I didn't say Kyle was ruined forever. Overall, I think Kyle's a good character. I was just saying that it was one of many examples of how DC kept bungling a good concept and making things worse, not better.
In contrast, until recently, DC handled the Flash story much better. Barry died in a memorable way that paid honor to both him and his fans. His logical successor took over and spent years developing into his own man in an generally consistent arc. A new sidekick (Bart) showed up, different from the last sideick but similar enough to continue the legacy theme. Meanwhile, Barry stayed dead.
