Who Is The Flash, The Scarlet Speedster Who Electrified DC Fans

Flash is one of the DC superheroes with more versions. Hence he is well known. Artist Harry Lampert and writer Gardner Fox created him. The first Flash that we know of appeared in 1939 in Flash Comics #1.

Flash is known as “the scarlet speedster,” differentiating himself from other superheroes by his costume, powers, and abilities. The story tells of Flash as an ordinary boy who is struck by lightning and acquires superpowers such as speed.

Any of Flash’s incarnations coincide with the ability to move, run and think very fast, managing to use superhuman reflexes. Some even manage to violate some of the laws of physics.

Who is Flash?

Image: DC Comics

The Flash is one of the most popular characters in DC Comics. He has been a fundamental part of the “crisis” stories that change with the particular reality of each editor over the years.

Flash has introduced interesting concepts such as the Multiverse in his different eras. It captivated DC readers, as it was the basis for many other stories in the following years of the publisher.

The Golden Age of Flash

Image: DC Comics

The Flash’s Golden Age was marked by widespread popularity. He first appeared in 1940 in Flash Comics #1 from All – American Publications. Later, this would be one of the three companies that would become part of the merger to give birth to DC Comics.

Artist Harry Lampert and writer Gardner Fox created the character. The original story tells of an ordinary boy named Jay Garrick, who was a college student who gained speed by inhaling hard water vapors. In the 1960s, DC reintroduced the character, and the story was reworked a bit, with the boy gaining his powers from exposure to heavy water.

Flash was one of the founding characters of the Justice Society of America. This was the first superhero team formed in DC history, and All-Star Comics chronicled their adventures.  

The golden age ended in the postwar period when all the superheroes lost popularity. Thus, in 1949 Flash Comics, which presented a villain version of Flash called Rival, was cancelled. In 1951 the final story of the Justice Society was published in All-Star Comics #57.

The Silver Age Era of The Flash

Image: DC Comics

The Silver Age began in 1956 when DC Comics managed to turn around and successfully revive its superheroes. To do so, the goal was to reinvent the old characters of the Golden Age. Flash was one of the first characters reinvented in 1956 with Showcase #4, a test comic.

This Flash’s version was Barry Allen, whose story was based on a scientist who belonged to the police force. This man gained the power of super speed when he accidentally bathed himself in chemicals after lightning struck a shelf. Upon realizing his change, he adopted the name The Scarlet Speedster.

At this time, the character managed to have his title, The Flash, being his first number, 105. Cartoonist Carmine Infantino and writers John Broome and Robert Kanigher created this new version.

The Flash’s popularity allowed other superheroes to be reborn. In fact, from his success derived another new team, the Justice League of America, being this character one of its founding members.

The character continued until the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, ending the series with the number 350. The decade of the ’80s was marked with enough confusion for Allen’s life. For this reason, DC decided to end his adventures, giving a heroic death in 1985 with Crisis on Infinite Earths #8. However, due to the character’s ability to travel through time, he could be seen occasionally in the following years.

Modern Age Comics

In the modern age of comics, in 1959, the third Flash, Wally West, was introduced in The Flash #110. This character’s story is already focused on Allen’s nephew, who acquires the powers of the Flash identically to Allen. The adopted identity was that of Kid Flash, who kept his membership in Teen Titans.

When Allen dies, it is West who assumes the identity of Flash, which can be seen in Flash in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12. Here he gets his series in 1987, starting with The Flash #1 (vol. 2). In 2006, the series was canceled to give way to another called The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. Editors sought the acceptance of Bart Allen, so it counted with the art of Ken Lashley and the writer’s Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson.

After several issues, Barry Allen, in 2009, returned to DCU with The Flash: Rebirth, a miniseries featuring six issues by Ethan Van Sciver and Geoff Johs, whose return marked a milestone in the history of this character.

Biographies of The Flash versions

Image: DC Comics

There are several characters that, in some way, have obtained the power of “Speed Force .”So far, five characters have managed to possess the mantle of Flash throughout the history of DC. We will tell you briefly about each of them, which have their own stories.

Jay Garrick

Jay Garrick dates back to 1938 and is introduced as a college student who acquires the Flash’s powers by inhaling heavy water vapors while taking a break in his lab. He thus discovered that he could run at the speed of light. This character kept the secret of his abilities, going on many adventures.

Barry Allen

Barry Allen is one of the most contemporary characters. He represented a scientist attending the Division of Criminal and Forensic Sciences, working in the Central City Police Department. He acquired the Flash’s powers when lightning struck a rack near his lab and chemicals fell on him.

Thus ended his reputation as slow and clumsy, acquiring super speed and other abilities that made him fight villains. His character has died and revived several times.

Wally West

Wally West is Barry Allen’s nephew and was introduced in 1959 in The Flash #10. He becomes a young wrestler named Kid Flash at age 10 when he similarly acquires the same powers as his uncle as the Flash. When his uncle passes away, he becomes the fastest man alive.

Bart Allen

Bart Allen is the grandson of Barry Allen. His story was a little different. Bart presents premature aging, so he has to grow up in virtual reality. Because of that, his grandmother Iris, Barry’s wife, takes him back and gets help from the Flash of the time. This way, he gets help, and his aging slows down, becoming Impulse. When shot in the knee by Deathstroke, he takes on the mantle of Kid Flash.

Avery Ho

Avery Ho is an entirely different version from the previous ones. She is presented as a woman of Chinese-American nationality who was trapped in the Speed Force created by Godspeed. This way, she acquires Flash’s powers and abilities, such as super speed. By controlling her powers, she formed the ranks of the Justice League of China, being Flash.

Flash Powers and Abilities 

Image: DC Comics

Flash’s incarnations share superpowers such as thinking, moving, and reacting at the speed of light. In addition, he also has superhuman stamina. This power gives him the ability to run incredibly long distances. There are other versions of Flash that have the power of quantum tunneling. This consists of going through walls through vibration. In addition, he can travel through time, borrow and lend speed.

The self-healing process in case of injury for speedsters is much faster than an average human. Any of the incarnations of this character are protected from air friction. As well as from the kinetic effects of their powers.

All Flashes have proven to have an incredible ability, they can run at the speed of light, but the best is the ability to steal speed from other objects. In the same way, this same ability can be applied to reading and processing large amounts of information. However, the knowledge acquired is temporary.

They also can think fast, which makes them immune to telepathy due to the speed with which they operate their thoughts. As if this were not enough, among the Flashes can speak at high speeds. With this, they manage to maintain private conversations, as well as it manages to have a certain comic effect on the character. And they can change the vibration of their vocal cords, so they sound different.

Some of the Flashes can also generate their speed avatars. These replicas can be sent on different timelines, thus completing specific missions.

Other characters Having carried the Flash’s mantle

Image: DC Comics

Jesse Chambers

Jesse Chambers is the daughter of Johnny Quick, who follows in her parent’s footsteps and becomes a superheroine. She replaces Wally West, briefly assuming the mantle of Flash when he enters the Speed Force.

John Fox

John Fox belonged to the 27th century when he served as a historian in Central City, specifically the National Science Academy. His mission was to stop Mota, a radioactive villain. For this, he traveled in time and got help from several Flashes, but this was a failure. Upon returning, he realized he had been affected by tachyon radiation and had superpowers, defeating Mota.

Unnamed Allen of the 23rd century

There are two Flashes destined to be killed by Cobalt Blue. This Allen was one of them. This one was trapped in a time paradox while fighting this villain. Allen saw his wife die and crippled his daughter. He was later killed by a child who took the power gem.

Sela Allen 

Sela Allen is the daughter of a Flash, but in the 23rd century, she is an ordinary human who Cobalt Blue attacks. Because of this incident, she becomes very slow, so her father turns her into Flash by taking her to Speed Force.

Blaine Allen

Blaine Allen belongs to the 28th century, and he and his son were attacked again by Cobalt Blue. The villain injects Jace with a disease. His desperate father takes him to Speed Force to recover.

Jace Allen

Jace Allen acquires the Flash’s powers when he is brought to Speed Force after Cobalt Blue’s attack, assuming command of the Flashes at the time.

Kyriad

Kyriad belongs to the 98th century and travels back to defeat an alien. He tries to take Flash’s powers in vain, so he has to travel further back and do the same as Barry to acquire super speed.

Bizarro Flash

This version of Bizarro Flash is a clone created when Bizarro cloned Flash, acquiring his powers, but it is completely intangible.

Flash Appearances

Image via CW

Flash’s appearances are diverse. Here are some of them:

On television

Image: DC

Flash’s appearances have been multiple on the small screen since 1979 and 1979 in the series Challenge of the Super Friends. He also appears from 1990 to 1991 in The Flash series, appearing in several of its versions.

In Video Games

In video games, he appears in several as a playable character, for example, in Mortal Kombat and DC Comics, as well as Mortal Combat vs. DC Universe.

Flash in Movies

Image via Warner Bros.

The Flash’s first appearance on the big screen was in The Lego Movie. He later had a brief presence in The Lego Batman Movie. 

As for the DC Extended Universe, actor Ezra Miller is the one who plays Barry Allen as The Flash. The first introduction of the character was in 2016 with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He then appeared in both versions of Justice League. He will finally have his movie in June 2023 with The Flash.

The Multiversal Scarlet Speedster Who Made Fans Fall in Love

Image: DC Comics

The Flash is one of the most accepted characters among fans, perhaps because of his different versions and concepts. This variety allowed us to tell many more stories in the DC world. Moreover, his power to alter time opened the doors to the Multiverse. This new plot allowed the screenwriters to find new versions of the characters and revive the dead.

The movie The Flash will be played by actor Ezra Miller, who has been quite controversial during the shooting of this film. Its plot as such has fans in suspense, generating a lot of expectations.

The film will be directed by Andy Muschietti and will be an adapted version of the comic book “Flashpoint.” The cast will include Maribel Verdú as the main character’s mother, Nora Allen, and Ron Livingston, who will play Barry Allen’s father. In addition, Iris West will be played by Kiersey Clemons. Despite the setbacks, we are all looking forward to the release of this film.

Featured Image Via DC Comics