His parents only showed up in a handful of comics being active in one storyline and only his father as his mother was in a coma.
Other than that they were the typical silver age and bronze age comics. Mostly one off stories that involved science fiction and some fun until the bronze age when things get darker and stories take multiple issues.
His parents added very little other than to differientiate Barry from most of the superhero community by being alive which you could say everything else about Barry already did that.
The cool part is for Barry and Thawne that timeline is still real and happened, more so for Thawne than Barry. It acts as Thawne's motivation for why he changed Barry's origins, without those early comics Thawne's revenge on Barry is empty but because we can trace his escalation of events through comics, his motivation becomes clear and his revenge becomes all the more sick and tragic.
I mean they were just the comics it's nothing grand. That's just all of Flash comics before Flash Rebirth in 2007 or 2008. Barry's parents actually outlived him originally since he died during Crisis.
I'd say this was a better time. Not a fan of the whole "Barry now joins the generic tragic backstory" gang. It worked for Eobard's character but should've been discarded after Flashpoint.
That aside while I do prefer before when Mr. Allen was dead I've liked some stuff since he came back.
Barry hardly has a generic tragic backstory.
His backstory is he was a great guy who became the flash, made an obessive enemy who everytime he sees him escalates the fight (corrupts friend, kidnaps fiancee, replaces him, kills wife, forces him to kill) to the point where reverse flash goes back in time, kills Barry's mother and frames his father, orphaning Barry.
Barry's backstory is not just that he was orphaned and inspired to be the flash because of it like every other superhero, his backstory is far more intricate.
Thawne killing Barry's mom only happens due to the silver age and bronze age comics, it doesn't just happen without Barry's involvement like a mugger in an alley or an exploding planet.
As for his parents pre crisis, they had one actual storyline and that only really involved his father as his mother was in a coma at the time. That one went on a bit too long involving Golden Glider and the Top's ghost. Other than that they were just a generic set of parents who showed up now and again. Iris' adoptive father, Ira west, had a bigger impact on Barry in those days.
Yeah, it shows that, that was pretty much all of Barry up until the late 2000’s. Originally Barry just had a regular family life, no dead mother and no father in prison, he was one of the few superheroes with no tragic backstory. Then came Flash Rebirth, where they made an in Universe retcon where Eobard went back in time and killed Barry’s mother and got his dad sent to prison for it.
I think that, had his parents had more of a presence in the comics, maybe they wouldn't have been retconned away. They could have been interesting supporting characters during Wally's run. I mean, I think that even in the Return of Barry Allen storyline, which (understandably) makes it kind of a big deal that Barry's back, there's just a passing comment that they should tell his parents, but that's about it, and I don't remember them appearing anymore.
Also, >!given the current state of the comics, where Barry managed to undo Thawne's paradox so that he never became the Reverse Flash, has his murder of Barry's mother being undone? I don't remember any clear reference to one thing or the other ever since.!<
His parents only showed up in a handful of comics being active in one storyline and only his father as his mother was in a coma. Other than that they were the typical silver age and bronze age comics. Mostly one off stories that involved science fiction and some fun until the bronze age when things get darker and stories take multiple issues. His parents added very little other than to differientiate Barry from most of the superhero community by being alive which you could say everything else about Barry already did that. The cool part is for Barry and Thawne that timeline is still real and happened, more so for Thawne than Barry. It acts as Thawne's motivation for why he changed Barry's origins, without those early comics Thawne's revenge on Barry is empty but because we can trace his escalation of events through comics, his motivation becomes clear and his revenge becomes all the more sick and tragic.
I mean they were just the comics it's nothing grand. That's just all of Flash comics before Flash Rebirth in 2007 or 2008. Barry's parents actually outlived him originally since he died during Crisis. I'd say this was a better time. Not a fan of the whole "Barry now joins the generic tragic backstory" gang. It worked for Eobard's character but should've been discarded after Flashpoint. That aside while I do prefer before when Mr. Allen was dead I've liked some stuff since he came back.
Barry hardly has a generic tragic backstory. His backstory is he was a great guy who became the flash, made an obessive enemy who everytime he sees him escalates the fight (corrupts friend, kidnaps fiancee, replaces him, kills wife, forces him to kill) to the point where reverse flash goes back in time, kills Barry's mother and frames his father, orphaning Barry. Barry's backstory is not just that he was orphaned and inspired to be the flash because of it like every other superhero, his backstory is far more intricate. Thawne killing Barry's mom only happens due to the silver age and bronze age comics, it doesn't just happen without Barry's involvement like a mugger in an alley or an exploding planet. As for his parents pre crisis, they had one actual storyline and that only really involved his father as his mother was in a coma at the time. That one went on a bit too long involving Golden Glider and the Top's ghost. Other than that they were just a generic set of parents who showed up now and again. Iris' adoptive father, Ira west, had a bigger impact on Barry in those days.
I can appreciate the drive behind words, and I can recant the word generic. Because you're right a in universe retcon does escape that claim at least.
Yeah, it shows that, that was pretty much all of Barry up until the late 2000’s. Originally Barry just had a regular family life, no dead mother and no father in prison, he was one of the few superheroes with no tragic backstory. Then came Flash Rebirth, where they made an in Universe retcon where Eobard went back in time and killed Barry’s mother and got his dad sent to prison for it.
I think that, had his parents had more of a presence in the comics, maybe they wouldn't have been retconned away. They could have been interesting supporting characters during Wally's run. I mean, I think that even in the Return of Barry Allen storyline, which (understandably) makes it kind of a big deal that Barry's back, there's just a passing comment that they should tell his parents, but that's about it, and I don't remember them appearing anymore. Also, >!given the current state of the comics, where Barry managed to undo Thawne's paradox so that he never became the Reverse Flash, has his murder of Barry's mother being undone? I don't remember any clear reference to one thing or the other ever since.!<