Many fans rejoiced when they heard that fan favourite character Wally West would be returning to the DC Universe. But what most fans didn't expect upon reading The Flash #30 earlier this week was that instead of being a white red head, the character would now be bi-racial (Half white, Half African-American).
In a phone interview with IGN, writers Robert Vendetti and Van Jensen were asked about this controversial race swap.
"When the New 52 started, the entire universe was reset. Fans get upset because, understandably, fans have an emotional connection to these characters, but this is also a new Barry Allen, a new Iris West -- every character in this universe is a new character. Those old versions, they're still alive, they're still there, the books that they're in still exist. I still have those books on my shelf, so I can go revisit and re-read those books. But if we're introducing new characters and completely new versions of characters, it would be strange to not introduce some radical changes. Ultimately, what we hope is that people will respond to this version of Wally West the same way that people responded to the Wally West of the previous DC Universe, which is investing in a character and following his journey and really becoming more interested in what he's all about, what drives him," Jensen said.
Vendetti added that they
"wouldn't have much interest in reintroducing the same characters with the same origins all over again," saying that "the challenge of something like the New 52 and introducing new characters is to try to tell new stories and get people engaged on an equal level with those new stories."
The idea of changing Wally's race came from DC Comics, who asked Vendetti and Jensen to make this a part of the story.
"DC said they wanted us to re-introduce Wally West and they wanted him to be bi-racial, and I thought that was great," Venditti said.
"I'm all for diversity and those kinds of things. It was a story that didn't derail us with what we wanted to do. Adding Wally into the series really expanded what we thought the series was going to be and has led us to take some really cool, very character-focused turns that really gave us a look not just at Wally but also Barry. Some of the most fun I've had so far is those scenes where Wally and Barry are playing off each other."
So, what do think about Wally now being bi-racial? Do you belive these are solid reasons for the change? Leave your thoughts down below.