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Femmes-Fatales — My DCU - The Flash Family Year One
#dccomics #dcuniverse #flash #justiceleague #redesign #teentitans #theflash #dccomicsjusticeleague #dccomicsfanart #dcuniversefanart
Published: 2019-11-09 21:41:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 8856; Favourites: 169; Downloads: 14
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This is the sixth entry into my DC head canon chronology project. I've ordered my canon's events and structured them into what basically amounts to various TV series. My canon begins with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and evolves from there.I haven't posted one of these pieces since February of this past year, largely due to the inevitable lack of time and energy from working two jobs in order to make ends meet. However, I've had these sitting around forever and I finally mustered up some motivation to finish them up.
The Flash Family is introduced in Superman's first year/season. Following the appearance of the Flash in Central City, Lois Lane makes a trip to help her college friend Iris West with her investigation of the speedster. Clark runs interference as Superman in order to ensure the Flash’s identity remains secret. When the Flash and Superman both end up under the thrall of Gorilla Grodd, Lois and Iris are tasked with freeing the heroes from the villain’s control. Iris' kid brother Wally risks his life to help and an accident results in him acquiring powers similar to the Flash, thus enabling him to become Kid Flash.
Connecting the Flash to the world of Superman seemed like a good fit given their similarities as characters and tone with their individual mythologies. I also sought to pull some inspiration from TV as well, given how influential the CW series has been in terms of presenting how we see the Flash. That also further influenced the looks I gave the characters, with some further inspiration drawn from Young Justice and the DCEU. Still, it was very much about taking their classic Silver Age looks and updating them for today.
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Comments: 39
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Glad to see you again! Sorry your work schedule's a bit overwhelming, I hope fortune starts shining your way.
Putting Flash closer to Superman's side of the mythos is a really good idea, something that the CW probably should have done in hindsight. And yeah, CW has really changed how a lot of people see the Flash, for better or worse, so it makes sense to take that into account. I kinda like how Wally's outfit is sleeveless, sorta reminds me of a track outfit.
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Well, you can still hope at least.
That's not a bad idea.
Flash pairs up with Superman way better than he would with Batman. It'd be hard to toss a goofus speedster like Barry into grim & grimy Gotham and make things match. Not to say that the contrast wouldn't make for a fun story, but there is kind of a power imbalance between the two characters that would make things harder to write around.
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Well it's like you said, Flash is a lot closer to guys like Superman in terms of power & tone so it's just easier to write consistent stories with them interacting.
Throw someone like Superman into Gotham and you'd have to come up with some reason why he couldn't just clear the place out in a day. Guys like Supes deal with super-strong, super-genius powerhouses while Gotham is mostly populated by clever crime-bosses & mutated freaks, so there's kind of a huge power gap to write around. There'd still be plenty of story material there, of course, but I think most writers don't think they could give the story enough tension or stakes.
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That sounds really fun, actually.
There's a lot of potential to be had when writers experiment by slamming two totally different characters/worlds together, there are plenty of Superman/Batman storylines out there for example, it's just that a lot of writers don't seem to take advantage of the idea too often.
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Yeah, that's one of the major cons to such massive shared universes. When you have so many writers butting heads over what a character should be like things can quickly devolve into a mess. Byrne's WW is a good example. Unless the editorial teams all get along and communicate well, inconsistencies can pop up like crazy.
It's sometimes pretty easy to tell when the writers aren't familiar with a character in crossovers like that. Or sometimes they're too attached to them and it feels like fanboyism. Either way, what I think makes or breaks a crossover is if the writing team has an actual drive behind the story. Because if they're just tossing two characters together because 'hey readers will recognize X and X, right?' then the whole thing will just feel forced.
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That is another part of it.
And I agree that not every crossover has to have some deeper or bigger narrative twist, I just think the crossover needs to add something to a plot. In crossovers I want to see the characters interact and develop a unique relationship, maybe even show some of the differences between each characters 'world'. Something more than 'they're there just to be there'.
Event/Company crossovers are the worst for this. Too many plot threads to juggle, too many characters/personalities to manage, nearly everyone gets messed up in some way or another. They're example of crossovers that only come about because the company dictates it and the writers just have to deal with it.
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Agreed.
Again, I think the problem with Events is that there's too much to juggle. The writers have to manage so many characters (not all of whom they may be familiar with), account for how they all will interact and what (if any) role they'll play in the narrative, and on top of it all have to make sure that their base story is interesting and engaging. There's just so much that could go wrong that I think the writers aren't willing to take much risk; the end results may be lackluster, but at least it's not a complete and total bomb (hopefully).
Compare this to a short crossover between two series, where the stakes are (usually) lower, the cast is smaller and it's just easier for the writers to manage all the elements. At least that's how I view it.
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Maybe I'm conflating Events and crossovers in my mind, then. If nothing else, my points can still serve as 'what to avoid/what to aim for'. At least for what I think makes a good crossover.
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Ok, that makes things a little clearer. Thanks.
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You're very welcome.
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You are welcome.
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First of all, can I just say that its so great to see you posting on here again? I figure it won't be as frequent, but its still nice to see. In spite of my own long-extended hiatus from Deviantart, I still really enjoyed to see your newest pieces. So while I do enjoy your absolutely fabulous work from outside DA, I'm still glad to see you back here.
With that being said, you came back here strong! While the Flash notably has a very simple design, seeing a modern update is still great. And honestly, I think I like your interpretation more than the one from Young Justice. Young Justice has a classic and simple look, but it's almost too simple? Your little details break up the monotony of the look, and it really does help.
The same definitely applies for Wally, and I think I prefer the bared arms over the yellow sleeves. It seems more youthful almost, and it suits his personality.
As for backstory, can I just say its great to see Lois AND Iris stepping up to save their men? It's so in character for both of them, and having Wally gain his powers this way is an excellent chance to really establish his character. Selfless, but perhaps a little reckless. He's overall a good kid.
Well, with it all together, I think this is yet another fantastic piece from you. I'm interested to see where you go from here. It's nice to see your work back here.
Welcome back Taylor!
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This looks really good! And I like the little backstory we get about Lois and Iris too.
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Wow, it's really great to see this again! I like their looks here, since it harkens to other Flash costumes but still retains your sensibilities. Two thumbs up for two great Fastest Men Alive.
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You're welcome; I wish you the best.
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