Flash in the Pan?

[BentonGrey]

Howdy guys, this may not be the exact place for this, but I've got a question for the comic book aficionados around here.  I've decided to add a Flash mission into my JLA campaign, but I'm having a little trouble figuring out his personality.  How do you think Barry Allen should be written?  I'm trying to go with a guy who's a little impetuous (but cool headed compared to Hal), and in a bit of a hurry, but something of a straight shooter.  Thoughts?

[AncientSpirit]

My memory of Barry was that he was anything but impetuous.   He was a police scientist who worked with evidence, and like most scientists I've met he was pretty methodical in the way he went about things.  You're right about him being a straight shooter, though.   I think the Flash TV series got him right.  If you haven't seen those episodes, you might want to.  They're a fun ride ... (as long as you forget the romantic interest they cooked up for him).

[danhagen]

Barry Allen was a little dull, frankly, in a solid, mature, crew-cut, nice-guy sort of way. But the upside of that was that he could take a little thing like an alien invasion right in stride.

[tommyboy]

I'd go with the straight-laced, upstanding guy. A scientist who has time to check things out because he's so fast, he's unusual in that unlike many speedsters he isn't impatient or impetuous. He has a sense of humour (bear in mind Elongated Man was one of his best friends), but probably nothing too wacky, is loyal, and will try to do the right thing except when pushed into the most extreme of circumstances.
Because of his speed he has time to both think and act, so as AS says, he is methodical. He is also very intelligent and well informed about science, so he's not the sort of guy who would just rush in and punch people.

[Panther_Gunn]

Ditto that, AS.  Barry was always fairly serious (but nowhere near Batman-level), and was a fairly no-nonsense, get-the-job-done sort of hero, with very few snappy lines.  Something his old rogues gallery lamented over after he was gone, wishing more of the current crop of heroes were more like him.....how they didn't really *mind* being apprehended by him most of the time.  Even in the JLA, he was always a little bit uptight, and had trouble relaxing.  He had a fairly innate sense of right & wrong, and always tried to be, for lack of a better term, honorable in the things he did.  He was definitely a duty-first sort of person, and I'm sure he called Wally on the carpet a couple of times for being a bit of a slacker (probably why Wally was so hung-up on measuring up to Barry for so long after he died).

A good contrast that I remember seeing was from DC's Brave & the Bold mini-series they put out about 8 years ago or so.  It focused on Hal & Barry, with some Wally, Ollie, Allen & Jay thrown in a couple times.  One of the covers was a profile close-up of Barry & Ollie getting each other's faces, with Ollie calling him a "Fascist Tool", and Barry responding with "Hippie Freak".  Meanwhile, poor Hal is in the background doing a face-palm.  An image can be found here. (scroll down to Nov 24, 2004)

[BentonGrey]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great feedback!  I see what you mean, and I really like the dynamic of a man who is FAST enough to be methodical...something about that appeals to me.  Alright, I'll have to rework a few things, but I think I run with this....(HA!)

Watch this space, if you're interested, for a dialog sample for feedback.

[JKCarrier]

Ditto that, AS.  Barry was always fairly serious (but nowhere near Batman-level), and was a fairly no-nonsense, get-the-job-done sort of hero, with very few snappy lines.

I can't agree with that. Barry was a bit of a square, but he also very much enjoyed his work, and he was very creative -- even playful -- in the way he used his powers. I remember one scene where he chased down a gang's getaway car, disassembled it right out from under them, used the parts to build a giant "tandem" bicycle, and then pedalled them off to police headquarters. He was always doing stuff like that, sort of "Not only am I going to defeat you, I'm going to humiliate you a little in the process".

Another more elaborate example: In one story, a mysterious new villain called "The Dude" shows up in Central City. The Dude carries a device that somehow causes the Flash's powers to go berserk -- forcing him to turn cartwheels or run in circles, etc. After The Dude humiliates the Flash in several encounters, the other Flash Rogues invite him to join their little club, and reveal the secret plan they've been working on to destroy Flash once and for all. At which point The Dude unmasks and reveals that he was really the Flash all along. He staged a bunch of phony fights by switching back and forth between the two costumes faster than they eye could see, making it look like he was fighting himself. All so the villains would take him into their confidence and reveal their schemes.

I always got the impression that Barry was deliberately "handicapping" himself, doing things in the most complicated and roundabout way possible, just to keep himself amused. Moving faster than the speed of light, there's really no situation he shouldn't be able to overcome in a nanosecond.

[Spe-Dog]

I'd have to say that the other commenters are pretty spot on with their commentary on Barry's personality.  In the current era of CSI shows running willy nilly on TV and in the movies, I think Barry could evolve into that mold.  He could be shown using more police science to solve crimes before running out as the Flash to take the bad guy in.  I'm a huge Wally fan, but Barry could be well done written the right way as well.