Why Wally West should join DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

Wally West has been an enigmatic figure on The Flash this season, so maybe he should join up with the Legends of Tomorrow instead.

There’s a Firestorm shaped hole on the Waverider at the moment; after Martin Stein’s heroic sacrifice during Crisis on Earth-X and Jax’s decision to leave the team in the Legends of Tomorrow midseason finale, there are two spare chairs that need filling on the ship.

Not only that, the Legends have lost one of their most powerful members with the loss of the human nuclear reactor. While it seems that Matt Ryan’s Constantine will fill one of the chairs, however temporarily, there’s still room for one more misfit on the Waverider — step forward Wally West.

Kid Flash would be the perfect replacement for Firestorm

One of the key criticisms of The Flash so far in Season 4 is that Wally doesn’t seem to have a place on Team Flash anymore. When we returned to Central City, Barry was still lost in the Speed Force and the city was protected by Kid Flash and Vibe. However, rather than showing the two to be a worthy substitute for Barry, we instead got an unconvincing performance from Team Kid Flash (or was it Team Vibe?). The Flash missed an opportunity here.

Compounding the fact that the writers aren’t sure what to do with him, Wally actually decided to leave Central City and go on a journey of self-discovery at the end of episode three. While this was in part due to Keiynan Lonsdale’s own filming commitments elsewhere, it’s fair to say that a character as iconic as Wally West deserves better.

That’s why he should join up with Sara Lance’s time-travelling team of misfits and outcasts. Wally would thrive in this team and add a new dimension to their abilities. How useful would Wally have been last season when the Legends were up against the Reverse Flash-led Legion of Doom?

A new lease on life

It wouldn’t only be Legends of Tomorrow that would be enhanced by Kid Flash joining the group, The Flash would also benefit. It’s fair to say that Team Flash has been quite overpowered with two speedsters protecting Central City and as such the writers have had to find ways to challenge the team. Usually, this ends up making Wally look bad, just look at when Barry and Wally went to battle Kilgore in episode two. Wally was incapacitated by one hit that Barry would have easily recovered from, it really wasn’t fair.

The Legends would also have a need for Wally’s mechanical abilities after losing Jax who was responsible for the maintenance of the Waverider. Wally would fill the gap perfectly and there’s no doubt he’d be a quick study.

One of the main reasons Firestorm was always used sparingly was because his effects-heavy nature was a burden on Legends of Tomorrow’s budget, Wally West’s powers must be a cheaper alternative. After all, there are so many different ways amazing speed can be shown when you consider how The Flash show’s Barry’s powers. Wally’s abilities could lead to him becoming an even more prominent character than either half of Firestorm.

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The simple fact is, Wally is underused and under-appreciated on The Flash. Allowing him to join the Legends would breathe new life into the character and give him the portrayal he deserves.