As you may have guessed by the absence of an early-morning address from the White House, the organizers of the petition to have Feb. 11 declared by President Obama as "Flash Appreciation Day" fell short of their goal. However, it wasn't for lack of trying.

No, they contend, the blame falls squarely on the Reverse-Flash. It seems the WhiteHouse.gov petition actually received the 10,000 signatures required for consideration, promptly leading to a presidential declaration. However, Reed Beebe of Nothing But Comics writes that the Scarlet Speedster's arch-nemesis "went back in time and changed history so that none of that happened.  In our altered timeline, the petition still received an impressive amount of signatures (over 700), and a lot of fan support, but just not enough to merit official consideration by the President."

Hey, stranger things have -- wait, no they haven't.

It was a valiant effort, though, inspired by a Season 2 episode of Justice League Unlimited, “Flash and Substance,” which originally aired on Feb. 11,  2006 (in it, the Rogues team up and threaten to ruin Central City’s first “Flash Appreciation Day” by killing the Scarlet Speedster, a plan that naturally doesn't succeed). It's an occasion already celebrated by some Flash fans, and Beebe hopes they'll continue to do so -- with or without a presidential decree.

"Judging from all the fans who signed and promoted the petition, and all the media sites that shared the news, The Flash is loved by a lot of people," he writes. "So let’s honor our hero in all his iterations by remembering what the Flash means to us, and today – each in our own way – let’s celebrate Flash Appreciation Day!"