Top 10 Flash Abilities
Superheroes can be versatile individuals.
The bigger a character gets, there’s usually a tendency for creative teams to expand on
the capabilities of their abilities, and when you have a character whose origins go as far
back at the Golden Age, it’s easy to see how their powers can be explored and further
elaborated on over time.
The Flash is definitely no exception to this rule.
So today we’re taking a look at the top 10 Flash abilities.
Let’s jump in.
10 He’s Fast You’re all probably like yeah no shit sherlock.
Superhuman speed, agility and stamina.
The Flash can tap into the Speed Force, making him the fastest man on earth.
For those of you a little unfamiliar with the Flash, the Speed Force is an timeless
extra-dimensional energy that revolves around accessing and controlling the motion and progression
of the universe, of moving time and of space itself.
And it powers the Flash’s abilities.
Jay Garrick is the exception to this rule though - in current continuity, Jay got his
powers the god Mercury.
9 Speed Memory While yes, that sounds quite silly, this ability
is actually pretty useful.
So Bart Allen used this ability to help retain and remember everything he reads.
And while he’s the only one to exhibit that specific use of the ability, Barry All is
capable of absorbing large amounts of information into his short term memory via ‘speed reading’,
and while he doesn’t permanently retain the information, it’s proven useful on occasions
where he’s had to use his speed to rebuild or construct objects.
8 Speed Force Lightning Because those tapping into the speed force
are filled with electrical energy, speedsters can use it when needing to go on the offensive,
allowing them to discharge blasts of electricity, use it to boost people back to life or to
straight up shoot lightning bolts, manipulating the energy so they can project bolts from
their hands.
7 Phasing The Flash has the ability to phase his body
through objects when he runs.
This was an ability that was introduced with Barry Allen - something that Jay Garrick is
not capable of.
He can vibrate his body in a specific way that allows for him to pass through solid
matter.
6 Vortexes Run fast in a circle to create a vortex?
Yep, he can do that.
So the speed force allows The Flash to create vortexes by either running in circles or rapidly
rotating his arms.
He’s not the only one capable of this either - anyone who can tap into the speed force
has the ability to create vortexes of wind on various levels.
5 Imprisonment Another trick that speedsters who can tap
into the speed force can whip out is trapping enemies.
Barry Allen used the speed force to trap superboy prime, banishing him to a parallel world in
a facility with artificial red sunlight.
He eventually breaks out of the speed force, although he’s been a bit traumatized by
the Flash Family because of it.
Using the speed force as means of imprisonment also worked against them though, with Wally
being trapped inside the speed force after Flashpoint, and was stuck there for 10 years.
After constantly trying to reach out to other speedsters in an attempt to break free, he
finally got a hold of Barry, who remembered him and dragged him out of the speed force.
4 Time Remnants & Speed Scouts We’ve seen two instances of this so far
- once in the comics and another on the CW’s Flash tv show.
Barry used the ability to help defeat Zoom.
In the comics Bart Allen used the ability to create duplicates of himself to travel
through time and merge their consciousness with Bart’s, which informs him of their
actions.
But it’s pretty dangerous stuff, because when one of his scouts was killed, Bart fell
into a coma.
3 Speed Force Constructs Thanks to a discovery by Wally West, we were
introduced to the concept of speed force constructs that allow The Flash to create solid energy
constructs.
This includes his costume, which is bullet proof to boot.
The Flash has also used it to hold objects, create pockets, and even protect himself against
diseases.
2 Dimensional travel The Flash can break through the dimensional
barrier with their speed, giving them the ability to
We first saw this in 1961’s Flash of Two Worlds, the comic that introduced the concept
of the multiverse in DC Comics.
Barry travels to Earth-Two where he encounters the original Flash Jay Garrick when he’s
using his super speed to perform tricks and accidentally vibrates his molecules so much
that it transports him to a parallel universe.
1 Time Travel Similar to dimensional travel, The Flash can
use the speed force to break through the time barrier, giving them the ability to go forward
and backwards in time.
Initially due to the cosmic treadmill, a device that when he ran on it enhanced his abilities
and gave way to time travel, but eventually it became something the Flash could achieve
without its help, and it typically resides in the Flash Museum.
Which is for the best because it had a tendency to be unstable and cause extreme stress on
it’s user.
Anywho, this time travel ability also extends time manipulation, giving some speedsters
the ability to manipulate their personal time fields, which also gives the effect of super
speed.
There we have it friends!
Do you want more lists on The Flash?
How about other heroes and their abilities?
Let us know in those comments below!
And If you guys want us to do a video on the speed force, give us a shout, too.
But for now I’ve been Kelly Paoli for top 10 nerd, I’ll catch you guys in the next
one.