Flash

Jay Garrick

The first Flash was Jay Garrick, a Golden Age hero who gained his super-speed from exposure to radioactive "heavy water" as a student. He used his powers to fight crime in his hometown of Keystone City, and was one of the founding members of the Justice Society Of America (JSA). After World War II, Garrick retired, only to be brought back into action by the second Flash, Barry Allen. Jay Garrick has been kept active and in his middle years through various means over the decades (his body is that of a fifty-year old, though he is over ninety), and still occasionally puts on the costume to fight crime. He has been a stalwart member of JSA in every incarnation alongside Alan Scott (Green Lantern I) and Ted Grant ( Wildcat). He lives with his wife, Joan.

Barry Allen

Barry Allen As the Flash

Origin

Barry Allen was a police scientist, with a well known habit for lateness. He lived in Central City and had a steady girlfriend named Iris West (later Iris Allen West). He had a love of comic books, his favorite being the Flash ( Jay Garrick). Working late one night, lightning struck the chemicals in the metal rack next to where he was working. They exploded over Barry who was knocked over. As he stood up he realized that he was unharmed. After clearing up, Barry went about his business, but it is not long before he discovered the world around seemed to have slowed. More accurately he had become much faster!  He's the fastest dude alive.

Realizing he had become like his hero, Barry decided to follow in his foot steps and become a hero. He discovers that not only is he fast, but he can also vibrate his molecules, rendering him almost invisible and allowing him to phase through solid objects. He also created a costume and treated it with a special chemical that shrank it so that it can fit inside a ring, allowing him to have it with him ready so that he can change in a moment.

Barry's adventures would not just be confined to Central City. Using his scientific knowledge, he constructed the Cosmic Treadmill. Using his super speed, Barry could use it to travel in time by altering his vibrations (something he would later do to cross into alternate dimensions).

For most of his career, life was good to Barry. He was widely respected and well liked as both the Flash and himself. His abilities and scientific acumen kept him ahead of his enemies. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he "got the girl" and married his long time girlfriend Iris. He sacrificed his life to save the universe in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. He has recently returned during Final Crisis.

Wally West / Flash

Characteristics

History Of The Great Flash

Wally West was the nephew of Iris West, fiance of Barry Allen who was, unknown to her at the time, The Flash of Central City. Wally grew up in a small town called Blue Valley with emotionally distant parents, and dreamed of living in Central City and perhaps one day meeting his hero, The Flash. Wally was only close to one relative, his father's sister Iris.

One summer, Iris offered to let Wally stay in Central City with her. Wally gladly took the chance to get out of his hometown and away from his parents, and looked forward to the excitement of the big city. Iris introduced Wally to Barry, whom Wally thought was dull and uninteresting - until Barry offered to introduce Wally to The Flash.

Barry used some simple super-speed tricks to pull off the double identity, and gave Wally the surprise of his life. In Barry's lab, The Flash told Wally about how he had gotten his powers - a stray bolt of lightning that hit a rack of chemicals, which in turn hit him. To Wally's disappointment, though, he said it was a unique event that would probably never happen again.

He was wrong.

A bolt of lightning once again came through the window, once again hit a rack of chemicals, and this time doused Wally, giving him the super-speed that his hero had. He was eager to join The Flash in fighting crime, and Barry indulged him. He created a kid-sized version of his own costume, and Kid Flash was introduced.

Soon, he changed to a different red-and-yellow costume, but kept the Kid Flash moniker. He was one of the founding members of the Teen Titans and appeared to have a great career as a hero. As he got older, however, his body started to react to his powers. Running any faster than the speed of sound became painful, and Wally discovered that his speed was killing him. The only way to live a normal life would be to stay at normal speeds. Wally left the Titans and resigned himself to a slow pace.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths brought him out of retirement, and the death of Barry Allen gave him a new sense of purpose. Despite the risk, he took the name and costume of The Flash, and was determined to live up to the example that Barry Allen had set for the world. That job, however, would not be easy.

He was still consigned to relatively low speeds, only 700 miles per hour or so. Also, he won the lottery and gained a fortune, which allowed his more selfish characteristics to thrive, and when he lost it all, his life seemed to be going into a tailspin.

West's life eventually stabilized, and he joined the re-formed Justice League. He also discovered the existence of the Speed Force, a quasi-mystical energy field that gives speedsters their powers. He was at first reluctant to reach the full potential of the speed force, lest he be drawn into it. Also, his respect and love for Barry unconsciously stopped him from ever realizing his power, thus officially 'replacing' his fallen hero.

After an insidious plan to destroy the city, he was pushed himself to his full potential and tapped into the Speed Force. He had reached speeds never achieved by anyone before, but as he was energized by the Speed Force he was also being engulfed in it. It was his love for Linda Park, a reporter in Keystone City, that gave him the strength and direction to lead him back. His overcoming the Speed Force and the psychological blocks that had been keeping him from fully realizing his powers, enabled him to reach far greater levels of speed and ability. His identity was public, a rarity among costumed heroes, which made him a popular celebrity as well.

He married Linda Park, a reporter in Keystone City, whom he called his "lightning rod". His love for her was able to bring him back from whatever far-flung future or alternate reality he might be in. After they were married, Linda became pregnant with twins, but suffered a miscarriage due to an attack by the second Reverse-Flash, Zoom. West realized his public identity put those he loved in danger, and so he begged the current Spectre (a repentant Hal Jordan) to erase the knowledge of the Flash's identity from the minds of the world. This caused some friction with Wally's former allies including his best friend, Dick Grayson.

Due to a combination of time-travel and the surprising intervention of Barry Allen, the attack by the Reverse-Flash that caused Linda's miscarriage was thwarted, and thus never actually happened. She soon gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, Jai and Iris West. Following the birth of his children, Wally decided to devote more time to his family and got a job as a mechanic in the Keystone Police motor pool, with his duties as Flash coming as time permitted.

During the Infinite Crisis, Wally disappeared while trying to force Superboy Prime into the Speed Force. Before vanishing entirely, he was able to appear to Linda in order to say goodbye. Linda refused to be separated from him, and she and the twins joined him in the Speed Force. Their current whereabouts and condition are unknown.

Wally West and family were returned when the Legion Of Super-Heroes try to resurrect "the Last Legionnaire" by channeling released Speed Force energy via lightning rods. The legion traveled to spots that were important both to Wally and Bary Allen. Both Hal Jordan and Batman realize this fact and believe Allen's return is imminent. However, they instead retrieved Wally, Linda and his twin children, who appear to have aged several years. Wally was offered membership to the Justice League, which he accepts. It is later said that his return was a freak accident but the Legion Of Super-Heroes still got who they wanted. When Wally became aware of Bart's Death and tracked down Inertia stealing his speed and turning him into a living statue. He was placed in the Flash Museum, and forced to stare at Bart's old Kid Flash and Impulse uniforms forever.

Bart Allen

BART ALLEN

After Superboy-Prime attacked Conner Kent ( Superboy) in Smallville and injured or killed many Teen Titans, Bart joined with Flashes Wally West and Jay Garrick to stop the rampage of Superboy-Prime, by running him at top speed into the Speed Force. Jay reached his limit before entering the Speed Force and Wally turned into energy and vanished, leaving Bart alone with Superboy-Prime. Barry Allen, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, all of whom had previously been absorbed into the Speed Force, appeared and aided Bart. After taking Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, Barry told Bart that "Wally is waiting for you". After they disappeared, Jay claimed that the Speed Force was gone.

Bart spent four years in an alternate reality's Keystone City, with Max, Barry, Wally, and an alternate version of Jay Garrick. There Superboy-Prime managed to escape from his prison, and the alternate Jay failed to stop him. All the speedsters rallied together to return to their dimension so they could warn everyone about Superboy-Prime. However, they knew that not even the fastest men alive could get there before the insane Boy of Steel. Barry suggested to Wally that he somehow absorb the entire Speed Force, but cautioned that it might kill him. Bart bravely volunteered, because Wally had his family to think of, and Barry was incapable of it because he was already dead. Wally handed him the ring and Barry gave Bart his Flash suit, which would both help Bart survive his journey.

Bart reappeared in Tokyo wearing his grandfather's costume. He later helped the heroes against the army of escaped supervillains in the Battle of Metropolis. Bart then explained to the nearby Wonder Girl that his grandfather's uniform was the only thing that could survive the trip back from where he had been, and that he was the only one there "who could still run". Bart then unleashed his anger against Superboy-Prime for killing Conner Kent, pummeling him at super-speed and forcing Superboy to retreat from the battle. When the crisis was over, Bart explained to Jay that he had spent years in an unknown dimension where he grew older. Bart confirmed that the Speed Force was destroyed and that he had used up the residual speed locked in his body fighting in Metropolis. He gave Barry's costume to Jay and said that Jay was once again the fastest man alive.

The Return of Wally West

On a mission the Justice League Of America and Justice Society Of America didn't understand, the Legion Of Super-Heroes were prepared to sacrifice one of themselves in order to bring Wally West back. They managed to bring him back along with his wife and twins. The twins seemed to have aged a little, also manifesting unique powers. 

Barry's Back

Powers And Abilities

All of the various Flash incarnations share a few powers common to all of them. These include the ability to move superhumanly fast, increased reaction time, incredible stamina allowing him to run long distances without tiring, the ability to think at a superhuman rate to match his movements, wounds heal at a superhuman rate, ignoring certain laws physics such as friction and other laws related to movement. The Flash is also able to vibrate incredibly fast allowing to accomplish such feats as melting through ice.

All of The Flashs' powers are connected to a source known as the Speed Force. The Speed Force allows them survive and perform amazing feats whiling traveling at incredible speeds. The Speed Force has also allowed various Flash's to accomplish time travel and manipulation. The Speed Force also grants a large variety of other abilities.

Kingdom Come

Flash features in the else world Kingdom Come. Set in an alternate time line, where Superman has retired from being a superhero due to the new metahumans methods of justice being more favored, nearly all of the older heroes, like Flash, have lost their credibility. The Spectre shows Norman McCay Key Stone City, which he describes as a utopia where a scarlet blur protects he streets from all crime no matter how petty. This version of Flash is constantly moving and only ever seen as a blur of red with the trade mark World War II style helmet Jay Garrick used to sport, although a name is never put on the Flash so It is impossible to know who it is. Like several other heroes, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Flash has become almost maddened on his quest for justice thus forcing him into his constant state of movement, Spectre describes him saying,

"He lives between the ticks of a second. He is the Flash"

Another use of this constant speed is that countless strata of reality are open to him. This allowed him to reach through Spectre's powers and pull McCay into their dimension allowing them to see him. A girl is also seen sporting the Kid Flash costume, presumable Iris West, which may indicate the Flash being Wally West. She is part of Batman's small faction group determined to give control back to humanity.

Other Media

The Flash TV Series

The Flash TV series was a live action show which ran on CBS between 1990-1991. It starred John Wesley Shipp as the hero and co starred Amanda Pays as the lead roles. The show was created by the writing team of Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo Danny Elfman also composed the main title theme. The show ran along with some of the story lines of the silver age comics, but several other aspects were taken from the Wally West Flash comics including the limitations of his powers and high metabolism.

The pilot episode includes an accident in which Barry Allen’s (John Wesley Shipp), a Central City police forensic scientist, laboratory is struck by lightning bathing Allen in electrified chemicals. With the help of S.T.A.R Labs scientist Tina McGee Allen soon discovers that he has a super charged metabolism giving him super human speed given to him as a result of the accident. Tina modifies a red S.T.A.R Labs deep sea diving suit which can withstand massive amounts of pressure. Barry Allen’s first act as the Flash is to avenge the murder of his brother Jay, a Central city Motor cycle officer, who is also named after the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick.

The series continued with The Flash taking on manly human foes like mob bosses, gangsters and corrupt officials. Until several of The Flash’s more colorful super villains were brought into play a part in the show. The most well know being The Trickster, played by Mark Hamill, (who also played a part as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and would later go on to play The Trickster again in Justice League Unlimited) and his sidekick Prank, played by Corinne Bohrer, Captain Cold, played by Michael Champion and Mirror Master, played by David Cassidy all of whom also appear in their own episode.

Unfortunately all these special appearances were too little too late and due to too much competition from other networks and the shows falling ratings because of basketball games and bad breaking coverage as a result of the Persian Gulf War the show was canceled after a season of shooting .

Superman: The Animated Series

This is the first animated series where Wally West is given the title of the Flash . In an episode called speed demons Superman and The Flash both take part in a race around the world for charity, unawares that they are generating energy for the evil Weather Wizard. Flash is portrayed as cocky and selfish, which is noted by Superman but later he finds that behind this Flash is a hero too. The Flash was voiced by Charlie Schlatter.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

This animated series stars Wally West as The Flash (voiced by Michael Rosenbaum) as one of the seven founding members of the Justice League. This incarnation of Wally is very similar to that of Superman: The Animated Series as a flippant almost adolescent hero often tending to annoy some of the League members. The series cashes in on Wally’s sense of humor in many cases having him provide the comic relief from the other more stiff members. Although in some instances he is seen complaining about his now persona of a “teenage sidekick”. Flash also has his super high metabolism also providing several gags through out the series. Flash’s endorsement of the “Lightspeed” candy bar play homage to that fact as Flash is seen in several occasions eating the bars, which have also been known to have an image of The Flash on them adding to the ironic humor.

Although Flash provides the lighter hearted side of the series he also has some major run ins with major villains. He stars through out the episode "Divided We Fall," in which he manages to take down Lex Luthor who has fused with Brainiac by building up enough speed by running around the world and then crashing into him, then using his infinite mass punch. As a result of the speed used to destroy Lex and Brainiac Flash is called into the Speed Force but is pulled out by the remaining six founding members.

Others such episode include, "Flash and Substance,” where several rouges from The Flash gallery make an appearance to try and destroy Flash on “Flash Appreciation Day” the main battle between them also takes place in a museum dedicated to The Flash, “The Great Brain Robbery” where The Flash switches bodies with Lex Luthor and also “I Am Legion” where Flash is shown to have feelings for Fire.

This incarnation of the Flash is seen to have a lot in common with the X-men character Iceman, someone who is commonly portrayed as a slacker and joker but when using their powers to their fullest is one of the stronger members of the league.

Justice League Appearances

Justice League Unlimited Episodes:

     The Ties That Bind
     The Doomsday Sanction
     The Balance
     FlashPoint
     Panic in the Sky
     Divided We Fall
     Flash and Substance
     Destroyer

Teen Titans

Kid Flash appears in the Teen Titans animated series voiced by Michael Rosenbaum. Although The Flash’s true identity is never given in this series it would be implied that he is Wally West as Rosenbaum voiced Wally West as The Flash in Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. To further back this up the character has many similar traits as Wally West if not the same, like his laid back attitude to work and his Flirtatious nature. One of the only notable differences between him an his comic book counter part are his green eyes, in the comics Wally West has bright blue eyes.

Kid Flash first appears in the episode “Light speed”, where Kid Flash is seen ruining the H.I.V.E Five’s evil robbery of a museum . Kid Flash soon begins to flirt with the groups leader Jinx and tries to get her to try to turn away from evil, but his words are ignored. The H.I.V.E. soon capture Kid Flash and keep him prisoner in cage. When Jinx is interrogating him she asks him whom he is working with, when he states, “I work alone these days” which would imply he was working with The Flash. Kid Flash escapes the captures demonstrating some of his powers like his ability to re vibrate his molecules through walls and creating wind vortexes using his hands. Jinx and Kid Flash would later have a romantic relationship.

Kid Flash also appears in the episodes “Calling All Titans” in a screen shot of all the Titans. It also transpires that Kid Flash has a communicator and the Titans have been in contact with him. In “Titans Together” Kid Flash is also seen with Jinx, now a member of the Titans, trying to infiltrate The Brotherhood of Evil’s base.

Smallville

Flash (Bart Allen) first appears in the fourth season - episode five - "Run". In the episode it becomes clear early on that Bart is a common thief who uses his ability to run at superspeeds (faster than Clark Kent himself) to take advantage of people by stealing whatever he desires. When Clark breaks into his apartment however he finds fake identities with the names, Jay Garrick, Wally West and Barry Allen. After some confrontation and Bart getting caught by Lex, he seems to have changed his thieving ways. Unlike Clark however, Bart is seen as embracing the powers he has been given and wishing to use them. The episode ends with Clark asking Bart to stay, and Bart replies only if Clark can catch him (of course Clark failed and it was thought Bart might never return).

But the two have a run-in again in the sixth season - episode eleven - "Justice". In this episode Bart saves Chloe who believes it to be Clark, as who else can superspeed. Bart seems to have grown even faster than he previously was and now makes a mockery of Clark. Bart tries to be accepted by Clark as an "amigo" but Clark disallows this as he is still filled with mistrust for the former thief. We soon discover that Bart is stealing information from Lex's 33.1 facilities for his comrade, Oliver Queen, and Lex is on to him. And soon after Bart is outsmarted and captured by Lex who remembers Bart, and seeks revenge. Bart is then kept in a specially designed cage that will fry him if he stops for even a millisecond, Lex turns it on because of Bart's defiance towards him. So Bart is forced to run for perhaps hours. Clark finally saves him by the time he is slowing from exhaustion and has been suffering a nosebleed for some time already. After this, Bart is returned to his joking, hungry self (as he needs plently of calories to keep him going). He then departs with the rest of his team, under the codename Impulse, working to stop Lex Luthor's activity around the globe.