some trust as to where this is all going….”<\/p>\n So the questions still remaining are how long will Barry be back for, and where will he appear (i.e. Final Crisis, Legion of Three Worlds, etc).\u00a0 Will Barry be back for good?\u00a0 Will he return in the 21st century or the 31st century?<\/p>\n I’m personally bothered by\u00a0the possibility of the long-term return of Barry Allen for\u00a0a few reasons:<\/p>\n 1) Writers of Wally West have worked so hard over the past 20 years to prove that Wally deserves the mantle of\u00a0the Flash.\u00a0 During Mark Waid’s run on the Flash, Wally finally grew out of Barry’s shadow and became his own man.\u00a0 What happens to Wally if Barry comes back for good?\u00a0 Will there simply be another Flash running around (Wally, Jay, and Barry)?\u00a0 If so, will Barry & Wally continue to use the same costume? I doubt it.\u00a0 Will Wally become the Kyle Rayner or Connor Hawke equivalent of the Flash?\u00a0 Both Kyle and Connor have pretty much been tucked into a corner of the characters history.<\/p>\n 2) Barry Allen is boring.\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 I realize I just called the official DC Universe Martyr boring, but it’s a fact.\u00a0 The adventures he had were interesting, his rogues were interesting… Barry himself was boring.\u00a0 I can’t imagine reading his day-to-day adventures will be all that interesting.<\/p>\n 3) Killing Barry Allen back in 1985 created a real impact.\u00a0 Bringing him back for any length of time would cheapen the dramatic ending of issue #8 of Crisis on Infinite Earths.\u00a0 Barry is also the last major\u00a0hero to stay dead (Bucky Barnes is back, Jason Todd is back, etc)<\/p>\n While I’m sure the issues themselves\u00a0will be written well given the caliber of DC creators, I’m truly dreading the concept surrounding the return of Barry Allen.\u00a0 I just feel that bringing Barry back for anything more than one story is a\u00a0 bad move.\u00a0 Just because\u00a0a story can<\/em> be told, doesn’t mean it should<\/em> be told.<\/p>\nTell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>