We’ve basically gotten ONE Flash story that’s *just a Flash story* out of each run since 2005

I feel like I’m Charlie Brown, DC is Lucy, and the promise of a Flash series that actually gets off the ground and *goes* somewhere is the football.

We’ve basically gotten ONE Flash story that’s *just a Flash story* out of each run since 2005. Everything else has either been setup, wrap-up, or a side story for an outside event.

That two-parter with Bart vs. Mota. Tom Peyer’s “Fast Money.” Maybe Geoff Johns’ “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues.”

Long-form writing only works if you follow through on it. I love reading novels, but I’d much rather read 20 short stories than 10 first chapters and 10 last chapters.

So yes, a legacy character *can* be done in a movie.

Easier, yes…but not necessary. Anyone remember a Zorro film from about 10 years back with Anthony Hopkins as retired Zorro and Antonio Banderas as new Zorro? It did well enough they made a sequel.

Other characters have legacy built into the concept, like the Phantom (maybe not the best example, because the movie tanked).

Maybe a better example: a big part of the first Pirates of the Caribbean film hinged on Will Turner following through on his father’s legacy, but Bootstrap Bill didn’t appear at all until they did the sequels.

Or, heck, Harry Potter – it’s all about this boy growing up and living up to the legacy of his parents and their generation who fought in a war. Harry’s parents are absolutely critical to his story, but they’ve been dead for 10 years when the first movie gets going.

So yes, a legacy character *can* be done in a movie. It may be *easier* to tell a story about the first guy, but it’s not *necessary.*

Barry’s been back for THREE YEARS

Barry’s been back for THREE YEARS. He’s been the focus of a Rebirth miniseries, had a major part in last year’s Big Event(tm), and had his own ongoing book, plus guest spots all over the DCU.

And here we have a gigantic, sprawling Flash-centric event (the first ever, I might add) with 5 oversized issues telling the main story, plus 16 miniseries and at least 4 one-shots telling side stories.

And DC is saying that nowhere in all of that could they find room for the guy who was The Flash for more than two decades? And you’re saying this is perfectly okay?

I don’t like to use the phrase “slap in the face” — it’s really overused IMO — but I think it applies here.

I never bagged and boarded them to preserve resale value.

Yes. I never bagged and boarded them to preserve resale value. I bag and board them to keep them from getting creased, bent or torn for the next time I read them. The comics that are in good condition stay in good condition, but it’s almost more important for the old ones that are falling apart – it keeps them from getting worse when I look through the boxes and pull things out.

Ugh. Got the last phone bill for the old apartment and there’s *another* fraudulent charge…

Ugh. Got the last phone bill for the old apartment and there's *another* fraudulent charge from “ILD Teleservices” for “Comp U Fix.” Looks like I get to spend more time on the phone with AT&T tomorrow. At this rate I half-expect to get billed again *next* month, even though our AT&T account should be closed by then.

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I think it depends on what you consider to be a multiverse.

I think it depends on what you consider to be a multiverse. Does it only refer to a rigid structure like the modern 52-universe DC multiverse, or does it include more fluid concepts like Hypertime or Michael Moorcock’s body of work?

I think as fans we tend to overanalyze and categorize things, and the industry is essentially run by fans these days. So there are people out there for whom it matters that Young Justice takes place on “Earth-16” and not simply in the Young Justice continuity. And fans overwhelmingly rejected Hypertime, which was designed not to impose a structure on the DC Multiverse but to describe how it actually works.

I do think there’s value in, as you say, being able to open the door between worlds. One of the oldest tropes of the super-hero story is the crossover. Whether it’s Superman and Batman teaming up, or two versions of the Flash, or Batman and Captain America, it’s a trope with tons of story potential.

If you have a chance, I’d recommend the trade paperback “Planetary: Crossing Worlds” by Warren Ellis. It includes a Batman story in which the team ends up jumping through the multiverse, meeting different variations on Batman (including both the Adam West and Frank Miller versions).

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