Arrested Development, Or Why We Don’t Need More Starman

Here at ComicBook.com, we’ve lamented in the past the fact that so few of our favorite comic book superheroes actually get anything resembling a happy ending.That’s partially the effect of the monthly, serialized format that demands everything return to the status quo periodically and every character be ready to suit up for their next adventure–but occasionally it goes deeper than that. When a franchise is in trouble, a character can be pulled out of the mothballs to rescue it, even at the expense of organic character or story development.That’s what happened when Geoff Johns’s terrific run on The Flash ended with Wally West, happily retired, only for Wally to be brought back in a disappointing return when his successor failed to take root with the readership. Ultimately, Wally was replaced by his predecessor, Barry Allen, and ultimately retconned out of existence in the New 52. But the strength of The Flash #230, a touching and well-done final chapter in Wally’s story, is undermined a little by the return. Additionally, he never really got a second “finale” that’s as good as he deserved.