DCClassics.Com Club Infinite
Earths Wally West Flash Review

NoisyDvL5

This is going to be a tough review to write. It’s not because of the figure itself per se, but it is still a figure I’m pretty much disappointed by.

I love the Flash franchise. I love Jay, I love Barry, Bart, Max, Jesse, the whole crew. It was one of my favorite books to pick up growing up (even if it wasn’t always the best book growing up). But in recent years, I’ve learned that I was a Flash fan during the wrong time period; during that twenty-three year sliver were Wally West was The Flash.

A funny thing about being a comic book toy collector is that the current happenings in the comics affect the toy line in subtle ways. We were lucky to get a Zauriel in Hasbro’s JLA line back in the 90s. DC Direct making Hourman III & Tomorrow Woman was a rare, but happy, fluke for me. Similarly, Mattel’s Classics line came into its stride just as Barry was returning to the comics. It wasn’t a good time to be a Wally West fan (it still isn’t five years later).

To be fair, Barry & Wally were both introduced into the Classics line at the same time. That’s a point I largely ignore in my pictures (and will no doubt hear about in the comments), but it’s true. Classics was seven waves in and it was building in random, inconsistent directions. The Flash franchise went largely ignored the first year and when it finally came time to do them, Mattel went super-early Silver Age. Wally came into the line as Kid Flash, a particularly young Kid Flash that has never squarely fit in with any other Teen Titans figures that have blooped out of the line. That figure was a wash to me, so much so that I forgot to even pull it out when I was getting figures for the review. Duh.

While the Barry figure is one of the best figures in the line, an adult Wally West has really been just as crucial to the collection. But despite all the years at retail, Mattel never managed to get around to it. Barry was reissued several times (even once on the wrong buck) and was repainted three times (a metallic deco, Blue Lantern, & White Lantern versions). It could’ve been a Mattel thing. It could’ve been a DC thing. Who knows? When the second subscription year was announced and Wally was finally going to make his adult debut, I was ecstatic.

And then I saw the figure.

I’ll be honest. This is probably just a case of my being a fussy, unappeasable collector. To be sure, the Wally West figure was always going to be cheap. It’s the most basic of bucks – heck, I usually use the Flash figure when I need a quick DCUC silhouette. The boots are Flash-centric, but they’re tooled and ready to go. The figure really only needed a new head – and it got one. So that should do me. Continue to Page 2…

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43 thoughts on “DCClassics.Com Club Infinite
Earths Wally West Flash Review”

  1. Quick and Easy Redeco and…yeah.
    Cherry Barry will continue to stand in for *my* Wally, as the darker color does resemble his post #50 costume, even if the belt is wrong. also, the leaner/taller DCD Wally kinda stands out from the DCUC filling most of my (currently boxed) shelves.

    At least they didn’t do the “amalgamated” suit that took the nose hood, raised the chest logo, and used animated styling he was forced to wear after St Barry was revived.

    I don’t know why they couldn’t release the Wally redeco in the All-Stars line?
    le sigh…..

    and yeah, put me down for Walter, John Fox (FA blue/black!), and Connor Hawke GA! Don’t forget Changeling for NTT! but you know we’re never going to get them, right? nu52 or nuffin’ is the current mindset.

    on the bright side, did you hear the news they’re introducing Flash in this season’s “Arrow” to spin him off into his own series and *perhaps*/*maybe* spin that into the JLA movie?? cautiously happy!
    (I’ve been throwing “Ben McKenzie for Wally!” into every news report I’ve seen on this! #SouthLAnd #RunBoot #maybethereasonIgotbannedfrompageposting?)

      1. Well, yes, because I don’t/can’t afford to collect 1/6 scale figures. I tell you what though, if they released him in a catch-all Movie Masters line, like Mattel once said they were going to do with Keaton Batman and Reeve Superman, I’d be there on day one to buy it.

  2. I have to second that Mattel should have really converted one of the redecoes or reissues into a Wally. Not only would that have got him out sooner, but it also would’ve freed up a spot in the subscription.

  3. My head hurts from so many Flashes, but I gotta love those pic captions.

    I only began reading The Flash on a regular basis after Wally took over. Aside from the TV show costume which JWS’s Barry/Not Wally wore, a comic-accurate Wally figure initially amounted to a couple of DCUC Wave Seven Barrys, given how Wally carried straight on right down to Barry’s costume and ring. Then DC realized that Wally had become the most popular of the Flashes and gave him the dark red suit sans pupils. Therein lacked the love.

    I’m pretty cool with this figure aside from the lighter red but it’s not a biggie. I think the fact that Wally never made it out in adult form during the actual DCUC run at retail is way more mindboggling. DC never did let go of Barry during those 23 years and it was only a matter of time before he was brought back. I just never thought that Wally would have to suffer for it so much. What a waste of such a great legacy character, perhaps the best one ever.

    1. Crisis of Infinite Flashes!

      DC had to have a hand in keeping Wally out. There are a few characters, Elongated Man being another, that seemed like they were characters DC simply didn’t want to market during the life if the line.

      DC wants dumb things sometimes…

  4. Maybe Wally will show up and bitch slap Barry and, tell him you’re in the wrong universe. I know dreaming but hope if Didio leaves I pray that this happens. Wally was alot of fun and enjoyed the Rogues alot in the one JLU ep with him.

    Fig don’t own but will look cause that Kid Flash is too tiny. Probably get a YJ Kid Flash for Bart, wish could get an Impulse made cause that would make me keep Supermen Superboy. (Also YJ pissed me off with Wally dying/trapped in speed force)

    I make.sure to look for Wally era Flash trades at the Library. Only seen one though.

    2. I honestly hope they don’t bring Wally into the Nu52, because you know they’d just fuck him up, like they have for most of the characters. Unless they’re honest-to-God willing to fix their mistakes and have Wally undo all the damage Barry did to the timeline, leave poor Wally alone. DC went out of their way to tarnish his legacy, just leave him be.

      2. That’s the only good thing about Wally and Donna being ignored, right now: they can’t be f’d over like everyone else.

        then again, Didio DID say he “had plans”, and some are wondering if the JL3000 group isn’t comprised of a handful of missing characters, including Donna and Wally?

        and Noisy – we can only hope! if you haven’t watched the new “Flashpoint Paradox” movie yet, do yourself a favor: DON’T DO IT!!!!
        It’s an exercise in torture, imo.

        1. It was almost as bad as the comic.

          The ending was a trade-off: there was no random deus ex machina lady in red to f up the universes, as that element had nothing to do with the actual story, but then the weird alterations to the costumes at the end go unexplained.

          For me, the one saving grace in the entire film was Kevin McKidd’s performance as Thomas Wayne. Almost made me wish I’d gotten a DCD Flashpoint Batman figure.

          1. You’re a stronger man than I to even watch it! Not interested!

            Flashpoint Batman was awesome in the comics though. I want his DCD figure too…

        2. I thought that movie was pretty good. Flashpoint is a pretty good story, by itself. It was just used in an unfortunate way.

  5. I never saw the point in Mattel making this figure since there were already a few “stand-ins” like you mentioned. But I was in the vast minority, as from what I saw in various forums, Wally was one of the most fan-demanded figures ever. So I took one for the team because this is a democracy and majority rules, right? So then we get the damn figure and everyone complained about it. I guess I’d like to know what folks thought they were gonna get? You wanted ANOTHER Flash figure, and Matty listened for once, and so here you go. It looks like the Flash. They sculpted a new head so it looks like a different guy in the costume instead of just a patented Matty-repaint. Even in his fine review I’m not really getting a solid grasp of why Noisy isn’t liking this figure (how long can we really nitpick over what particular shade of red he is?). In fact, the review starts out that he’s disappointed, but by the end he seems pretty ok with it. And honestly, that’s all this figure was ever going to be.

    1. I’m okay by the end because I’m ultimately not very good at complaining. 🙂

      We definitely needed a Wally because none of the stand-ins felt right. The disappointment springs from the fact that the Wally figure itself didn’t end up feeling right either. They just over thought it I suppose. The head could be better, but it’s okay enough that I might’ve just been happy if they stuck with classic colors.

      The wrong color shades can make or break a figure if you ask me. Y’know, I don’t feel like the line has a great Superman figure either. I’m not a fan of the different stabs at the head sculpts and not one was the blue I wanted. I don’t have a Classics Supes in my display right now.

    2. I think it has to do with how they finally made Wally available. He should have been a no-brainer at the beginning of the line, but he wasn’t included in any of the 20 (21?) waves of DCUC. That didn’t stop Mattel from producing so many variants of the Flash like they did with Hal Jordan (another Geoff Johns reclamation project). It just sucks how we came to this so that when we finally got him, we’re beyond the point of caring.

      1. yeah, I think you’re onto something there. Maybe by Mattel putting the figure off for so long, and fans just clamoring for it so loudly, that when they finally did get it and they saw it was really just ANOTHER Flash figure…maybe it just couldn’t help but be underwhelming.

        1. You know what really could have helped this figure? Straight hands. When I think of the Flash, I think of him running with his hands open with his fingers straight, not in fists. That would have really improved this figure.

  6. I’d really wanted a Wally West figure, but this… wasn’t it.

    I’ve never been a big fan of the shiny suit and no-pupils look. It was how they tried to 90’s-ify Wally’s suit, and it didn’t work, and that’s why they dropped it and went back to the normal cowl/colors after a few years. The belt I was a fan of, but they made the lightning bolts on it and the cuffs so chunky there that it doesn’t look very good. I did a custom Wally figure a few years ago that basically consisted of sanding off the belt, painting a new one on (it fit on the crotch piece, so no need to break it in half with the articulation), removing the boot wings, and repainting the eyes (Barry’s are blue, Wally’s are green).

    That’s the Flash figure I wanted. Maybe some fans would’ve screamed bloody murder that they didn’t change enough, but it would have been a more iconic representation of Wally, who, for many (if not most) comic/toy fans today, is their Flash.

  9. Noisy, Where did the Barry with the whited-out eyes come from? Is he a custom? I noticed the eye-holes seem to have been made smaller to resemble Barry’s mask eye-holes.

    2. It is a custom. I took the bulkier All-Star Barry and wiped the eyes out with paint thinner, then painted in the slits. I intended to sound down the ridge/edge of Barry’s mask, but I’ve never gotten around to it.

  11. I’m glad to have this figure.

    When I colored the series I definitely had Wally in a darker costume. The editor and I agreed that he should stand out more from Barry. This way if there was any team-ups, flashbacks or new Silver Age stories you could identify him better than just the belt. I also gave Wally green eyes, which were originally blue.

    So having this figure in my collection is a great joy. Now if Mattel would only do Bart and Max.

      1. I colored FLASH 97 – 169. I also worked on most of the IMPULSE series. LOSH I colored 1-125, plus other numerous DC titles.

  12. Nice review.

    It helps us Wally fans, but non-Flash-experts, know why our sub figure is Wally and not Barry.

    Still waiting for Donna…. liked the red costume fig. The Titan armor would be a definite classic. Who knows, maybe she’ll be 2014’s second female character.

    (Yeah, right…)

    1. Tim, I’m betting on Indigo or Phantom Lady as the second female for 2014. Although Vixen or Dawnstar would be a nice surprise.

    2. One of my biggest, not going to happen, wants is a young Donna Troy from the beginning of Teen Titans with the ponytail. A young Robin, Garth, & Speedy would round out a great set!

  13. I still hope that DC is purposely keeping Wally out of New52 continuity because he’s gunna be the key to resetting the DC universe when the time comes. How cool would it be to have Wally come blasting out of the speed force, all tattered and beat up like Barry in Crisis and try and convince everybody that the universe is wrong and he needs to fix it.

    I like my Wally figure and am happy to finally relace my DCD Wally on my Morrison shelf. I’m happy with the paint and even the head sculpt…even tho to me it seems just a tad too small. My only gripe isnt as much with Wally as it is with the Matty sub in general. I would LOVED to have seen just a little bit more effort put into some of these easy repaint figures. Especially when Matty and ToyGuru throw out words like “premium” and “high end”

    Sure Wally would nave needed a new head to avoid massive complaints and fan venom. BUT….I wish they would have added a bit more to set him apart from Barry and to make him a true sub worthy figure. How about raised lightning detail on the waist and forearms? To me thats a pretty easy and simply thing to do to add a little more to what is essentially a repaint that you would find at TRU.

  14. I was there during Barry’s era, and didn’t mind the way DC had Infantino carry out his end before Crisis (the original one)- it was one of the great comic moments. Post-Crisis, it made sense at the time with the Titans growing up, what with Robin becoming Nightwing, that Kid Flash would become Flash after Barry sacrificed himself. When Perez spearheaded Wally as Flash, he gave him a much more slender, runner’s, build. That’s the way I’ve always differentiated the two ever since, but never expected Mattel to go out of their way to make them physically different figures. This had poor repaint written all over it. When DC can’t make heads or tails of their characters how can Mattel?

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