The Flash is one of the most popular superheroes in DC Comics, but it’s actually a name that’s
been used by many different people in the past so let’s start ALL the way back at
the beginning and get you guys the complete history.
The monicker of “The Flash” was first used by college student Jay Garrick, who (after
inhaling heavy water vapor) discovered that he could move at supersonic speeds.
While Jay had a noteworthy solo career in the 1940’s, he’s best known as a founding
member and a central part of the Justice Society of America, not to be confused with the Justice
League.
Jay and the JSA’s history have been retconned multiple times and folded over into various
timelines, so perhaps it’s easiest to say they’re a superhero team from the World
War 2 era that somehow continues to operate to this day.
In more modern stories, Jay takes a backseat and acts like a mentor to younger speedsters.
But perhaps Jay’s most famous story is “The Flash of Two Worlds”, where he discovered
the DC Comics multiverse alongside Flash number two, Barry Allen.
Speaking of which, when you think of The Flash, you probably think of Barry.
You know the story: the Reverse Flash went back in time, killed Barry’s mother, and
framed his father for the murder.
Barry made it his life’s goal to prove his father’s innocence and became a forensic
scientist.
One night, after a lightning bolt stuck him and made him fall into an assortment of chemicals,
he became the fastest man alive and created the source of his own power, the Speed Force.
Not only did Barry create the Speed Force, but he’s also the first person in DC Comics
to properly harness it, allowing him to go fast, create whirlwinds, and even think at
light speed.
Barry Allen was a founding member of the Justice League, discovered the DC Comics multiverse
alongside Jay Garrick as we mentioned earlier, battles Captain Cold and his Rogues, and can
even travel through space and time using his Cosmic Treadmill.
While Barry certainly seems like the most iconic Flash, it wasn’t always that way.
For over two decades, Barry was actually “dead” following the events of Crisis on Infinite
Earths, when Barry sacrificed his life to save the universe.
However, it turns out that Barry actually wasn’t dead after all and instead, he was
chasing a bullet shot backwards through time in the Speed Force that was aimed at an alien
god while simultaneously being chased by Death itself…?
Because comics.
At the end of Final Crisis, Barry returned to the land of the living, briefly became
a Blue Lantern during Blackest Night, and caused the events of Flashpoint when he goes
back in time to prevent his mother’s death.
This shock to the timestream rebuilt the ENTIRE multiverse and is what caused the infamous
New 52 reboot.
In the New 52, Barry’s marriage was erased, his age was dialed back a bit, and all of
his Rogues got a cool power boost.
Besides that, not that much changed for good old Barry.
So while Barry was “dead” for over twenty years, the first Kid Flash, Wally West, was
filling in those red and gold shoes.
If you read comic books from 1985 to 2008 or watched the Justice League cartoon, this
is your Flash.
Wisecracking jokester guy?
That was Wally, not Barry.
Wally West is the nephew of Barry Allen’s eventual wife Iris West and was a total Flash
fanboy.
One day, Barry visited Wally as the Flash and revealed his origin story to him… but
after setting up a demonstration of chemicals, lightning struck twice… literally, granting
Wally all of the powers of his idol!
With his new super speed, the wise-cracking Wally joined Barry as Kid Flash and even helped
form the Teen Titans alongside DC’s greatest sidekicks.
However, after Barry’s apparent death, he took over the mantle of Flash, fought Savitar,
the leader of a speedster cult, got married, and had two kids!
Like Barry, he even has his own Reverse Flash nemesis simply named “Zoom”, not to be
confused with Barry’s Professor Zoom.
Though Barry first pioneered the Speed Force, Wally is the one who pushed the Speed Force
to its never-ending limits and truly unlocked the potential of “Goes Fast”.
Wally can create CLOTHING MADE OF PURE SPEED, outrun death by going so far into the future
that Death no longer exists as a concept, hits speeds near THIRTEEN TRILLION times the
speed of light, and knocks people into outer space with just ONE PUNCH.
And then…
He retired to being a family man after the events of Infinite Crisis... on the alien
planet Savoth.
However, when Wally’s kids started aging rapidly, he came home to have them examined
and he returned to his role as The Flash.
Despite briefly appearing in DC’s Convergence, this Wally doesn’t exist anymore.
What the New 52 gives us is a new, edgy, “troubled youth” Wally West that sometimes hangs out
with Barry and briefly got super speed in the future after he died… or something...
While Wally was away on planet Savoth, his replacement as Flash was Bart Allen.
Out of the four Flashes, Bart is the only descendant of another Flash.
As you might have guessed if you watched Young Justice, Bartholemew “Bart” Allen is actually
none other than Barry Allen’s grandson from the 30th century!
Brace yourselves.
We’re going to have to explain a LOT time traveling shenanigans.
Shortly after Barry was put on trial for the death of his greatest adversary, he and Iris
West retreated to the future.
In the future, they gave birth to two children later known as the Tornado Twins.
After these few blissful years Barry was summoned for his great sacrifice across time and space
against the Anti-Monitor, and as the decades pass in the future, Bart Allen is born never
knowing his grandfather.
Bart suffered from advanced metabolism, which caused him to age rapidly.
Iris (who remained in the future) sent her grandson to the present, where Wally is able
to help him normalize his aging, freeing up Bart to become the superhero speedster, Impulse.
Bart spends many years as Impulse alongside his mentor and fellow speedster, Max Mercury,
and even co-founds Young Justice and later joins the Teen Titans.
Shortly after joining the Titans, Bart reinvents himself as Kid Flash, but it isn’t long
before he is forced to become the new Flash after Wally’s disappearance.
Now four years older due to comics, Bart discovers that he has actually absorbed the ENTIRE Speed
Force inside of him.
Of course, it seems as though nothing can last for very long with Bart, and he dies
sacrificing himself in battle against the Rogues.
But of course, this is comics, and since no one stays dead for long, neither can Bart.
In another huge spacetime battle, the Legion of Superheroes’ very own Braniac 5 is able
to bring Bart back to life in the future by having bottled his spirit in a magic wand
or something.
I don’t know, man.
Comics are weird.
Bart, now de-aged from his time as the Flash... for some reason, returns to his role as Kid
Flash, and holds a serious grudge against his now-resurrected grandfather, Barry Allen.
But since Barry gets all selfish and triggers Flashpoint, Bart sacrifices himself (again)
to the Speed Force to help Barry in this alternate Flashpoint timeline.
Bart’s New 52 counterpart is… well… he’s technically Bart Allen and he IS Kid
Flash, but he’s actually “Bar Torr”... an alien criminal from the future…
Oh boy…
If you want to start reading about the various Flashes, I’d recommend checking out the
2007 run of Justice Society for Jay, the New 52 run of Flash for Barry, Flash: Born to
Run for Wally, and finally Flash: The Fastest Man Alive for Bart.
But hey, let’s take a vote.
Which Flash do you want me to go into more detail on in a future video?
Jay Garrick or Barry Allen?
Click or comment to cast your vote!
However, if you want to know more about the Flashes, I’d recommend checking out my video
on the Speed Force.
Maybe it will help you understand all the craziness surrounding the speedsters at least
a little better.