Wally West has long been a favorite of fans of The Flash comic books, even though he was the third iteration of The Flash character.
But will he make an appearance on the TV series of the same name?
In a recent interview, Greg Berlanti, executive producer of The Flash, stated that it's likely we'll see Wally West next season on the series.
But who exactly is this Wally West? And what's his role in the comics and his likely role on The CW's show?
Wally West as Kid Flash
In DC Comics, Wally West made his first appearance in 1959's The Flash #110. He is the nephew of Iris West, the wife of Barry Allen, the first iteration of The Flash. In that story, Wally visits the police laboratory where Barry works and the accident that turned Barry into The Flash happens again, giving Wally speedster powers. Because of this, Wally becomes Barry's sidekick as Kid Flash.
Later in the comics, Wally joins the Teen Titans and becomes friends with Dick Grayson, aka Robin, aka Nightwing. However, Wally contracts a mysterious illness that makes him age when he uses his speedster powers.
Wally West as The Flash
In 1985, the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" comic book series had Barry sacrificing himself to save Earth. During the final battle of that story, Wally received a blast of anti-matter, which cured his illness and gave him the ability to take Barry's place as The Flash.
In later comics, Wally went up against Reverse-Flash, which in the comics was Eobard Thawne. At the time, Wally limited his speed because he didn't want to be better than Barry, who mentored him, but his battle with Reverse-Flash forced him to embrace his power.
In more recent comics, Wally went up against the Rogues and ended up marrying his girlfriend, Linda Park.
Last year, in DC's "The New 52," a new version of Wally finally made his first appearance, this time as an African-American.
Wally West potential role on The Flash TV series
On the TV series, Barry and Iris aren't even dating yet, much less married, but that doesn't mean that Iris doesn't have a nephew out there somewhere by the name of Wally. Introducing a younger Wally into the series would be easy for the writers.
Also, The Flash series creators have alluded to the fact that they specifically cast both Iris and her father, Joe, on the series as African-American, and being that "The New 52" reintroduced the character as African-American last year, this makes sense.
"What's very cool is in 'The New 52' they hadn't reintroduced Wally [yet]," says tv series executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. "When they reintroduced Wally, they made him African-American. So now and forever, Kid Flash will be African-American."
Alluding to that, it seems that we'll see Wally West appear as Kid Flash in season two of the series.
We also know that there's possibly a Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline set in the future, thanks to our glimpse of that through the eyes of Dr. Harrison Wells. Is the series brave enough to eventually kill off main character Barry Allen and replace him with Wally West at some point?
Such a plot would probably prove controversial, making it unlikely, especially considering how loved Grant Gustin (the actor portraying Barry) is, but would make for some extremely compelling television.
However, we won't know for sure unless we keep watching. The Flash returns to The CW tonight.
[Photo Credit: DC Comics]
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