(no subject)
There is something about American superhero comics that's makes me want to write about theory and ideas about what these characters mean to me. Japanese comics have inspired my fiction, even the most predictable or non-existent plots (I'm looking at you PoT) inspire me to write the characters as my own. American superhero comics inspire me to analyze, to look at these characters as Jung or Bloom might. So that's what I'm doing.
Bart Allen, Titans of Tomorrow, Flash Reborn, and Being "In Character"
The Titan's of Tomorrow story arc which went to shelf in november 2004, tells the tale of a dark and grim future where our heroes, the teen titans (at the current time consisting of Tim, Kon, Cassie, Gar, Kory, Vic, Raven, and Bart), are evil. This is demonstrated by future Tim shooting the Joker's daughter in the head at point blank. Through the comic the other characters, (minus Cyborg and Starfire who don't show up until the end) demonstrate their evil nature with the exception of Bart. The future selves are purposeful inversions of the characters, which is an easy thing to say about the evil ones but what about Bart, the good one?
Bart, we find out, is spying on the evil Titans and working to build a better tomorrow. So your first thought might be that he can't be all that different from good old optimistic Bart. You'd be wrong. Bart was we know him can't lie for shit. It's a running joke through Impulse, Young Justice, and well past this short arc of Teen Titans. Bart can't keep his secret identity secret without whole lot of luck on his side, fortunately he's a really lucky guy and during the big Titan family share-all (after the battle with Dr. Light and Speedy's introduction) Bart's big secret is...he borrowed someone's underwear without asking. Bart wears his heart on his sleeves. It's why I love him, because he loves himself and doesn't see any reason to hide who he is. A Bart whose life is lying, hiding, and dissembling is not Bart.
Which brings me in a round about way to Flash Rebirth. I like Bart in Flash Rebirth, now I didn't read the Crisis stuff. I think the whole Crisis concept is wacky and makes no sense but that's another rant. So I'm not going from Kid Flash, to gone, to Flash, to dead (kinda), to Kid Flash again, which I imagine must have been frustrating and would change one's wishes for a newly alive Bart. But, while Bart in Flash Rebirth is angry and bitter a lot of the time, he is honestly so, which is completely in character for him. He isn't always a happy-go-lucky guy, in fact even in his Impulse days he rarely was. He was often hurt, worried, annoyed, and frustrated and he was always honest about it. When you ask Bart “what's wrong?” he'll tell you. And that is what he is doing in Flash Rebirth, being honest about how he feels.
Bart Allen, Titans of Tomorrow, Flash Reborn, and Being "In Character"
The Titan's of Tomorrow story arc which went to shelf in november 2004, tells the tale of a dark and grim future where our heroes, the teen titans (at the current time consisting of Tim, Kon, Cassie, Gar, Kory, Vic, Raven, and Bart), are evil. This is demonstrated by future Tim shooting the Joker's daughter in the head at point blank. Through the comic the other characters, (minus Cyborg and Starfire who don't show up until the end) demonstrate their evil nature with the exception of Bart. The future selves are purposeful inversions of the characters, which is an easy thing to say about the evil ones but what about Bart, the good one?
Bart, we find out, is spying on the evil Titans and working to build a better tomorrow. So your first thought might be that he can't be all that different from good old optimistic Bart. You'd be wrong. Bart was we know him can't lie for shit. It's a running joke through Impulse, Young Justice, and well past this short arc of Teen Titans. Bart can't keep his secret identity secret without whole lot of luck on his side, fortunately he's a really lucky guy and during the big Titan family share-all (after the battle with Dr. Light and Speedy's introduction) Bart's big secret is...he borrowed someone's underwear without asking. Bart wears his heart on his sleeves. It's why I love him, because he loves himself and doesn't see any reason to hide who he is. A Bart whose life is lying, hiding, and dissembling is not Bart.
Which brings me in a round about way to Flash Rebirth. I like Bart in Flash Rebirth, now I didn't read the Crisis stuff. I think the whole Crisis concept is wacky and makes no sense but that's another rant. So I'm not going from Kid Flash, to gone, to Flash, to dead (kinda), to Kid Flash again, which I imagine must have been frustrating and would change one's wishes for a newly alive Bart. But, while Bart in Flash Rebirth is angry and bitter a lot of the time, he is honestly so, which is completely in character for him. He isn't always a happy-go-lucky guy, in fact even in his Impulse days he rarely was. He was often hurt, worried, annoyed, and frustrated and he was always honest about it. When you ask Bart “what's wrong?” he'll tell you. And that is what he is doing in Flash Rebirth, being honest about how he feels.