Meta #1 Wally's love of Pitbulls
Pitbulls seem to be very important to Wally. Given that he and Artemis kept one that they rescued from dog fights. Most people would have put any dog like that down, but not Wally and Artemis. But why? I am not used to analyzing Artemis but I am pretty good with Wally. So here goes my first ever meta on Wally. His love of Pitbulls.
1. Misunderstood, like him
We have all heard the myths. Pitbulls are bad dogs, they are murderous, they are unnaturally aggressive, they are inherently dangerous, and they have only ever been bred for fighting just to name a few of these myths. Of course anyone who has ever owned one or been with someone who is a good Pitbull parent knows all of those claims are entirely false.
The reality is originally Pitbulls were bred as nanny dogs because of their fierce protectivness of kids. They are also incredibly sweet and affectionate dogs who don't really have any ill will to anyone unless they are trying to protect their families. They also do not sit there just waiting to attack someone, usually they are provoked or they are a product of inbreeding on a puppy mill or from other forms of unethical breeding. The nature of a Pit Bull is sweet and kind.
How does this relate to Wally? In more ways than one.
Wally himself is greatly misunderstood. Many see him as a flirtatious womanizer. And though there is validity to the claim, and to some extent that is how Wally is as a teenager, there is so much more to him than that.
Wally is really a hopeless romantic who believes he can woo and make his partner feel special. He is fiercely loyal when dating as we see in season two of Young Justice and his close and loving relationship with Artemis. He strives to make her feel special and has a fierce protectiveness of her. Though he can easily be seen as uncaring selfish or at the very least neglectful because he often forgets valentine's day, he is shown as striving to make a change and remember it. He wants to make her feel special on Valentine's day because he knows it is very important to her.
In additional evidence, we even see him quickly turn on and throw suspicion of betrayal on arguably one of his hest friends in Kaldur fearing for Artemis's safety after the destruction of Mount Justice.
He can easily make a connection to a dog breed that seems to be just a huge connection between them in that way.
2. His high energy
Though one might not be able to tell from Bruce Lee, Pitbulls are generally speaking dogs with a rather high energy. They need a lot of exercise and room to run around, big backyards are heavily recommended for raising a Pitbull.
This type of a dog is a perfect dog for someone like Wally who he himself is often times high on energy. This is seen more so in season one but tends to bleed through during his more emotional scenes in season two. He can accidentally slip into using his powers and tends to always be down to party in a variety of ways. He needs exercise and plenty of food to keep him sustained with his powers. He would enjoy a dog that can play for hours on end before getting tired, plus even without using his powers it would be nice to have someone to go on runs with if he is single or his significant other is busy.
3. His compassion
Wally is stated to be a highly compassionate person. He himself has a hard time looking away from people in need. If he can, he has to help. He sees the stigma around Pit Bulls and how it impacts their survival and adoption rates, and how people even organize days with the specific goal of killing Pit Bulls. He will not stand for it. They have so much to live for and love to give. For the sole purpose that so many others hate them from misinformation campaigns and fear mongering makes them something very close to Wally's heart.
