DCU Book Club Week 79: THE FLASH, BORN TO RUN (1987-) Issues 62-65, Mar 16-22

’Born to Run’ part 1! Mark Waid begins his critically acclaimed run on the Flash with an update to Wally West’s origin tale! But prior to this flashback to Wally’s fateful meeting with Barry Allen, Wally races against time to find a bomb at an airport.

Greetings DCU,

Wally West meets his hero in Born to Run. This heartfelt origin of Wally explores his backstory and his first heroic acts!

:busts_in_silhouette: HOW TO JOIN THE FUN!

• Read the story between Monday, March 16, 2020 and Sunday, March 22, 2020.

• Reply your answers to the discussion questions, share your thoughts about the story, or both!

• Have fun discussing the book with the community. All are welcome to join, just jump right in!

:rotating_light: Our SPOILER discussion begins NOW.

:books: What to Read: :books:

THE FLASH: BORN TO RUN (1987-) Issues 62-65

:flash_hv_1: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Is this your first time reading The Flash: Born to Run?

  2. Which DC hero would you have wanted to meet as a kid?

  3. Do you think Barry should’ve trained Wally to be Kid Flash? Why or why not?

  4. Do you think Barry subconsciously caused Wally to become a speedster?

As always, we’d love to hear your candid thoughts and reactions to the story.

:incoming_envelope: Questions? Concerns? Feel free to send me a direct message.

Click here to learn more about DCU Book Club (DCUBC).

Happy Reading!

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Nice! I loved Mark Waid on Flash.

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I’ve been meaning to read this for over a year, maybe I will now. I’ll get back to you later to give my report! :flash_hv_1:

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Awesome! Mark Waid is one of my favorite authors.

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Cool! :sunglasses:

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This was a HUGE event!!! Bookmarked.

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Woohoo!

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Waid does his best with this goofy Silver Age origin, which you can read in its original form here.

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:flash_hv_1: Hello @JLWWSM, I’m ready to give my report…

  1. This was my first time reading it, it’s a great way to learn how Wally West became Kid Flash when out of nowhere the lightning hit him! I think the story was really good.
  2. Superman, I grew up Watching Christopher Reeve Superman and flying with him would’ve been awesome! I think we be a good friends.
  3. Yes, if you watch Smallville, Clark had to learn in a hard way on how to use his powers. So lucky for Wally has Barry as his mentor without knowing it. So I’m glad he had Barry to help him on how to use them.
  4. No, if he did then it would look like he was trying to murder Wally. Barry is not a murderer, so this was just a freak accident, so I think Barry had no way of knowing this would happen again.
    That was great reading, now I honestly haven’t follow any Flash story and I’m curious, how did Iris West Died? And what was Wally’s reaction when he found out that Barry is a Flash? This take place after Infinite crisis?
    What a great story week to learn about the Flash.:slightly_smiling_face:
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I’ve read a fair share of Wally West Flash stories and if I were perfectly honest, I really never understood the appeal for the character. But one of my gaps is the Mark Waid run, so I’m curious to see if maybe this will show me what the fuss is all about. :slight_smile:

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Hi @Lincolnfan78! Your report was fun to read :D.

I don’t have the answers to your excellent questions, I’m curious about the answers to your questions as well.

I kept thinking Barry would reveal he was the Flash, but then that would’ve put a burden on Wally to keep the secret. Barry is so considerate. :yellow_heart:

Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for reading along!

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Hi @Jay_Kay

I’m curious to hear what you think of this one!

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Wally was a hero before he became a speedster. :medal_sports:

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  1. Is this your first time reading The Flash: Born to Run ?
    This was my first time reading this story. I knew the gist of it but never the details. I didn’t realize Wally was so young when he got his powers.
  2. Which DC hero would you have wanted to meet as a kid?
    I would have loved to meet Green Lantern. Would you expect anything less?
  3. Do you think Barry should’ve trained Wally to be Kid Flash? Why or why not?
    I do believe Barry should have trained Wally once he got his powers. Someone needed to be there to reign Wally in when he did things like stealing cops hats. Also, you worry about a normal kid getting hurt running around at normal speed, someone needed to be there to keep Wally from running into traffic at more than the speed of sound!
  4. Do you think Barry subconsciously caused Wally to become a speedster?
    This is the main reason I believe Barry should help train Wally. I think Barry, subconsciously, was looking to see if he could recreate his accident. He is part scientist, after all. But I feel Barry should feel some responsibility in giving a young boy a “gift” he never asked for.
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Hi and welcome @BigGLfan!

Me neither - 10 years old is quite young.

With the username “BigGLfan” I absolutely would not expect anything other than GL!

Wow - that’s a great point!

Again, great points! I really like that you brought up the scientist part of Barry.

Thank you so much for reading along with us and sharing your thoughts on this story! :smiley: :flash_hv_1:

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Our discussion of these 4 issues is open through Sunday night!

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Okay, so the title of the forth issue is “Live Fast, Die Young,” which is cool, but whenever I hear that phrase, I get this ear-worm of a song stuck in my head for some reason. Well, I know the reason, it’s because it is catchy even if it isn’t my usual style of music.

So now I have this weird mental image of Barry and Wally doing crazy car tricks in Saudi Arabia and I need y’all to see this too so I don’t feel so crazy.

JL, you’re MY hero!

Hi @Jay_Kay! I’m sorry, I’m at a loss for words.

Why thank you, @Don-El! That brightened my day :smiley:

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