Look, I have no problem in principle with DC bring in a new version of Kid Flash or Impulse or whichever. They are legacy characters, slots in the DC cannon that are a collection of speed powers and side-kickness, and can really go to anyone.
And this new kid may turn out to be an interesting character. Granted, my hopes on that are very low they've made him every urban stereotype handed over to a WhiteMan(tm) to "raise right", but it is vaguely possible.
No, my problem is that the new character is fundamentally NOT the pre-boot Wally West by every measure, and the fact they gave him the name seems a signal that Wally West we knew and loved was never born and was completed wiped from existence. The new character is essential our Wally's younger half brother, and got the name Wally because Rudolf was going to name his first born son Wally, whenever that happen.
This move by DC makes me think we will never see our Wally again, much like little-blond-acrobat Jason Todd was never heard from again after the 80's Crisis. Now, I'm actually a (post-crisis) Jason fan. But the Jason after Crisis is a complete different character than the Jason before Crisis. He's biologically (genetically) a different person (black hair rather than strawberry blond) and has a complete different backstory (urban street-punk, rather than sweety-pie acrobat kid). Given this history, this seems like a deliberate move by DC to put the last nail in our Wally's coffin.
This is a disservice not only to all the Wally fans but also to the new character. They set him up to be hated by every fan of pre-boot Wally as the herald of their favorite's final death. He doesn't stand a chance, and he might have if they'd given him any other name. It's like the executives were looking for an excuse to say "Well, it seems our audience does not like Wally West or minority characters. Apparently, writing those things is just not economical, so we'll stick Barry Allen and WhiteMen(tm)"
Ah well. I'm going to headcanon that this kid has an older, ginger half-brother out there that Rudolf didn't get a chance to name. Let's call him Walter.
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