Reading Comics 179 "Flash Appreciation Day"

As established in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance" (and borrowing heavily from the comics, which have long celebrated the Scarlet Speedster's popularity in his native Central City), today is Flash Appreciation Day.

So yeah, I'm going to join in the festivities.  I've previously called Mark Waid's "The Return of Barry Allen" my favorite comic book ever (read about it here), a perfect story for long-time fans of superheroes.  It happened to be my introduction as a fan to the Flash, and it couldn't have been better or harder to live up to in subsequent years, but there were certainly contenders, such as the seminal Flashpoint (both of them; look it up here).

I remember the TV advertisements for the 1990 TV series, and later getting to enjoy this unique contribution to live action superhero lore.  Recently, I've gotten into the new show in a big way.  I can't speak highly enough about it.  Whereas Smallville or the Justice League cartoons or even the series of Avengers movies continuing to play out in theaters have done an excellent job conveying the richness of superhero lore to more mainstream audiences, I don't think any of them compare to what The Flash is doing.  Even with companion shows like Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow further expanding the same vision, neither has the heart or depth of Barry Allen's, arguably, greatest adventures, currently in their second season.  Playing off continuity previously established by Geoff Johns in the comics, Barry's life is complicated by the Reverse Flash manipulating time so that Barry grows up without a mother, and his father convicted for her murder.  More clever still, his would-be mentor Harrison Wells was replaced by the Reverse Flash, and in the second season Wells is once again compromised, but in an equally clever way.  It keeps everyone on their toes, and also makes the character of Vibe the best he's ever been.

The Flash will also be involved in the upcoming Justice League movies, and there's no way to know if he'll have as impactful a showing there as well (but it's likely easy to assume so).  At this point, he's easily DC's fourth guy, after Superman and Batman, who have had numerous live action incarnations over the years, and Wonder Woman, who's celebrating her impending cinematic debut as well.  This will be Flash's third live action incarnation, which is pretty significant.

You can see more of how today has been celebrated here, and also take Speedforce.org's recommendation and consider checking out Hero Initiative to see how you can give back to creators who have helped breathe life into legends like the Flash.