Flash Rebirth

by Wayne Markley

I have long complained about comic book companies who kill off characters only to bring them back as a different person, in a different costume, but using the same name as the original. This was basically how DC Comics started the Silver Age of Comics with Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, etc., all being reintroduced in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They had the same heroic name as their Golden-Age counterparts, but they were new people in new costumes. Most of these new characters were highly successful. In the last 20 years or so, DC has done this over and over again with the same characters – Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, etc. – and have failed almost every time. All of these re-launches ended up with the original character back in the costume – Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Ray Palmer, etc. Strangely, all of these were the Silver Age versions of the Golden Age characters where the modern versions failed to find an audience. I think this is largely due  to the fact the reading audience is older and they like what they know, and that is the Silver Age versions of these characters.

Now before someone jumps all over me for being cynical and saying the plan was always for Hal Jordan or Barry Allen to come back and their deaths were only a story device, let me point out that when I was working at DC in the mid-1990s, not a day would go by where we would get a fan letter demanding than Hal or Barry be brought back. The answer was always, with a great deal of force and exclamation, “Kyle is Green Lantern! Hal is gone!” or “Barry is dead! Wally is Flash! Get used to it!” There were absolutely no plans to bring back the Silver Age versions of those classic characters. Mind you, the Golden Age versions were still knocking around the DC Universe. And Flash was held up as an example of a character who died and stayed dead. Well, he was dead. Now the most famous character to die and stay dead is Captain Marvel. I know he will come back at some point, and they have resurrected the character with new people under the helmet. None of them have caught on, even though Peter David’s run on the Captain Marvel comic was excellent.

Death of Superman

Some killings were done strictly as a gimmick. The Death of Superman was done as a storyline with the long term plan to bring Clark Kent back and to continue on with the traditional storylines. At the time it was an huge success because dying and coming back to life to help boost sales was a new thing. And because it was Superman. The recent Death of Batman was a planned stunt that got nowhere near the attention in the mass media that Superman’s passing got. I think the reasons were no one believed that Bruce Wayne was dead. This story was old news in the mass media. After all, Superman and Captain America had both died and came back. And the Batman story was so complex (or in my opinion, just poorly told) that the story was not able to grab the audience and make them care enough want to see more. Yes, I know that The Return of Bruce Wayne is a best-selling comic. However, I have found very few buyers of the book who are actually excited by reading the book or ever had any doubt the final outcome would be Bruce back as the Bat. They all tell me that they are buying it because they like Batman or think it might be collectible. Mind you, this is just a small sampling from one comic book store in the Midwest.

Captain America Reborn

Perhaps the only recent example of changing the main character under the costume that seems to have worked and got both mass media attention and expanded its fan base, is Captain America. While I have no doubt the original will come back at some point, Ed Brubaker told a great story where he brought back Bucky Barnes from the dead (yes, again), but in a very creative way. He would replace his mentor, just like Dick Grayson did in Batman and Wally West did in the Flash. The difference has been that when Marvel brought back Steve Rogers, he did not come back at Captain America. Clark Kent, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, and Ray Palmer all came back their original heroic identity. When Steve Rogers came back, he told Bucky he was now Captain America. Steve has taken on a new role in the Marvel Universe. I for one greatly applaud this. They made a change and stuck to it, while bringing back the character the fans loved as Cap. Two quick asides though. One, as I mentioned earlier, I have no doubt at some point down the road Steve Rogers will once again become Cap. Two, Captain America has a long tradition of changing the man under the cowl. If you have never read them, I would highly recommended the Steve Englehart Captain America stories with the Phantom Empire/Nomad, collected in two very nice trades.

In conclusion, I have very little hope the comic book characters will ever die and stay dead. I just wish that their deaths were more than poor attempts to raise the sales of a book or a lack of creative vision to create new characters. I ask you, what was wrong with Jim Corrigan as the Spectre? Or Vic Sage as the Question? Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle? Are the new versions any better? Any more popular? I would argue, no.

Adventure Comics

One a happier note, I would recommend Paul Levitz’s new Legion of Super-Heroes stories in Adventure Comics. The most recent story in number twelve was downright fun and it reminded me why I enjoy comic books. Give it a try if you have the money. As always, these are my opinions and not those of Westfield Comics. Feel free to contact me at MFBWAY@AOL.COM with any comments or hate mail. Or, even easier, just post a comment below.

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