Barry Allen Fans : Thoughts on Why both Live Action Barry Allen's are so different from the original Character?

Barry Allen friends, Why do you think both current Live Action Barry Allens are so different from the original character in Design ( None Blonde and small and/or short frame) and in personality? Are you fond of one or both of them or Hate both versions? How do you feel that a new generation of Suphero fans will consider one of these two as who Barry Allen is and suppose to be?

Personally I dislike both versions and it amazes me that with two live actions versions neither are remotely close to the character even in something as simple in design, Which would be fine if they were more in line with the character personality wise, though I can understand why some people may like them.

@dondave@sync1@jmarshmallow@pokeysteve@batman242@ancient_0f_days@unbreakable_fs4@demonknights@thedailybagel@comicace3@comicdude360@nighthunder@patrat18@pierpat@stupid_people@thitiki@godzilla44@darkseid1006@themagic

The comic book version of Barry doesn't have a very well defined personality so both adaptations thought it would be okay to inject their own ideas into him.

I kinda agree and disagree. I feel Barry Allen's personality has been established in the New 52/Rebirth Line but its nothing amazingly one note like someone like Batman.

Personally I find CW Barry an Incompetent baby while I find DCEU Barry to be a failed attempt at comic releif. Though of course that could be just me.

Like hadjuk said, it is just both live actions puting their own spin on their characters. Barry is not really eye popping in temrs of personality (in the comics at least) compared to Bart or Wally, so each medium probably wanted to add their own juice to them. They both work for the universe they are in and fans seem to be taking a liking to them.

I really like what Gustin is doing with the character. Barry has come a long way since season 1. He's becoming the leader we see on the page.

Wasn't crazy about Miller's Barry. Maybe he'll become more himself in his solo movie and not the twitchy weird outsider we saw in JL.

Yeah like I said, I respect that people will like either version for separate reasons.

Yeah Like I was saying the DCEU should of got solo movies with the actor and director defining the character. Zacks version from the start seemed a bit off too me.

It's okay to have different versions of characters

No one said it wasn't.

I actually thought the 90's Barry was close enough to Comic Barry's personality and with the way he carried himself, although he wasn't blonde either. I don't like CW Barry at all, and I want to see DCEU Barry in a solo film first since he only has one appearance right now and was mostly just comic relief, as you said.

Barry does have a well defined personality, it’s just pretty close to Superman and that of a more mature character. Barry has always been a calm, easy-going character who doesn’t quite feel at home among these gods, but learns to over time. Both live action Barry Allen’s have been younger, so they have replaced Barry’s natural easy-goingness with hyper neuroticism. I guess the idea is he’ll grow up more and become more like comic Barry, but we’ll see.

Barry is just a terrible character in my opinion...that is why...

I just want them to make him Blond for God's sake.

I let that dream go. Something about Barry Allen in all 3 of his live actions appearances just can't be blonde.

This

Those saying Barry has no character need to pick up some of his books.

This. It's like some people have only read one Flash comic saying he has no personality, weird.

Btw I can tolerate CW Barry, can't stand DCEU Barry.

They want to makes money

Most people are familiar with flash from the cartoons

In the cartoons he is funny and cracks jokes

@DeathandGrim2: wtf is making him blonde gonna do get over your blonde man fantasy

@midnightdragon18 well they could have made ginger Wally. We already have the other Wally and Barry on TV but I guess Snyder/Terrio/WB couldn't think of that seeing as they don't care about the original roster. Regarding making money, yeah doesn't look too good for them atm does it? lol

@thedarkking25 what is wrong with wanting someone to actually look the way they do on screen as in the comics? Oh yeah diversity and all that, don't want to offend people etc. LMAO

Ok now dont hurt me, im no Flash reader but i readed couple of stories with him and imo he doesn't have much characteristics that would define him like Superman - scoutboy, Batman - dark knight, Goku - dumb battle maniac, Flash? - random guy like you and me with superspeed. Thats how i feel about him, dont yell at me lol

@thedarkking25: Whoa who are you? Anyway I like accurate comic book representations in adaptations down to the looks. And I always feel off looking at not Blonde Barry Allen. It just feels off.

Barry is not a good character at all, its as simple as that. He's the literal personification of boring white guy trope.

Hhhhhmmm

They want the Flash as a comic relief character, and that's more Wally than Barry, so they have typically blended them together in recent years. My guess is that they are trying to capture the Flash from the Justice league animated series, as up until the Flash tv show premiered, the general audience didn't really know the difference between Wally and barry, or that there was even more than one flash for that matter. So they usually try to give Barry Wally's sense of humor to recreate that persona.

His powers are far better than his character, so yeah the live action versions will take some liberties. Even in the comics despite having 52 years of history, Geoff Johns decided to retcon his origin to make him more interesting.

Personally, I would say Bart is more comic relief than Flash Wally.

Silver Age Barry was dull as dirt. Then h died for...25 years and only is just getting a personality. And it's still not great.

To endear him to people, he has to be more likable and fun and not like Captain America minus the patriotism.

I get making him more likeable because comic Barry is kind of dull but what I don't get is making him nerdy and geeky I mean DCEU Flash was a walking joke machine and was just plan weird and cringey most of the time CW Flash was similar but not as bad I thought he was a good character and Barry I mean I don't watch the show anymore but it's not because of him the writing is pretty terrible

I don't mind a jokey flash but when it's time to get serious he gets serious Ezra Miller Flash was just there for jokes and he was seriously a pansy

JL and JLU Flash I think is the best incarnation of the flash live action although he was Wally

@thatduderox: why do ppl insist wally is the funny flash? Every wally comic I have he is more serious than Barry, even to the point of being a jerk. I think only dcau wally is the only wally like that. As far as comics is concerned when I think of funny flash I think of Bart, he was the one who never took anything seriously

@firestarlord73194: I'm not sure myself. Wally from the comics I've read of him ( Including what people call his best comic runs) was never how people say he was and alot of people compare Barry to DCAU Wally which was pretty much a better version of DCEU barry.

@firestarlord73194: Wally had his moments of humor here and there, especially when he was younger, but I imagine people insist he's the funny Flash based on his television appearances. In the DCAU, his short stint on Teen Titans, and his portrayal on Young Justice all had him as light hearted and quippy. And outside of CW Wally, these are the only Wallys that non comic book readers know. Also keep in mind that a lot of non comic book readers aren't sure if it's Barry or Wally in the DCAU. I think they mentioned him by name and showed him without a mask only a hand few of times.

This is what I don't understand about the Vine. The up-nosed comic book purists are always like "everything in comics is obviously incredibly complex and deep compared to live-action..."

WallyWestMasterrace

What do you mean? No one is saying Barry is a deep character but to say he has not isn't true. Now if you want to call him boring and what not that is your opinion and is a fair one.

Shut Up you, That why Red Hood Sucks now :p

@stormshadow_x: Jason and Wally for life mate

Barry and Dick :P No homo

To be fair, the majority of people from the SIlver Age are pretty dull, that's just how comics were. Who can say something about Ray Palmer's personality? Barry was given a starting point in the Silver Age with being easygoing, slow, and late to everything, but still incredibly goodhearted. This has been expanded on since his return in the modern age.

CW Barry suffers from "CW-itis", where anything and everything he does has to cause drama. If you're looking for comic-accurate portrayals, CW is the wrong place.

DCEU Barry (from what I've heard, I haven't seen JL yet) is Barry done half correctly. They got his place in the League correct, as he's the average dude given powers and forced to fight among gods. It seems, however, that this was taken to the extreme, and he was made into a neurotic child. Hopefully we'll see Barry grow into something more similar to his comic self, but movies and media have a fear of creating any speedster who's not the jokey, "too fast for the world" cliché.

Barry definitely is not a boring character. His entire life he's been a normal guy, and then he's suddenly given these amazing, almost godly powers. He doesn't view himself as a god, however, and still views himself as an awkward dude thrust among gods, and is just trying to do the best that he can. He's honestly full of so many juxtapositions like that, it does make for an interesting character. If anything, I'd compare him more to Spider-Man than Superman and Captain America.

@thatduderox: Yeah in dead heat, blitz, rogue war and even in DC rebirth Wally is super serious, stoic and to an extent, cold. I remember it being a huge plot point that jessi quick and bart basically hated wally for being such a jerk. I guess it really does boil down to everyone remembering wally as he appeared in the justice league cartoon and in young justice

Barrys personality is just "default Silverage: Male" not something you can really base a film franchise off of.

Why? That's pretty much what Tobey's Spider-Man was. I think Silver Age is being thrown around alot when if you look back a vast majoirty of non Superman/Batman characters were like that, and they've all (including barry) have changed since.

His current run is another example of him being more than just a standard white guy of the Silver Age because it sounds like to me you could say the same thing for Aquaman, Cyclops, etc Plenty of great characters with great stories whose personalities aren't limited to one thing. Is barry the most interesting character in comics? No but you can say the same thing about most of the Big DC A list heroes and a few of the marvel ones.

Barry West's personality is just nice; an average do-gooder, and a straight man to Hal Jordan's recklessness. He's boring. Nice, but boring.

@stormshadow_x:

I think Silver Age is being thrown around alot when if you look back a vast majoirty of non Superman/Batman characters were like that

I agree.

and they've all (including barry) have changed since.

Yeah lost me completely. Maybe this is a new 52 thing, but the Barry I read after Flash: Rebirth all away down to Flashpoint was the same one I read from Showcase 4 all the way down to Crisis On Infinite Earths 8. He was a beautiful relic from a bygone era that should have stayed where he was: dead. Even in the Post Crisis era, his personalty, motives and general everything was just Silverage "I'm here, to save the day with a smile on my face, let's fight the good fight".

Yeah I can understand. The New 52 and Rebirth stories have attempted to modernize him more than just being a Superhero and nothing else. If they've failed or succeeded is up to Opinion. I think they have but I know a few who still think he's rather boring.

Because I'm convinced the higher ups at DC have some huge hate boner for all things Barry Allen, at least as far as The Silver Age is involved. They seem to be actively ignoring the decades of Flash history that existed before 2009's Rebirth.

What pisses me off is that no other character seems to be as bastardized as Barry Allen is. Hell, even Spider-Man has been done in all different types of ways since his live-action debut in the early 2000s. The folks at Marvel/Sony love the character and embrace every part of him. From his early stuff, the JMS run, to the Ultimate comics, etc. But at DC all they ever want to do is Flashpoint over, and over, and over, and over again! The only characterization Barry can have is being a sad, mopey, broken man who can never get a legitimate win towards anything in his pathetic life.

If you liked the Rebirth interpretation and the dead parent stuff, that's fine. You do you. But I don't even think the staunchest supporters can actually say with a straight face it hasn't been overdone to death lately, or that it hasn't completely changed The Flash's personality from what it was in The Silver Age.

I think that was the point, a lot of people here for example think that he was boring and it feels like thats the majority for comic fans, never mind GA. I do think the dead parent trope is over done but in this case it actually helped solidify Barry and Thawne's status as mortal enemies in a way that even Batman/Joke or Superman/Lex. Thought I do understand how you feel on the subject.

@stormshadow_x: I'm sorry dude, can't agree with the Thawne-Barry bit. I mean, I feel like that's just a cheap way to make two characters at odds with one another. Like, Lex Luthor doesn't need to be responsible for Krypton's destruction to be Superman's enemy, Joker doesn't need to have killed the Waynes, etc.

If anything I feel like it throws their whole rivalry out of whack and gives Thawne too much power over Barry. I mean, Thawne kills Nora and Barry... fails to stop him? No, that's too much victory in one direction and it's especially problematic considering it's towards an antagonist and not the character whose name is on the freaking comic. If Barry was able to get some actual wins against Professor Zoom or eventually save Nora it'd work better. But as it stands now, it's not a heroic rivalry, it's a one-sided victimization.