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Who is the Best Flash?

The finest of the family of the fast.

        The family that runs together, uh... arrives together.
 The family that runs together, uh... arrives together.

Who’s the best Flash? The greatest ever? For a name that brings with it the reputation of fastest man alive, this mantle hasn’t actually experienced that much turnover in all the decades since FLASH COMICS #1 hit spinner racks. Barry Allen has, of course, returned just recently, but Wally West’s total tenure still isn’t actually that much shorter than his. It’s even a bit of trip to get my mind around Barry’s comeback, since he was dead and gone and Wally was the Flash, for sure, since the very year I was born. The scarlet speedsters’ legacy is a little unique amongst the major heroes’ in this respect, because the answer to who’s the best Flash isn’t as clear cut as it is for, say, Green Lantern or Captain America. Actually, once you start comparing and contrasting all the Flashes to figure that out, you’ll also start noticing that this family of the fast is unique in a lot of ways. 

Between Johnny Quick, Jesse Quick, Max Mercury and XS, there are too many names to cover all the speedsters, so I'll keep it to the Flashes. Though, maybe I'm then remiss for not including Flash Gordon or Flash Thompson here?  == TEASER ==

No Caption Provided

JAY GARRICK  

(First Appearance: FLASH COMICS #1)

The uniqueness starts with Jay who, between all the retcons he's undergone, has always been more like a local hero than a super one. He first used his super-speed to be a star college football player and, when he did turn to crime fighting, he handled small potato threats like blackmailers and then didn’t even bother trying to keep a secret identity. Look at his costume. Without the flair of the helmet and the winged boots, It’s really not too far from being just a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. He's thus looked a little out-of-place whenever he's tagged along for the really far-out, metaphysical threats that heroes of later generations have taken on. In a lot of ways, he's almost like a weekend warrior whose hobby would be taken and turned into a profession by his successors.

No Caption Provided

BARRY ALLEN  

(SHOWCASE #4)

Barry's debut marked the dawn of the Silver Age and, out of all the DC heroes who were active then, he's really the most emblematic of the era. Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen may have gone through dark periods, but Barry's noble character has never been compromised. Actually, he’s probably the most well-adjusted hero out of the whole pantheon. Where Superman went through 60 odd years of courtship with Lois Lane before making it official and Batman's had one volatile love affair after another, Barry married Iris West only a few years after his debut and established a family legacy that's repeatedly been shown to survive well into the future. Often stressed to be a simple Midwestern guy doing right for simple reasons, Barry is very much a rock of stability (even as he's moving constantly.)

No Caption Provided

WALLY WEST  

(THE FLASH #110, Vol. 1)

The unusual streak continues with Wally, one of the few major heroes I can think of who's gone through a measurable arc over his career. Like a child actor, he started off as a chipper sidekick, turned into a bit of a jerk as a young man (after he gained the mantle post-CRISIS) and then went on to grow in both power and character as an adult. He was the one who discovered the Speed Force and he was the one who tapped into it to ratchet his abilities up higher than anybody really could've imagined. I was almost going to include him twice on this list by spotlighting the Dark Flash, Wallace West - - his grizzled alternate future doppleganger who briefly replaced him during one of his deaths.

No Caption Provided

BART ALLEN  

(THE FLASH #92, Vol. 2)

The theme of acceleration goes hand-and-hand with all of this, so it’s probably appropriate that the fourth Flash’s career would seem very much like a fast-forwarded recreation of the third's. He went from Impulse/Kid Flash to actual Flash rather quickly, by comparison, and had a brief (only 13 issues long!) run with the mantle before, well, running into his own demise. Did he get a fair shake? It’s hard to say. I’ll confess to finding him more appealing as a bratty junior speedster with a short attention span over a more mature adult, but that could've changed with time. Considering we have five Green Lanterns flying around, I'm sure he'll another shot eventually.

No Caption Provided

JOHN FOX  

(THE FLASH 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL)

Another Flash to buck convention, John’s a future successor who wasn’t just part of a one-off story - - he’s shown up repeatedly and become an established part of the mythos. What's more, his already-crazy origin in the 27 century got a wilder twist in DC ONE MILLION when he ran ahead to the even-farther future of the 853rd century. While he’s got a cool, spacy costume and a shock of gray that makes him (pun intended) a bit of silver fox, the de facto future Flash is probably the least likable of this bunch (or the one with the biggest personality problems to surmount, at least.) A violator of time travel law, his career actually began out of jealously as he tried to steal Wally’s life.  

 
Who deserves the mantle of being the best Flash and why?  

319 Comments

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CurrentThor2015

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Barry!! I grew up watching Wally but I really do prefer Barry ANY DAY OF THE WEEK

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Ultragreenboy

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@eliza_cure: The show isn't near that good and Barry acts borderline retarded sometimes.

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Eliza_Cure

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Everyone has their favorites, but, I think, since The CW has made a new show about The Flash, and the main star is Barry Allen, there will be WAY MORE people who are a fan of Barry than Wally, John, Bart, etc. But, Barry was my favorite before the show, and has become MORE of my favorite since watching the show until the finale... also if you didn't know there was a show about the Flash, be sure to check it out, you can watch most of its episodes at hulu.com just search The Flash and hit enter and you can watch it.. Hope you enjoy!

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STA8541

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Barry or Wally, mentor & protege, can't decide right now. They're both awesome. I liked Bart better as Kid Flash. I never overlook Jay either: the fountainhead, the forerunner...& one of the greatest heroes of all time in his own right.

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Cloakx14

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Edited By Cloakx14

Wally west

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arthurkerr

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Barry Allen and let Wally stay Kid flash....The best combo ever made. Keep Jay as the grand father figure super fast and you have a idea universe.

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Urban_Ninja_X

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Barry or Wally.

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n8hawk

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I'd say mine is a tie between Jay Garrick (I've always been fascinated by Earth 2; besides, the E2 counterparts costumes were cooler) or Wally West as he did much more than Barry with the Speedforce.

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Bat_SAINT

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Barry Allen

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The_Thaumaturge

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Kingdom Come Flash was interesting. Lived his whole life so fast that he's barely in coherent human form anymore.

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Brendon416

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I loved Wally West from Justice League and he is by far the best lol hes the fastest and would trash all of the other flashes in an instant lol he was hilarious and when it came time to be serious he fucked everyone up sooo

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Mac10308

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All of them was good but John Fox has barely any comments so i like all of them but i like John Fox the most

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BettyKane

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Barry, he's the Flash I grew up with. In fact, the first issue of The Flash's Showcase run was one of the first four super-hero comics I ever bought for myself back in 1956. The other three were Wonder Woman, Superboy and Action. I also bought an Uncle Scrooge that day, maybe the best 50 cents I ever spent.

People talk about Jack Kirby art and yes, Jack was great; from Golden Age to Silver Age, Jack was first among peers. But one of his peers was Carmine Infantino, the original artist on The (Barry Allen) Flash and the man who gave the Silver Age one of its most distinctive looks. Not to slight the writers whose inventive stories created one of the three greatest Rogues' Galleries in comics, and gave that institution its name. John Broome, Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher were my real heroes for a long time. Okay, the inkers were really something too, Joe Giella, Joe Kubert and Frank Giacoia.

But I'd have to say that Wally made a great replacement for Barry with a deeper characterization and more powerful long-term story arcs. And some of his writers and artists compared well with the Silver Age crew.

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Apocalypse3

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Max Mercury.

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HAMMER_OF_J2

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Founding member of the JLA

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StMichalofWilson

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Wally West. Nuff' Said

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JonSmith

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Loading Video...

Argue with the adorable robots. I f***ing dare you.

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Bystander

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Edited By Bystander

Barry Allen. Mostly because of the TV show.

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Bystander

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Barry Allen. Mostly because of The Flash.

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dillonellis205

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gkal_el

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Wally West.

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HelixFlameYT

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I used to be so biased with Barry then I saw Wally saving Barry from him losing control

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Harrison_Thawne

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Edited By Harrison_Thawne

Wally West will always be my favorite. I mean, he's comedic, has interacted with a whole lot more of the Flash Family than Barry (I know the top two are Wally and Barry so I'm mainly comparing those two), and his story is a lot more interesting. He's also got a better love interest, even though Iris West is an amazing character who cannot be left out of any Flash story unless it takes place in the future or in an alternate universe. He's also the most powerful (being the generator of the speed force does NOT make Barry the fastest, and that's been proven).

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mysoulz

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It's good to see the original Wally back in convergence.

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comicace3

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Edited By comicace3

Speaking of the best flash. Looks like our old freind wally is back in convergence.

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utkanflash

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Barry or Wally .. I like them both. equally.

But Maybe Wally has more influence..

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Cloakx14

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Wally west.

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SinnTek1

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@gokujam said:

Wally. No contest. He's the Flash I grew up with and he took the character/mantle to new heights.

I agree to an extent, I'm a big fan of Barry too.

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percy03

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Edited By percy03

Barry Allen,when I think Flash I think "Barry Allen"

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bobthened

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MY favourite is Wally West

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gkal_el

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Wally's my choice, but I can't say I don't like Barry.

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BlackLegRaph

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I'd have to go with Wally.

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KoMiC

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@darkdefender: yeah ik but my reason for picking wally is because if they were to fight he would win and he is has the best outfit and best personality for me at least

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KoMiC

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Bart is the fastest then barry then wally then jay

Wally has speed steal so he could reck the other flashes

Barry can vibrate his molecules and cause lots of damage upon contact

Bart is a the fastest

Jay is the most experienced

Going with wally via speed steal

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deactivated-5fbfd5d291164

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Adobe.

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ariesxmasters

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Barry no contest. he is the generator of the speedforce (rebirth) so he can easily outrun any of them. he also can absorb the speedforce from others rendering them powerless. for a long time wally was the fastest,the bart came along and beat him. withought barry doing anything special except running bart would win. but with his speedforce powers only he has, he would wipe the floor with any other speedster out there. period.

Barry is my favorite too, but because his character development and story not whether he is faster. I like Jay Garrick second I thought he was pretty cool in the New-52 Earth 2.

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blackkitty

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Wally West, no question.

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mason_flash_jones

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Barry no contest. he is the generator of the speedforce (rebirth) so he can easily outrun any of them. he also can absorb the speedforce from others rendering them powerless. for a long time wally was the fastest,the bart came along and beat him. withought barry doing anything special except running bart would win. but with his speedforce powers only he has, he would wipe the floor with any other speedster out there. period.

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Xaos

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Edited By Xaos

Wally, but I love them all !

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Jogga

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Wally West by a landslide.

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Thanosmaniac

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Edited By Thanosmaniac

Wally West

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sdunkero_sduduzo995

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wally west defines the flash

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kidchipotle

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Wally. There can only be one.

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SilverPool

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Best Character: Barry

Most OP powerful character in Comics thanks to ridiculous writing: Wally

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MrShway88

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Anyone who states hands down that any of these great characters is the best without questions shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinion. All are amazing and it is a difficult choice to make.

After saying that Barry is my preferred Flash.

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CrystalMaster

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Wally West, naturally

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yaboi

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Pietro Maximoff.

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multiAQWorlds

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Barry Allen. 2nd Original.

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TheTrueBarryAllen

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Barry.