Barry was a perfectly good character and the science angle was always fun. However, it is telling that he has gotten more interesting since he died. That is driven by Wally and his relationship with Barry. The perfect mentor is a lot more interesting when he is not around.

That said, the family man dynamic is a huge mistake. Wally was more fun as a swinging bachelor.

And I go with the overwhelming majority & say Wally, too. Barry Allen actually got a good death (especially with Robert Loren Fleming's embelishment in that Secret Origins Annual). Let him rest in peace.

I thought the mystery character was Hank Pym until I got to #4. Then I got confused again.

Pros of Barry - He was the first Flash.

The success of Green Lantern shows that the original Silver Age character can be the star again.

Cons of Barry - He has been dead for over 20 years.

While not unpopular, his comic was not particularly popular when he was last the Flash (as opposed to Hal Jordan, who had a high selling comic in the 80s/early 90s)."

These points don't really have much to do with the quality of storytelling in a Flash comic. They seem more marketing concerns.

I've only read about a half dozen Flash comics, so I'm not really sure. I liked Wally as the comic relief in the Superman/JL cartoons. He was an ancillary character who didn't get fleshed out too much, though, so I don't know if that could translate to carrying a series.

Iron Fist would be the best babysitter. The kids would never complain about going to the billionaire's house, storytime would be full of Kun-Lun lore, and he could teach them some meditation to encourage calmness and self-control. All of that would be good for anybody. Boy, is the current Iron Fist series enjoyable!

However, there were some really good Wally stories written over the years and he is now my current Flash. I like the Linda dynamic, trie love, happy marriage, and the kids are fine.

However, at one point Barry Allen was alive in the future with Iris, so maybe there are some future Flash stories wating to be told where Barry has kids or retires or something and continues to fight crime before he returns to the past and gets killed in the crisis.

Unlike Nightwing, who still hasn't escaped Batman's shadow, Wally did become his own Flash.
So he's got the uniqueness of being one of the few side kicks to make it to the big time.
And he does have the legacy of Barry to live up to - and Starman showed us what a useful device that can be.
If Barry came back I'd see it like I did Hal Jordan coming back - nostalgia for nostalgia sake.

As for the babysitter, I'm going with Luke Cage. If he was a "Hero for Hire" I would hope he could handle a little "Babysitter for Hire" action. Plus the wiki page I read it says he doesn't use profanity. And he has a daughter so he should be okay with kids.

Barry would be cool today because as you pointed out the CSI connection. The Flash could become a detective book. Very interesting spin.

And let me tell you, he seems fresh. As a character (and story telling engine) he has legs. Wally, God Bless him, is a great character; but he was never able develop a personal life beyond being a hero. And now he is married, with children, and unemployed.

Things just don't look good for him or his family.

But like I said, I love Wally West to death. But I just don't like my Flashes, all brooding and full of angst. And it appears, that is where he is headed.

Barry's comic never recovered from the Death of Iris Allen and I think it's just a matter of time, until Judd Winick (or some other writer) takes over Wally's title and starts killing children and wives. So rather than going through that again, I would love to see the Wests get a proper send-off.

Maybe move the whole Family to the Future.

You got to admit, "Flash and the Legion of Super-Heroes" has a nice ring to it. (And I bet it would be a much better read than "Jail Bait S-girl and the Legion")

Although, as Andrew said in comment #1, Darwyn Cooke wrote a pretty good Barry Allen but I did feel his Barry was very close in character to Wally due to the concern Barry shows for Iris during the Captain Cold chapter (my favourite part in New Frontier by the way).

Maybe a "Flash: First Class " type book with Barry and Wally in the regular book?

And I'm someone who converted years ago from wanting Barry to come back to favoring Wally. Various writers (Mike Baron, Bill Loebs, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns) made me love Wally and Waid's Return of Barry Allen storyline showed just how much Wally might end up being marginalized if Barry were to return. Part of me would still like to see it and see if it could work, but I'd hate to see Wally become an "also ran."

As for Flash--Wally all the way. And to be honest, I'm still not sold on Hal Jordan but now that they have given him some flaws to play off of--besides whining about yellow and his age--it is worth it. And Barry's time-travel abilities make him ideally suited to showing up now and again, anyway. That said, I would like to bring back Bart. He, Harley Quinn and Ambush Bug need their own special together.

--K

For the cover challenge: Flint Marko, Darkhawk and Spiderman all grew up in Queens.

More precisely, they were all BORN in Queens, but close enough!

Silver Sable, Darkhawk, and Spider-Man all have had their fathers killed by a villian.

I like this one, too, though! So a cool point for this answer, as well!

Y'know, Colonel Will, there was an arc in The Flash a while back where Wally West and Linda Park(before they were married) made a deal with Neron to stop a rampage by mystically enhanced members of the Rogues' Gallery, at the cost of their love for each other. IIRC, Wonder Woman wrapped them in her Golden Lasso for some impromptu couples' counseling.

Cover Game: If we're counting covers with Peter Parker out of his Spider-Man costume, I nominate Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, alternate cover. The alternate cover featured members of the supporting cast(including Aunt May) in the background, with Peter and MJ in their wedding attire in the foreground. Okay, there was a Spider-Man face in a heart motif in the background but that doesn't count!

Trapster, aka Paste Pot Pete, with #4. Although the Trapster as a hero… wasn’t that like half an issue? And even then, semi-teamed up with Sandman?

Yeah, that was a typo! I meant to just write "solo."

And yes, it is the Trapster!

Do the "Trouble" covers count?

Incidentally, it appears that Aunt May didn't appear on a cover of Ultimate Spider-Man AT ALL until #111, Bagley's last issue.

That and I just like Wally better as a character.

Cover theme game: Were all three at one point cloned? I know that Darkhawk's armor created a second version of him for awhile, we all remember good ol' Ben Reilly, and didn't Silver Sable have a little kid version of her called Lil' Silvie running around for awhile, too?