The Flash: What was Joe West like in the comics?

The Flash issue 176, courtesy of DC Entertainment

5. Professor West was useless against bad guys

Joe West may not be Batman, but he holds his own against villains. As a member of Central City Police Department he has busted many lawbreakers and assisted Team Flash in apprehending meta-humans. While Joe West is a great ally to have in a fight, his comic book counterpart was more of a liability.
Professor Ira West was kidnapped on a regular basis. He wasn’t a hard person to kidnap either. He was gullible enough that most villains were able to convince him come with them. Whenever his captors would try to harm or kill him, Ira would be obliviously unaware of the danger he was in. Sometimes the villains wouldn’t even hide their intentions.

Check out the above example where a grave is dug for him and a gun is drawn. He still can’t take the hint! I’m starting to wonder how he won the Nobel Prize! He’s very lucky that the Flash is his son-in-law, or he would’ve been killed long ago. The biggest mystery is how he survived before Barry came along.