Dominic wrote:It is pandering to have the characters nevereverever change...ever, for any reason if the assumption is that readers cannot handle it.
Every character DC has in its lineup has changed. It's possible (and preferable) to do that without having them go off the deep end.
I am the last one who would argue that we need more books like Mark Waid's exhibitionist tantrums, "Irredeemable" and "Incorruptible". But, there is a case to be made for accentuating heroice qualities by showing a hero fall, (perhaps by taking the heroic qualities too far).
Irredeemable is exactly what we got with Parallax. He killed everyone in the entire universe from the beginning of time until the end. That's mass murder of unimaginable proportions. That's not something to just gloss over.
Hal's actions in "Emerald Twilight" were not that far off base for a super hero. They solve problems. The more problems, and types of problems, one tries to solve, the more ownership one is taking of the problems and solutions. Hal took ownership of the Coast City problem, and he applied it on a large scale. And, look what happened.
Killing everyone that ever lived is just a larger scale attempt to solve a problem? Really?
There is a huge difference between accessibility and stagnation. Bringing in new readers is one thing. Getting them to stick around is quite another. I flip through, and even pick up, random books all the time. But, if they do not seem to have any direction or real premise, I do not bother to pick up the next one.
Dom, why exactly do you read comics?
DC was not trying to jettison old continuity with Kyle, they were trying to advance it.
No, they were trying to complete dump Hal Jordan and everything associated with him and go "back to basics" by having one Green Lantern with his power ring. No Guardians, no corps, and no one other than Kyle called Green Lantern. That doesn't advance anything. He becomes yet another lone super-powered vigilante with a costume and a gimmick.
It wasn't actually undone... it still happened, and so all the consequences still have meaning.
What consequences? Barry is back. And, inside of a few years, the other non-Jay Flashes will retire/die.
That's your opinion, but it doesn't mean it will happen. It's equally as likely that DC editorial will decide that it's a unique situation having four Flashes active in the DC universe at one time and will explore that situation.
The main consequence of Barry Allen's death: Wally West stepped up to fill his mentor's shoes and become
the Flash, enjoying enormous character growth as a consequence. I don't see him reverting to Kid Flash, and I don't see all that character growth going away either. And now there's an opportunity to see him as a mature individual interact with someone who last saw him when he was a teen with a lot of growing to do. That's something we saw some degree of in Rebirth, and something I'd enjoy seeing more of in future.
They could always have kept Wally as the main Flash, but what else are they going to do with him that they haven't already done? Barry Allen hasn't been the main character in the Flash comic for 25 years. A lot has changed in that time, both in terms of storytelling, tone and characters. There's a lot of potential here.
By the way, did you know that Marv Wolfman had left an out in case anyone ever wanted to revive Barry Allen after the Crisis? His idea was that someone could have pulled him through the 'time windows' he was passing as he ran to his death.