So uh I am confused and I know I am never going to read the comics to find this out myself but who actually is Bart's legal guardian and by that I mean who adopted him officially? I know he was being mentored by Maxwell and then the Garricks but which one actually took him in? Sorry if I'm bothering you but I know I am just never going to read the old comics.
Officially-officially adopted him?
No one.
DC is a comics universe where physics, legality, common sense and politics are gravely different from the real world so we cannot really expect the comic's universe to hold up to our laws and regulations because if we did then a lot of what makes these stories interesting would just fall flat. However in this scenario we can use our definitions for two key terms to understand what is going on with Bart... Because it is interesting.
In The United States the difference between Adoption and Legal Guardianship (for a child) are very different and serve different purposes;
Adoption; a permanent decision (usually) to separate a child from their biological parents or legal guardians and terminating their legal rights to said child. The prior parents or guardians have no legal claim to the child. In the eyes of the law this makes the adoptive parent the parent. Period.
Legal Guardian; an often temporary caregiving situation for a child where the child is temporarily removed from their biological parent(s) guardianship for an indeterminate length of time while the parents still maintain their rights to said child. This is often used to maintain stability for a child who is in crisis either due to their own health or due to their parents' health or situation but not always. There are a lot of scenarios that can lead to someone being a legal guardian.
The fact that the term "legal guardian" is used in regard to Bart implies that someone is listed as Bart's parent if the comics follow any semblance of our laws and they are at least inspired by our laws.
Bart has had multiple legal guardians and there was one throwaway line that Bart used to describe himself as "Max's ward" in I believe a Young Justice special. The word "adopted" never came up in regards to Bart only "legal guardian" or "guardian".
Of all his guardians the one that Bart bonded to the strongest was "Uncle" Max and towards the end of his comics it had solidified thoroughly that they both had a father/son relationship (to Wally's SHOCK.) Jenni during her brief stay with Bart and Max also once made a joke and claimed that Max adopts Bart eventually... when Bart turns 30. Jokes aside this implies that Max only had a "legal guardian" status in regards to Bart and was not listed as his legal parent.
Bart and Max said "I love you" to each other on multiple occasions which is an absolute milestone in comics period. It's a big fucking deal. So if Max had only been around for just a little longer, I think that it would have been definitely on the roster to make an adoption official. We never got this sadly.
Jay and Joan as guardians both adored Bart and clearly loved him, however unfortunately we did not get to see much of their interactions beyond guest appearances in other comics as Bart no longer had a solo series so we were given brief affectionate moments. Jay showed immediate interest in Bart's interests by playing videogames with him when the man never held a controller in his life, and even watched some of Bart's shows so the man clearly went out of his way to make Bart feel welcomed during a traumatic time. Jay was different from Max but he was still put in a guardianship role and settled into his mentor where Wally checked in on them from time to time as he did with Max.
It still begs the question though... If Max, Jay and Joan were all listed as legal guardians that thereby implies that they had someone listed as Bart's legal parent(s).
There are three options that I see as possible;
1.) Oracle setup a fake parent history which may have been Meloni Thawne and Don Allen when she assisted Wally with setting up Bart's "identity papers" and the parents exist only on paper for them to use as necessary. (see Impulse #1)
2.) Iris is listed as his legal parent (very unlikely).
3.) Wally is listed as his legal parent.
It's most likely that #1 is the scenario they are using but it could be any of the 3. With how often Wally checks in on Bart and how Max reports to him directly when things go bad there is some loose evidence to suggest that Wally is legally listed as his parent, and Wally does make a comment when Bart implies that Max was "gone" (he just moved across the street) that if Max was no where to be found he would have to take him in full-time.
Wally also was responsible for setting Bart up with Jay and Joan when Max "died" and is shown being deferred to for multiple decisions regarding Bart.
Granted this could just be Wally looking out for him as best as he can because it is the morally correct thing to do, he wants to and he does care about Bart. But it could be that Wally West, even though he no longer had a secret identity at this time, was ironically listed as Bart Allen's parent. I think it is unlikely that legally Wally is but it is clear that the entire Flashfam defaulted to him regardless so they may have just had an agreement among each other that he has personal pseudo-legal control over Bart's life and living arrangements.
As for Iris as a possible legal parent that is pretty unlikely given that while she adores and loves Bart and was responsible for saving his life and setting him up with Max in the first place she tries to be as absent as possible barring special events (like birthdays).
In conclusion TLDR; Bart does not have a canon explanation for who is his legal parent and he never is adopted, Max was the closest person emotionally to him and 10/10 was on the path to adopting him but Jay and Joan are a good second. Wally is likely regarded by all the other heroes as Bart's "true guardian" and the one ultimately responsible for him.
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