Well, it was bound to happen
The New York Daily News reveals what DC must doubtless have intended as something to garuntee sales for Final Crisis, and is certainly making headlines now in some parts of the blogosphere:
What else does it say here:
What else is told here:
There's also another problem lingering around, one that may have all but been obscured: in Identity Crisis, he was one of the heroes made to look bad when he took part in the mindwiping of Dr. Light. Putting aside the out-of-character depiction of Dr. Light for a moment, have they considered that the vile crime Dr. Light committed was much worse than the heroes' reaction to the crime, and that Barry and company are far from guilty? (At the same time, have they considered the embarrassment of depicting Dr. Light as a rapist, and that it could discourage new readers from trying out stories with him?)
But with that told, let's get back to this resurrection now: this does seem like a cynical ploy to gain money by using Barry Allen as their big draw, even if his resurrection doesn't last long. They know that their bag of tricks is running thin, and people are losing faith in them because of how they've pointlessly and uncreatively killed off minor characters, so apparently, this is what they're hoping will serve as their latest short-term money scheme to cover for an otherwise uncreatively handled past few years. And if they can't do the other victims of their pointless deaths and villifications as much of a favor as they're doing Barry now, then I can't see what's the point in this.
And that's why I think the best response to this would be to resist temptation.
Occasional Superheroine also says:
For a superhero who can run faster than the speed of light, it sure took him long enough to return.You know, Crisis on Infinite Earths was far from perfect, but in fairness, when Barry died, he did do so heroically, and so, it's not like it was that pointless. And considering that there are characters who died through worse circumstances than he did, it actually seems insulting that he should be able to come back while they don't. For example, what about Jenny-Lynn Hayden, aka Jade, Yolanda Montez, the female Wildcat, Beth Chapel, the female Dr. Mid-Nite, and Hector and Lyta Hall, all former Infinity Inc. stars? Almost all the Infinitors have been wiped out, doing far less than Barry did when he first died, and they're ignored? I don't think that's fair. And again, lest we forget Elongated Man and Sue Dibny, and also Blue Beetle! Being featured as ghosts and even in a past timeline is no excuse.
DC Comics is reviving Barry Allen - aka The Flash - the popular superhero killed off by the publisher 23 years ago, the Daily News has learned.
What else does it say here:
Unlike other comic book deaths - even Superman went up, up and away for just a year - The Flash was so good at dying that his demise became part of comic book lore.Just look at that: completely obscuring how DC killed off and villified quite a few decent characters in the past few years, and in ways that featured quite a bit of cruelty to boot. I can only hope he's implying that he - and most importantly - the editors, are now willing to fix the damage done, but so far, there's no clear signs.
Many fans had come to like the character better dead than alive after he was disintegrated saving the universe.
"That's the point of comics - they don't have to die, because they're fictional creations," said Grant Morrison, one of the writers behind the comeback.
"We can do anything with them, and we can make them come back and make them defy death," Morrison said. "And that's why people read comics, to get away from the way life works, which is quite cruel and unheroic and ends in death."
What else is told here:
Not so fast, said comic historian Alan Kistler. "Barry's had this heroic sacrifice, which is the coolest thing you can do for a superhero," insisted Kistler - unaware that DC Comics will announce the Flash's resurrection today in the last panel of its "DC Universe #0."Excellent points. Barry's death was handled well, serving as a motivation for Wally West to fill his shoes. An interesting question: if Barry comes back, will he be the same age as he was in 1985, or will he be middle-aged, like Iris West Allen is today?
"If you brought Barry back, the question is can you do anything to top it?"
There's also another problem lingering around, one that may have all but been obscured: in Identity Crisis, he was one of the heroes made to look bad when he took part in the mindwiping of Dr. Light. Putting aside the out-of-character depiction of Dr. Light for a moment, have they considered that the vile crime Dr. Light committed was much worse than the heroes' reaction to the crime, and that Barry and company are far from guilty? (At the same time, have they considered the embarrassment of depicting Dr. Light as a rapist, and that it could discourage new readers from trying out stories with him?)
But with that told, let's get back to this resurrection now: this does seem like a cynical ploy to gain money by using Barry Allen as their big draw, even if his resurrection doesn't last long. They know that their bag of tricks is running thin, and people are losing faith in them because of how they've pointlessly and uncreatively killed off minor characters, so apparently, this is what they're hoping will serve as their latest short-term money scheme to cover for an otherwise uncreatively handled past few years. And if they can't do the other victims of their pointless deaths and villifications as much of a favor as they're doing Barry now, then I can't see what's the point in this.
And that's why I think the best response to this would be to resist temptation.
Occasional Superheroine also says:
I find it interesting that the direct market is depending on the spoilers not to be spoiled in order to maximize sales, yet the company putting out the comic is purposely working with the major media to spoil the story on the morning of the book coming out. Just a thought.When Stephanie Brown was revealed to be alive and well in March, yes, that was more or less kept hidden beneath a bushel until the last moment. I think if they had announced that Spoiler would return, sales for Robin would've been considerably better than they were. A point could be made that they're less interested in giving attention to minor characters that could boost recognition in the wider public, or at least trying to, than in using better-known names for the sake of publicity stunts like this one.
