The following article contains spoilers from Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
Nightwing raised an interesting point while he was helping Superman in the story "Team-up" from Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Hi-Fi, and Josh Reed). In the aftermath of the Justice League's death, the Bat-Family detective elaborated that the resurrection of original Flash Barry Allen, although a joyous event in the life of his replacement Wally West, may have actually done more harm than good to his successor.
Wally's time as the Flash led to a transformative time for the young hero. He not only grew into a stable adult, but managed to grow out of his worst behaviors, building a family with his wife, Linda Park, and even surpassing Barry as a hero. Yet, when Barry returned, Wally wasn't just shoved aside, he was literally forgotten about by everyone.
When Wally first became The Flash, it was as uncertain a time as there ever was in the DC Universe. The status quo had shifted and even Wally's powers had been affected by the changes. He was no longer as fast as his predecessor and dealt with the crippling fear of "replacing" Barry and causing the world to forget the sacrifice he made to save the universe.
This all changed once the villainous Reverse-Flash tried to usurp Barry as The Flash, forcing Wally to get over the emotional block holding him back and awakening a level of power that finally exceeded Allen's. This proved to be the catalyst for him learning to stand on his own. Wally took on even more responsibility, as a hero, a husband, and later a father.
Barry's return changed all of that. Upon the return of the original Flash, Wally became less and less prominent. Then came Flashpoint, in which Barry accidentally rewrote the history of the DC Universe to undo his biggest regret. Wally was lost in the correction of that mistake, and his family was separated by universes and memory loss.
The case could be made that Barry was the cause of Wally's suffering, but the two have long since moved past this. However, it cannot be denied that by virtue of simply being available, Barry was selected to become the universe's only Flash at the beginning of DC's New 52 reboot. This resulted in Wally once again losing his title and place as a hero within the DCU.
The trauma didn't end upon Wally's eventual return. He had to grapple with a world that did not remember him. Even more horrifying, he had no idea where his children were, or how to make his wife remember him. Fortunately, his perseverance and determination saved the day, and he managed to reunite his family. Ironically, Barry is now the one trapped, but Wally has not forgotten about him.
Still, given everything that happened, Barry's return was the harbinger of hard times for Wally. With Allen absent once again, West may now have a better opportunity to stand out again. It can only be hoped that the evolution of the character will not be overshadowed and undone by the eventual return of his predecessor in a way similar to what happened previously.