Top 10 Flash Facts

So far, four different people have had extended careers as The Flash. Jay Garrick and his winged helmet started it all during a smoke break in 1940. Barry Allen, who managed to hide his costume inside his ring, came along in 1956. Wally West moved up from being Kid Flash to the main man himself in 1986. And Bart Allen, who is actually Barry Allen's grandson, came to our time from the future and donned the scarlet outfit for a year or so. All of them have a legitimate claim to the title, but Barry Allen is the one most identified with the name.

Barry Allen is famous for getting his superspeed thanks to an accident involving lightning and chemicals. College student Jay Garrick got his from an accident as well, but it was slightly different. Trying to find a way to purify hard water in a cyclotron, Garrick accidentally spilled some of the water. The fumes knocked him unconscious. When he awoke, he had somehow gained the ability to move at amazing rates of speed. Not a bad reward for being clumsy.

Cisco Ramon is Barry Allen’s close friend, mechanical engineer, comic relief and walking geek stereotype. It’s no surprise that Cisco is also a big fan of The Big Bang Theory, as much as the gang from Big Bang are fans of comic books and The Flash. Cisco shows off his nerd cred a few times throughout the series by wearing Big Bang Theory t-shirts, including Bazinga and Rock/Paper/Scissors/Lizard/Spock.

There's a lot of time travel in Flash stories, which is responsible for one of the biggest tragedies in his life. The Reverse Flash, Eobard Thawne, is a maniac from the 25th Century who hero-worshipped Barry Allen. Thawne managed torecreate the accident that created the Flash and subsequently game himself the same powers. Unfortunately, Thawne grew to hate Flash and decided to make his life miserable. Cutting through the time barrier, he did everything he could to ruin Barry's life – including killing Barry's mother when he was just a boy. Obsess much, Thawne?

One of the things that science-y types bring up with the Flash is the problem of friction. A guy that can move faster than the speed of light is going to be dealing with a massive amount of friction. Running at that speed should burn up Flash's clothes (not to mention his skin). He can even carry objects and people without damaging or hurting them. Flash's creators decided early on that a special energy aura surrounds the superspeedster, and this aura protects both him and anyone in near him from the effects of friction. How convenient.

Most people won’t remember the 1990 Flash television series, but those who do might recognize the 2014 Flash’s father Henry Allen as actor John Wesley Shipp, the 1990s Barry Allen. While comic book characters may be timeless, actors who portray these characters are but mere mortals, and can’t often reprise their roles as series are rebooted and resurrected. However, bringing Shipp back to play modern Barry Allen’s father was a great nod to the 90s series. It doesn’t end there, as Actress Amanda Pays plays researcher Tina McGee on both the 90s series and the 2014 reboot. Their appearance on the show may have been short, but were a greatly appreciated and a fantastic tribute to a show that was ahead of its time.

Superman and Batman kicked off the Golden Age of superheroes in the 1930s and 40s, but by 1950, superheroes were practically dead. And they'd have remained that way if DC hadn't brought the Flashback in the form of Barry Allen in 1956. His success reinvigorated the genre and made comic book buyers excited all over again about the boys with the tights and the capes. Flash's success not only set the stage for Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Justice League but also made Marvel's bolder 1960s experiments possible.

Okay, so stay with us here. The Flash was created when a bolt of lightning struck Barry Allen and a bunch of chemicals, giving him superspeed. Almost 30 years later, The Flash was fighting a nasty piece of work called the Anti-Monitor. To defeat the villain, The Flash had to move at a speed far greater than any he had achieved before. He ran so fast that he became a being of pure energy who traveled back in time – and became the lightning bolt that struck Barry Allen in the first place. So, basically, Flash created himself. See, it’s not that crazy.

For many years, DC Comics told tales of heroes who lived on many different Earths. Each Earth was in a different dimension, part of a near-infinite number of parallel universes called the Multiverse. This concept eventually got a little unwieldy, but it all started with the Flash. In a 1961 story, Barry Allen vibrates so fast that he crosses a dimensional barrier into a parallel Earth – where he meets Jay Garrick. The Crisis on Infinite Earths got rid of the Multiverse in the 1980s, but in recent years parallel Earths have re-emerged. The more things change…


Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

HM. His Twin Brother Wants Him Dead

HM. He Was Ahead in the Self-Referencing Metafiction Trend

He’s called the Fastest Man Alive, and there’s a reason for that. Not only can the dude punch out bad guys at the speed of light, but he can even outrun the almighty Superman. In the 1970s, Superman and Flash entered into a number of races to prove who was the fastest. But these races either ended in a tie or were discounted due to extenuating circumstances. But in 2009, the two engaged in a run that proved that when Barry Allen sets his mind to it, he can outrun any other hero of his time – no matter how iconic they may be!

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