23. Character Spotlight: Wally West The Flash

In this week's episode, we are talking all things Wally West with returning special guest Keith Tarnowski. We get into why Wally is such a great character, what separates him from Barry Allen, why Barry was better off dead, and where Wally is now in the comics.

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:16 James introduces the show and returning guest Keith Tarnowski, explaining that we will be doing a character spotlight on Wally West, aka, The Flash. Keith starts off by telling us who Wally West is and why we wanted to do this episode highlighting him.

5:31 We talk about how Wally gets his powers and Wally's origin storyline “Born to Run." This leads to some discussion about how Wally became Keith's favorite superhero.

11:42 Joe shares some Flash Facts about the history of the character within the book as well as within the greater context of comic book history. Wally West grew up throughout the comics, becoming a better man and better hero. This leads us to talk about how Wally fully becomes The Flash in “The Return of Barry Allen”.

17:00 Joe talks about how Wally is the heart and soul of the Justice League; this leads to a discussion about DC bringing Barry back while sidelining Wally.

24:00 We discuss how DC used Wally, not only sidelining him, but doing things to the character that took away from who Wally West is. We note that the biggest blemish is “Heroes in Crisis”, which doesn’t reflect who the character is and was later reversed. This also opens a discussion about the difference between resurrecting Hal vs resurrecting Barry.

33:15 We talk about where Wally is now and the state of the Flash universe. Wally is currently back in the continuity, married with two kids, and it’s a fun book. Chris mentions the book “JLA: Act of God” as showing the heart of who Wally is as a character. Keith gives a list of essential Wally

West reading. (Links will be provided below).

40:02 Joe wraps up the episode with a few more Flash facts.

Born To Run

https://www.comixology.com/The-Flash-Born-to-Run/digital-

comic/704561?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy

Mark Waid Flash vol. 1

https://www.comixology.com/Flash-by-Mark-Waid-Book-One/digital-

comic/446432?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy

Mark Waid Flash vol 2. (Which contain “The Return of Barry Allen Storyline”)

https://www.comixology.com/Flash-by-Mark-Waid-Book-Two/digital-

comic/509422?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy

Mark Waid Flash vol.3

https://www.comixology.com/Flash-by-Mark-Waid-Book-Three/digital-

comic/582091?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy



JLA: Act of God

https://www.comixology.com/JLA-Act-of-God-2000-2001/comics-

series/115924?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZG

Vy

Flash issue 768

https://www.comixology.com/The-Flash-2016-768/digital-

comic/926605?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy