Comic Couples We Love: Bottling Lightning With Linda And Wally

Many know of Wally West/The Flash because of cartoons such as Justice League (2001-2004) and his long history in the comic books. However, the majority of these people — specifically those who are not comic fans — probably don’t know about his significant other, Linda Park. Nor do these individuals have much, if any, knowledge of the long standing romance between Wally and Linda.

While a lot of this relationship is thanks to scripting by writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn, neither is the originator of the pair. Instead, it is writer William Messner-Loebs that fans of the two have to thank for penning this romance in the first place. Nevertheless, all three play a key aspect in the road to Wally finding the bottle to his lightning. In other words the happy ending at the end of the story Flash: Terminal Velocity (1995).

When Linda and Wally first meet in Flash #28 (1989) they have no chemistry and an interaction that seems all surface. She is a seemingly random reporter and he is just the hero of the story. One of their next encounters occurs in Flash #33 (1989). This tale would see them have the beginnings of a hate-to-love type romance. They find each other attractive physically, but are not viewing the other’s personality with affection. After a few more encounters, including one in Flash #43 (1990) where Linda faces possession by the alien program Kilg%re, they start to see each other as possible partners. Yet, it is only with the last story in Messner-Loebs’s run, Flash #61 (1992) that the romance officially begins.

While this romance continues into present day, it is with “Terminal Velocity” that this write-up will end. For those not aware, it introduces the Speed Force as a mystical afterlife dimension for speedsters like Wally. Another plot point of this tale: Wally and other speedsters altering a vision of the future involving Linda’s death by the villain of the story. This moment leads to Wally going too fast and essentially dying by entering the Speed Force. However, his and Linda’s love for each other acts like a beacon to pull him back to his life with her. Thus, one can argue that this is a time that fans of the couple might view as a lightning-in-a-bottle moment of romance.

In fact, this writer personally feels that without this moment the couple might not have become a lasting one.