My money's on the next Flash being Wally West, because a) Waid's identified more with Wally than with Barry, b) the book's numbering picks up where Wally's series left off, c) Wally's return would be a heckuva lot easier for DC to pull off than Barry's, and d) Wally's arguably got a higher profile than Barry thanks to the DC Animated DVDs.

That said, it'll probably be Barry, because a) I am never right about these things, and b) DC may think Barry plays better with readers because he's not a new dad.

They're being deliberately vague as to whether or not it's Barry coming back. However, considering how retro DC is these days, I wouldn't be surprised.

Waid's always had a hardon for Barry, though, and he left Wally saying that he'd told all the stories he had to tell about Wally, so that cuts toward Barry.

The issue numbering is awfully curious, though, and you have a valid point there.

The Mark Waid of 1992 is, sadly, a long long way from the Mark Waid of 2007.

Barry's really the most plausible, given the circumstances, what with his 30th/31st Century connections and all.

And McDuffie on JLA? One of the guys who gave us the JLU? I am so there.

Btw, anyone else notice the somewhat odd choices of Legionnaires in the crossover? Ignoring that on Earth-1/Post-Crisis Earth Jeckie didn't become Sensor Girl until both post-Crisis and Val's death, and that Wildfire might not be the best choice for lifeforce transition (given that he did live after being transmuted to anti-energy, he might be a great choice, but it's not like you can test it in advance), you've got...

1) three romantic couples and Timber Wolf. Yeah, let's in all odds have someone's lover die in front of them.

2) Save for the omission of Bouncing Boy, Shadow Lass and various dead characters and traitors, this is a consecutive run of Legion admissions. Karate Kid and Projectra, followed by Star Boy's and Dream Girl's reinstatement (Bouncing Boy rejoined at this point as well), [Shadow Lass], Timber Wolf, Wildfire, Dawnstar.

I think the choice of seven is likely nothing more than Brad Meltzer's Legion Golden Age popping up.

Hey, for a title that spent six fucking issues on a reset button press cycle for Red Tornado, that's far from the least odd idea.

I called Lightning Saga being about Barry a while ago, as it makes the least sense, so it's what they'd go with.

And we know Barry's coming back...one of the things Didio has said when he was supposed to be keeping his mouth shut (supposedly---who knows what's a slip and whats a plant).

I've been reading the Bart Flash series from the start, & while it got off to a bad start (What were Bilson & Demeo thinking? They did such a great job on the TV show; what happened?), but I think it's been getting better with the new writer. Still, I'd love to see Barry come back; I'm just curious as to how they'll explain it.

Well, now we know what the Lightning Saga was REALLY about.

Look, I gotta ask: why does DC gear its whole line to the tastes of Mark Waid? He's not that powerful or popular as he once was. Why do I feel that the entire line is geared for his entertainment and his entertainment alone?

Incidentally, I have to disagree with your assessment of Brad Metzger as "a shitty writer". I think he's a writer who has high shitty potential, but he's also written some really good scenes; he was one of the only writers who has ever made me think of Ralph and Sue as a real married couple.

There are writers in comics who have never managed to convince me that they have ever heard a human being speak (e.g., Todd McFarlane). It is for them that I would reserve the appellation "shitty".

None of this should be taken as reducing my pleasure at the thought of Dwayne McDuffie is getting more, and high-profile, work; I've really enjoyed his two projects since his recent return to comics (Beyond and Blacktastic Four).

I respect your opinion, Kevin, but I am more hateful and judgmental than you, and Meltzer is so appallingly bad at writing superheroes qua superheroes that I'm content to label him "shitty".

It is entirely possible that he's perfectly adequate or better in other sorts of writing.

So now that I've read the Lightning Saga, I have to say ... it sure was nice seeing a bunch of members from the "real" Legion for the first time in 20-or-so years, but what the heck was that story about? That last issue was incomprehensible. Plotwise, I think I know what happened, but I am thoroughly lost as to what was motivating any of the characters.

I remain convinced that the only reason Meltzer is a success as a novelist is because he has a book editor controlling his quirks with an iron fist.

But at DC...