Flash (Barry Allen)

"Barry Allen" redirects here. For the musician, see Barry Allen (musician).

Flash
File:Flash (Barry Allen).jpg Barry Allen, the Flash. Cover art to The Flash vol. 3 #12 by George Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956)
Created by	Robert Kanigher John Broome Carmine Infantino
In-story information
Alter ego	Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen
Team affiliations	Justice League Blue Lantern Corps White Lantern Corps
Partnerships	Iris West Allen Wally West Bart Allen Hal Jordan
Notable aliases	Black Flash, Trans-Visible Man, Blue Lantern, Parallax
Abilities	Super speed augmented by the extra-dimensional Speed Force Self-molecular control Time travel

The Flash (Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen) is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the second character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), created by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino. His name combines talk show hosts Barry Gray and Steve Allen. His death in 1985 removed the character from the regular DC lineup for 23 years. His return to regular comics occurred in 2008 within the pages of Grant Morrison's Final Crisis limited series.

Fictional character biography

Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956): First appearance of the Silver Age Flash. Art by Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert.

Barry Allen is a police scientist (his job title was changed to a forensic scientist in The Flash: Iron Heights one-shot) with a reputation for being very slow, deliberate, and frequently late, which frustrates his fiancee, Iris West. One night, as he is preparing to leave work, a lightning bolt shatters a case full of chemicals and spills them all over Allen. As a result, Allen finds that he can run extremely fast and has matching reflexes. He dons a set of red tights sporting a lightning bolt, dubs himself the Flash (after his childhood comic book hero, Jay Garrick), and becomes Central City's resident costumed crimefighter. Central City University professor Ira West (Iris' adoptive father) designed Allen's costume (reminiscent of the original Fawcett Captain Marvel) and the ring which stores it while Allen is in his civilian identity. The ring can eject the compressed clothing when Allen needs it and suck it back in with the aid of a special gas that shrinks the suit. In addition, Allen invented the cosmic treadmill, a device that allowed for precise time travel and was used in many stories. Allen was so well liked that nearly all speedsters that come after him are constantly compared to him. Batman once said "Barry is the kind of man that I would've hoped to become if my parents hadn't been murdered."

Justice League

As presented in Justice League of America #9, when the Earth is infiltrated by alien warriors sent to conquer the planet, some of the world's greatest heroes join forces—Allen is one of them. While the superheroes individually defeat most of the invaders, they fall prey to a single alien and only by working together are they able to defeat the warrior. Afterwards the heroes decide to found the Justice League of America.

During the years, he is depicted as feeling attracted to Black Canary and Zatanna, but he never pursues a relationship because he feels his real love is Iris West. Allen also becomes good friends with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), which would later be the subject of the limited series Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold.

In The Flash # 123 – "Flash of Two Worlds," – Allen is transported to Earth-Two where he meets Jay Garrick, the original Flash in DC Continuity; it is revealed that Jay Garrick's adventures were captured in comic book form on Earth-One. This storyline initiated DC's multiverse and was continued in issues of Flash and in team-ups between the Justice League of America of Earth-One and the Justice Society of America of Earth-Two. In the classic story from Flash #179 – "The Flash - Fact or Fiction?" – Allen is thrown into the universe eventually called Earth Prime, a representation of "our" universe, where he seeks the aid of the Flash comic book's editor Julius Schwartz to build a cosmic treadmill so that he can return home.

Tragedy

In time, he married his girlfriend Iris, who learned of his double identity because Allen talked in his sleep. She kept this secret, and he eventually revealed his identity to her of his own free will. Iris was eventually revealed to have been sent as a child from the 30th century and adopted.

In the 1980s, Flash's life begins to collapse. Iris is murdered by Professor Zoom (a supervillain from the 25th century who had long loved her and been jealous of Allen), and when Allen prepares to marry another woman, Zoom tries the same trick again. Allen stops him, killing Zoom in the process by breaking his neck. Unfortunately, due to Barry being unable to make an appearance at his own wedding, his fiancée eventually descends into madness.

Placed on trial for murder in connection with Zoom's death, Allen is found guilty by the jury. When he is told by a juror, who is being possessed by a mind from the future, that Reverse Flash (who Allen knows to be dead) brainwashed the jury into this verdict, Flash flees his trial. The Flash is then attacked by Reverse Flash, and realizes that the answers to this mystery, and restoring his good name, lie in the future, so the juror uses a time device to send them forward. They discover that Abra Kadabra, was disguised as Reverse Flash to ruin the Flash's good name. Defeating Kadabra, he retreats to the future to be reunited with Iris, having learned that Iris' spirit was in fact drawn to the 30th century, and given a new body (and was in fact the mind inhabiting the juror). The final issue of The Flash ends with Flash and Iris kissing passionately, making love, and the caption "And they lived happily ever after... for a while". There are a few references in the final issue (The Flash #350) to the upcoming events, and Flash's impending death.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

Main article: Crisis on Infinite Earths

Following the trial, Allen retires and joins Iris in the 30th century. However, after only a few weeks of happiness, the Crisis on Infinite Earths intervenes, and Allen is captured by the Anti-Monitor and brought to 1985; according to the Anti-Monitor, the Flash was the only being capable of travelling to other universes at will, so the Anti-Monitor couldn't allow him to stay free. Allen escapes and foils the Anti-Monitor's plan to destroy the Earth with an anti-matter cannon, creating a speed vortex to draw the power in, but dies in the process as the power becomes too much for his body. It has been said that Allen travels back through time and becomes the very same lightning bolt that gives him his powers, but later it is also strongly implied that the soul of Barry resides in the Speed Force, the mystical source and Valhalla open to all dead speedsters, and from which the living ones draw their amazing powers. After Allen's death, Wally West, his nephew and sidekick (known as Kid Flash), takes up the mantle of the Flash.

After death

Marv Wolfman, scribe for the Crisis on Infinite Earths, has repeatedly stated (first hinted at in his introduction to the original Crisis collected edition hardcover), then fully explained on his website that he left a loophole in the script wherein the Barry Allen Flash could be reintroduced, without a retcon, into DC Universe continuity. This loophole would allow a writer to pull Barry out of his desperate run to annihilate the anti-matter cannon. However, Barry would know he must someday finish his death run, and would become more determined to use his speed to help others.

It should also be noted that the way Barry Allen seemed to have "died" in Crisis on Infinite Earths, was that he ran so fast that he was able to stop the Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter cannon from firing by catching the tachyon beam at the heart of the weapon. After this act, according to Secret Origins Annual #2 (1988), Barry Allen turns into a lightning bolt, goes back in time, becoming the lightning bolt that hit his lab, splashing his past-self with chemicals and transforming him into the Flash.

In Deadman: Dead Again, Barry is one of the heroes whose spirit Deadman helps to enter Heaven, and the Green Arrow storyline "Quiver" depicts Barry Allen in Heaven. His spirit, however, seems to still be alive within the Speed Force, along with Max Mercury and other speedsters.

Legacy

Iris is pregnant when Allen dies, and she has two children, the Tornado Twins, who later meet the Legion of Super-Heroes. Each of her children themselves have children. One, Jenni Ognats, grows up to become the Legionnaire XS, while the other, Bart Allen, is born with a rapid-aging illness, and is sent back to the 20th century where he is cured by Wally West. He remains there as the superhero Impulse, later becoming the second Kid Flash as a member of the Teen Titans. One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Bart becomes the fourth Flash until he is abruptly killed by Inertia and the Rogues. Wally then retook the identity of the Flash. Bart would later be resurrected as Kid Flash by the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st century to combat Superboy-Prime.

Post-Crisis appearances

Wally West, wracked by grief for the loss of his unborn twins at the hands of Zoom, regrets the public knowledge of his identity. Barry appears from somewhere in time, counseling him, and talking the Spectre into granting his wish. He then disappears, telling his nephew that he will come to his aid three times, on the three most difficult days of his life. In fact, when Zoom enlists the aid of the original Professor Zoom to make Wally relive the loss of his beloved twins, Barry is already there, trying to stop his own Reverse Flash. For the second time, he helps Wally to undo the damage dealt by Zoom, also allowing Wally to save his twins, and then he returns to his proper time. He reappears a third and final time to come to his nephew's aid in the Final Crisis of mankind, ultimately having returned permanently due to Professor Zoom's machinations. Because this was (for Barry) the second time he met Wally after his own death, it appears that sometime in the future he will go on to return to the past, talk to Wally and the Spectre and promise to return, closing the time loop.

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis

In the fourth issue of Infinite Crisis, Barry Allen comes out from the Speed Force, along with Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, to help his grandson Bart deal with Superboy-Prime, taking the villainous teen with him in the Speed Force. Bart Allen appears wearing Barry Allen's costume in Tokyo near the end of Infinite Crisis #5 to tell the heroes that Superboy-Prime has escaped the Speed Force. Bart again reappears in Infinite Crisis #7 in Barry Allen's costume to combat Superboy-Prime once more.

In Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #6 (2006) (with a portion taking place shortly before Infinite Crisis #5) it is told how Barry spent four years in an alternate Keystone City along with Max Mercury, Johnny Quick, and an alternate Jay Garrick, until he met Bart and Wally West, joining him after the battle against Superboy-Prime. After Superboy escapes, Barry suggests that someone has to absorb the whole Speed Force and cross the dimensional bridge back to Post-Crisis Earth. As Bart volunteers, Barry gives him his suit as a last gift, to keep the Force contained, and stays behind. Wally West didn't go because of his wife and kids. Bart says he knows Barry would go if he could, but why Barry Allen could not make the journey himself is not stated.

Return

Barry Allen returns to the DC Universe, fleeing the Black Racer. Art from Final Crisis #2 by J.G. Jones.

Twenty-three years after his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry Allen's essence made a return to the present DC Universe proper in DC Universe #0, preceding his full time return in the pages of writer Grant Morrison's Final Crisis.

DC Universe #0 features an unnamed narrator who initially associates himself with "everything". As the story progresses, he begins to recall his past and association with Justice League members, particularly Hal Jordan and Superman. The lettering in which he speaks to the reader is yellow on backgrounds that are initially black. As the story moves forward, the background slowly begins turning red. In the final pages, the narration boxes feature a yellow lightning bolt. Over time, as he recalls friendships and connections with other people, his mind begins to narrow, remarking "I...know him. I am no longer everything. I am a shaft of light split through a prism". Yet he is still the only one able to see "the shadow falling over everything", in the form of Darkseid. On the final page, the moon appears in front of a red sky, as a yellow lightning bolt strikes diagonally in front of it creating the logo of the Flash, as he remarks "and now I remember". The title of the story is revealed to be "Let There Be Lightning."

A Daily News story released on the same day proclaimed that Barry Allen has returned to life, with issue co-writer Geoff Johns stating, "When the greatest evil comes back to the DC Universe, the greatest hero needed to return."

Final Crisis

Main article: Final Crisis

He makes his corporeal return in Final Crisis #2. On the 2nd to last page, Jay Garrick and Wally West feel vibrations to which Jay remarks, "Wally, don't you recognize those vibrations? It can't be... Not after all these years... Not after all this time." On the final page, Barry Allen is seen in hot pursuit of the bullet which kills Orion, outrunning the Black Racer and yelling out to Jay and Wally to "Run!"

During Final Crisis #3, Jay Garrick speaks to Barry's wife, Iris, and tells her that her husband is truly alive. Meanwhile, Wally and Barry run a few weeks into the future. When they come to rest, Wally asks Barry if it is really him. Lamenting on Orion's death, which he was unable to stop, Barry wonders why he is now alive after being dead for so long. It is then that Barry and Wally are confronted by Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Catwoman, and Giganta, who have all been transformed into the new Female Furies following the release of the Anti-Life Equation.

Despite the fact that this new version of the Female Furies is equipped with the ability to track down speedsters, perceived by Libra and Darkseid as the only obstacle left between them and world domination, Barry's expertise allows him to overcome their foes and run through the ruined Earth.

Barry stops to see his wife Iris and save her from the slavery of the Anti-Life Equation. Seeing his wife again for the first time in years, Barry is overcome with emotion and gives his brainwashed wife a deep kiss. While kissing her, the Speed Force sparkles out of his body, enveloping Iris and freeing her from the Equation. The Allens and Wally West are left to fend in a conquered world. In the seventh and final issue of Final Crisis, Barry and Wally lead the Black Racer to Darkseid, dealing the cosmic tyrant a blow that, coupled with Batman shooting him in the shoulder with the god-bullet, would facilitate his ultimate defeat.

The Flash: Rebirth

File:Flash Rebirth Variant.jpeg

Variant incentive cover art for The Flash: Rebirth #1. Art by Ethan Van Sciver and Alex Sinclair.

Main article: The Flash: Rebirth

In 2009, writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver created The Flash: Rebirth, a 6-issue miniseries bringing Barry Allen back to a leading role in the DC Universe as the Flash, much in the same vein as Green Lantern: Rebirth. When asked what Flashes would appear in the series, Johns and Van Sciver said, "All of them." The series begins with the cities of Central and Keystone celebrating the return of, "Central City's Flash." Avoiding the parades, parties, and other celebrations of his return, Barry instead deeply contemplates why he is alive again. A visit to the Flash Museum and from his friend Hal Jordan is not enough to put his mind at ease as he runs off as the Flash. "I can't be late," he says. When asked by Hal late for what, Flash simply replies, "For whatever the rest of the world needs me for."

It is then revealed that Flash's mother was murdered when he was a child, and his father was arrested for the crime (this is pointedly contrary to the original, pre-Crisis Barry Allen stories, in which both his parents appear alive). Flash describes this as, "the only one open case I left behind." Before he can contemplate this any further, the speedster villain Savitar escapes the Speed Force through Flash and he gives chase. When Flash manages to put his hand on Savitar's shoulder, the villain screams in agony and crumbles into dust, not before telling Flash, "...You were the beginning, Allen...and you're the end." At that moment, Wally West, West's children Iris and Jai, Liberty Belle, Jay Garrick, and Kid Flash all experience painful convulsions and are engulfed in lightning. Shocked at what happened to Savitar, Flash asks himself, "What the hell did I just do?"

Barry's conflict with the speed cult culminates with the death of their new leader who was attempting to avenge Savitar's death. It causes pain once again to all the speedsters, though Wally West manages to catch a glimpse of Allen directly afterwards, and sees him as the new Black Flash. When he realizes that his presence could damage or kill other innocents, Barry flees back into the Speed Force, where he encounters old friends Johnny Quick and Max Mercury. Max attempts to tell Allen that his becoming the Black Flash is not his fault, and when Max and Barry are pulled into another pocket of the Speed Force, the real culprit reveals himself: Professor Zoom.

Zoom reveals the depth of his plan: after Barry briefly aided Kid Flash against Superboy-Prime during the Infinite Crisis, Thawne was able to send a subliminal pulse into the Speed Force to draw back what was left of Barry's self-awareness. This led to the hero's reappearance during the Final Crisis. Afterward, Zoom transformed himself into "a new kind of speedster and created his negative Speed Force to contaminate Barry and the other heroic speedsters. Before Barry can fight any further, Zoom fades away. Wally enters the Speed Force to retrieve his uncle, and after venturing deeper into the Speed Force, Max reveals to Barry that it was Allen himself who created the speedsters' source of power. Barry unknowingly did the same throughout his career to create the normal Speed Force. Meanwhile, Wally manages to reach Barry and Max, and the three begin their escape. As the heroic speedsters are recharged with energy, Barry, Wally, Jay, Max, and Bart charge towards Zoom.

The seven speedsters battle against Zoom, and despite being outnumbered, Zoom pulls Barry away. He reveals that everything horrible that happened to Barry's life, including the murder of Barry's mother, was caused by Zoom. He, then, decides to destroy everything by killing Barry's wife, Iris, before they even met.

Barry chases after Zoom, and is joined by Wally, who tells Barry to push as hard as he can to break the time barrier. Doing so, they reach Thawne, becoming the lightning bolt that turns Barry into the Flash as they are able to stop Zoom from killing Iris. As the two Flashes push Zoom back through time to the present, the two Flashes see that the Justice League, the Justice Society, and the Outsiders have built a device specifically for Thawne. Barry tosses him in and activates the device, severing his connection to the negative Speed Force. The Flashes tie Zoom up to stop him from running. With the threat ended, everyone celebrates by welcoming Barry back and the speedsters in general. Later, Barry closes the case on his mother's death and opts to take all the other cold cases they had after his death. Barry spends some time with Iris before racing to Washington to celebrate his return with the Justice League, apologizing for being late.

Blackest Night

Main article: Blackest Night

Barry Allen as a member of the Blue Lantern Corps during the Blackest Night event. Cover art to Blackest Night: The Flash #3 by Scott Kolins.

Barry Allen is one of the main characters in Blackest Night alongside Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern. Allen appears alongside Hal Jordan in the Free Comic Book Day issue Blackest Night #0 that acts as a prologue to the July company crossover.

At the grave of Bruce Wayne in Gotham City, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen reflect on Batman's death and how the hero community is avoiding linking Wayne and Batman.

This reflection turns to the pair looking at their own deaths, comparing the sadness that Barry's death engendered in others while Hal's death produced anger. Hal sums it up by telling Barry, "I died a sinner. You died a saint." The conversation moves on to the world becoming "more dangerous" after Barry's death and observing that the deaths of Arthur Curry and Martian Manhunter cost the Justice League its "heart and soul". As they leave the cemetery, Barry expresses hope that their dead comrades will be returned to them. He specifically cites Batman noting, "If there's an escape, you can bet Batman's already planning it."

Barry also appears alongside Hal in the July issues of Green Lantern tying into the event. Recently, in a fight with Black Lantern J'onn J'onzz, he found a mysterious black residue at Bruce Wayne's grave-a black form coagulating much like blood that started corrupting him by partly decaying his skin and muscle during the fight against his former friend, who is intent on killing both Hal and Barry, seeing how they both died, and in the eyes of the Black Lanterns, must return to that state to keep the universe in balance.

After fighting off the undead Martian and the subsequent Black Lanterns with Hal and the arriving Atom, Mera, Firestorm, and two of the Indigo Tribe members, Barry, along with Wally and Bart, races across the globe to warn every superhero community across the planet. His message also inadvertently warns the Rogues. They all realize that their deceased members would come after them and decide to strike first at Iron Heights Penitentiary, unaware that the undead Rogues are ready for them. While doing so, Barry meets a Black Lantern version of Professor Zoom for a brief battle. Barry decides to go to Gorilla City to seek aid from its ruler Solovar, unaware the gorilla leader had been killed years before. Finding the city attacked, Barry assumed Grodd had struck only to be horrified to learn Solovar was now a Black Lantern. Their fight was shortened by Barry racing to Coast City.

He stops at the city's memorial, where he witnesses the arrival of the Black Lanterns' demonic lord, Nekron, and his disciples Scar and Black Hand. The Justice League, the Titans, Wally, and Bart arrive to aid Barry to take a stand against Nekron. However, Nekron reveals however that all the resurrected heroes are tied to him, because he allowed them to rise again. As such they belong to him. Nekron then used a series of black rings to turn Superman, Green Arrow, Bart, and several other resurrected heroes into Black Lanterns. Barry and Hal find themselves being targeted by black rings and are forced to flee or risk joining the others as Black Lanterns. Barry manages to save himself and Hal through time travel two seconds forward, leaving the rings with no present targets. As Barry and Hal rejoin the heroes against Nekron and his army, Ganthet, one of the Guardians of the Universe and a leader of the Blue Lantern Corps, summons a blue power ring and Barry is chosen as a Blue Lantern so he would be more effective during the battle.

After being chosen as a Blue Lantern, Barry joins forces with the veteran Blue Corps member Saint Walker to continue battling the Black Lanterns alongside the understanding of the potentials and limitations of his new power ring. During the battle, Barry is forced to fight his own grandson, who his ring detects is still alive but would eventually die if not free from the black ring soon. Barry is shown to be skilled with his ring in creating energy constructs based on his imagination and an ability of flight (possibly because of the understanding with his friend Hal Jordan's ring), as he is able to create images of Bart as Impulse and Kid Flash against him in order to make him feel again. Barry's plan almost works as Bart reacts to the images of his past and the constructs begin to attempt to take the black ring from him, but later is interrupted by the Black Lantern Professor Zoom and Solovar. Wally and Walker later join Barry to fight against them. Barry and Bart temporarily joined the White Lantern Corps during the final events of Blackest Night.

The Flash Volume 3

Main article: The Flash (comic book) § Volume 3 (2010-Current)

Variant incentive cover to The Flash (vol. 3) #1 (April 2010) Art by Tony Harris.

The new Flash series begins after the completion of Blackest Night and starts in line with Brightest Day. After the events of The Flash: Rebirth, Barry Allen is reintegrating himself into life in Central City. Under the cover of having been in witness protection, Allen returns to the Central City Police Department's crime lab and returns to the streets as the Flash. While readjusting to life as the Flash, a man appears out of thin air in the costume of Flash rogue the Mirror Master, and promptly dies on the street.

When Barry arrives on the scene and investigates the body, he sees the man is neither original Mirror Master Sam Scudder, or the current Rogue, Evan McCulloch. Hearing of another portal appearing, Barry transforms into the Flash and runs to investigate. When he arrives, a group of people in costumes similar to the Rogues, called The Renegades appear and tell Barry that they are a crew from the 25th century, and that he is under arrest for murdering the "Mirror Monarch." Barry tells the crew that he hasn't killed anyone, to which their apparent leader, "Commander Cold," tells him, "Not yet. But you will."

After a brief struggle, the Renegades are forced to retreat but accidentally destroy an apartment building in their jump back to the 25th century. Barry saves everyone in the building, even going on to rebuild the building in minutes, and goes on to search for the true killer of Mirror Monarch. Before he can get very far, however, he's attacked again by the Renegades, but only before Captain Boomerang shows up, now wielding explosive energy boomerangs. Boomerang fights both the Flash and the Renegades, and a confused Top (one of the Renegades from the 25th century) questions his teammates on whether or not Barry Allen is the man they are looking for, pointing out that in their timeline, Boomerang never showed up.

The Renegades finally corner Captain Boomerang when the Rogues arrive with a giant mirror left by the previous Mirror Master that says "In Case The Flash Returns Break Glass." An all out brawl ensues as the Rogues battle the Renegades. Meanwhile Flash is confronted by Top who warns him that the reason he will eventually kill Mirror Monarch is because of Iris's death, which he claims will be caused when the giant mirror breaks, releasing the Mirror Lords. Top tells Barry that one of the Mirror Lords will possess Iris and take her away from him. Barry races to stop the mirror from breaking, with Top at his side. However, when the White Lantern entity reaches out to Captain Boomerang, telling him to "Throw the Boomerang", Boomerang responds by throwing dozens of boomerangs in every direction. One of them hits the glass and it begins to break. Top tells Flash to stop the Mirror Lords, while he goes and protects Iris. Flash questions, "This doesn't make any sense," but Top throws him into the mirror and flees.

In the mirror, Flash is exposed to strange visions of his mother in a hallucinogenic state. Outside, the Rogue Mirror Master tells the others that the mirror is actually a slow acting poison and they flee. Barry escapes the mirror confused and asks, "Where are the Mirror Lords?" He's then arrested by the Renegades, now realizing that this was all a setup by Top to frame the Flash for his own personal gains. Barry is transported to a 25th century court, while Top confronts Iris saying, "I'm going to need that evidence, over your dead body."

The story concludes with Barry escaping the 25th century court and going after Top. Top reveals that the reason for all of his crimes is because Barry reopened a previously closed case. Barry felt that the person convicted was actually innocent. The person who is actually guilty of the crime is one of Top's ancestors. Top reveals that they do not allow anyone in the Renegades who has any ancestors with a criminal record. The Flash is able to beat Top, and convict the right man for murder, letting go the innocent man who was sent to prison. Afterward, the 25th century court and the Renegades go over the facts, realizing that the Flash was right and that their entire record of history is wrong. This alludes to the upcoming Flash event, Flashpoint. Meanwhile, a man on a Speed Force-powered motorcycle (later revealed to be a Speed Force police officer under the name of Hot Pursuit) moves through the desert and says that if Barry does not find the flashpoint, it will destroy the world. As he continues through the desert, Speed Force lightning strikes in the distance.

In a Green Lantern storyline, Barry becomes the latest host for the embodiment of fear, Parallax, after he joins Hal Jordan's quest of locating all of the entities who each represent aspects of the power of the emotional spectrum. Barry was susceptible to the entity's attacks due to his fear for Jordan's safety. Barry is eventually freed after the embodiment of compassion, Proselyte, helps him remember his capability for benevolence over his fear.

DC has also announced via the Flashpoint Friday Blog that Flash #12 will be the last in the series despite a thirteenth issue originally having been announced for sale on May 25 2011, but which has since been withdrawn.

Powers and abilities

Barry Allen is capable of running faster than the speed of light and, at times during the Silver Age, described as faster than the speed of thought. In Flash #150, "straining every muscle," he ran at ten times the speed of light. However, when he pushed himself further (during the Crisis on Infinite Earths) he appeared to waste away as he was converted into pure energy, traveled back in time, and was revealed in Secret Origins Annual #2 to be the very bolt of lightning that gave him his powers. This was later retconned in The Flash: Rebirth #1, where Barry stated that he "ran into the Speed Force," and that, "When [he] stopped the Anti-Monitor, when [he] ran into the 'Speed Force' and joined it, it was like shedding [his] identity."

Barry Allen possesses abilities that Jay Garrick has not always been able to duplicate, most notably the ability to "vibrate" in such a way as to pass through solid matter. Allen has regularly engaged in time travel using the Cosmic Treadmill device (he no longer needs this to conduct this feat), and is able to "vibrate" between dimensions. Barry is unique among Flashes and most characters in the DC Universe in that he has complete control over every molecule in his body. In Grant Morrison's Final Crisis, using the Speed Force, Allen was able to undo the effects of the Anti-Life Equation upon an individual: an ability he used on his wife Iris to free her from the bondage of Darkseid's mind control. He has recently been revealed to not only be connected to the Speed Force, but is the very source of it, generating it with every step he takes. As such, he presumably has some of the Speed Force-related abilities other speedsters have demonstrated (such as lending and stealing speed), though he has yet to demonstrate such abilities. This alone is enough to make him one of the most powerful beings on Earth, and perhaps in existence. He is also immune to telepathic attacks and control, as he can shift his thoughts at a speed faster than normal thought. He used this tactic against Black Lantern Martian Manhunter in Blackest Night. Through "speed-reading" Barry can absorb large amounts of information into his short-term memory, which remain in his mind just long enough for him to make use of it. Using this technique, Barry was able to learn enough about building work to rebuild a destroyed apartment building.

Rogues gallery

Main article: Rogues (comics)

The Flash has acquired a colorful rogues gallery of villains. Their number includes (but is not limited to) several who formed a loose association and refer to themselves as the Rogues, disdaining the use of the term "supervillain" or "super-criminal". These criminals typically have unusually modest goals for their power level (robbery or other petty crimes), and each have adopted a specific theme in his or her equipment and methods.

Other versions

• Barry Allen is a supporting character in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Strikes Again. He's been kept by Lex Luthor as a power source for most of the East Coast, constantly running on a treadmill to provide cheap electrical power or Iris will be executed. After being rescued, Barry wears a black version of his original Flash costume which Batman's young assistants deemed as "old" — "Kids, these days, can't tell the difference between just plain old and classic", he mutters. He then aids Batman and other heroes in restoring order, though they clash when Barry wants to save people in danger while Batman is prepared to let them die for the sake of his long-term strategy.

• Barry Allen also stars in JLA: Age of Wonder as a scientist working with Superman and a consortium of early twentieth-century scientists such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. The uniform incorporates the Silver Age look with the Mercury-style helmet worn by Jay Garrick.

• Other Elseworld appearances include: League of Justice, a Lord of the Rings-type story, where the character is recast as "Phaeton," who wears a mystical brooch resembling Flash's lightning-bolt chest emblem, and has bathed in dragon's blood in order to protect himself from speed friction; and Batman: Holy Terror, where he is one of a number of metahumans imprisoned by a theocratic state, and is killed when his captor deactivates the aura that protects him from friction.

"Buried Alien"

• A story in the Marvel comic book series Quasar, written four years after Crisis on Infinite Earths, has the Marvel Universe speedsters facing off in a competition set up by a being called the Runner. The contest is a race from the Earth to the Moon. During the race, a surge of energy hits the track, leaving a being with blonde hair and dressed in the remains of a red outfit with yellow boots. This being has no memory, but an enormous desire to run. He goes on to win the race, passing Marvel speedsters such as Quicksilver and Speed Demon in the process. When asked what his name is, the man replies, "I don't know... Buried Alien, or something like that." When asked how it felt to be the fastest man alive, he replied, "It feels... right!" The racer goes on to take the name Fast-Forward, disappearing into the universe in an attempt to help Makkari, who is stuck at hyper speed.

• In the Elseworlds tale Superman & Batman: Generations, Barry's life is still the same, but heroes age in real time. This reality shows no sign of the Crisis ever happening, so an elderly Barry is seen to be alive and well in 2008.

• The Elseworlds story Flashpoint shows an alternate reality where Barry Allen becomes the Flash in 1956, the year he first appeared in comics. He is more involved in government affairs. By 1963, he has ended the Cold War and pushed the communists out of Vietnam. However, his career is cut short as he takes a bullet aimed at John F. Kennedy. He is paralyzed from the neck down, but he still has the fastest mind on Earth and forms Allen Industries. By 1988, he and Vandal Savage's Immortality, Inc. have begun an exploration of Mars. In 1998, Wally West leads an expedition to Mars, during which he finds the flashpoint, an object which killed all life on Mars. Savage reveals his true colors as the one who shot Allen. Barry makes contact with Wally, who is going on a super speed rampage. Barry is cured and defeats Savage. He then enters the flashpoint, going into the Speed Force.

• In The Flash Annual #7, an alternate universe is shown where shortly after Wally West became Kid Flash, he became a superstar celebrity. However, Barry was tragically killed while battling Captain Cold. Ten years later, Wally is now a paraplegic and Captain Cold has written a supposedly "true" story about Barry that paints him as arrogant and incompetent. Wally decides to make a movie about his mentor that portrays the genuine Barry Allen. The resulting film is a success.

• Recently the Barry Allen of Earth-51, where secret identities are no longer needed by superheroes, is seen alive. He is subsequently killed by the Monitor of New Earth.

• In JLA: The Nail a version of Barry Allen is a member of a Justice League where Superman didn't become a hero and join the team until much later. In lieu of Superboy's adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Flash visited the 30th Century instead. Barry Allen of The Nail is almost identical to the pre-Crisis Earth-1 version, except that his costume resembles Wally's. His most prominent scene in the story is a confrontation with Amazo where he manages to defeat the android by turning intangible and removing his computerized brain before Amazo can process and mimic that attack.

• In JLA/Avengers Barry Allen appears in issue 3 as the Flash in the JLA. When the two teams see their real futures, Barry witnesses his death during Crisis on Infinite Earths, but nevertheless resolves to help restore the timeline as it is not his place to play God. He helps the team get into Krona's base by using his running to pass the ship through the dimensional barrier, although the method of doing so baffles Iron Man as the physics of the strategy would not have worked in the Marvel Universe. During the final battle, Barry saves Hawkeye from being killed, but both of them are blasted and apparently killed. However, at the end, it is revealed that Barry got the two of them out alive and because of this, Hawkeye is able to destroy Krona's machine. Then, Barry disappears and Wally returns.

In other media

Animation

• He had some adventures in the rotating series of superheroes cartoons included in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, with Kid Flash. He also was a founding member of the Justice League of America along with Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom.

• He also appeared in Super Friends to help fellow Justice Leaguer Superman. JLA members Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman eventually joined forces with Superman and the rest of the Super Friends in Super Friends, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Super Friends, Super Friends, and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians where he was an important member of the superteam.

• Barry Allen never officially appears in the DCAU series of animated projects by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini. However, a police detective in the Justice League episode "The Brave and the Bold" has a passing resemblance to Barry Allen, acting as the "good cop" during the Flash's interrogation. In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance", the Wally West Flash mentions his uncle "flying in" to attend the dedication of a Flash Museum, an apparent reference to Barry. There is also another character on the same episode, who is Wally's teacher at the forensic lab, that bears a strange resemblance to Barry. All though the series' Flash is Wally West in name and likeness; he has many of Barry Allen's story elements, such as his origin, job, city, foes, and status as being the first scarlet speedster and co-founding the Justice League. In part 1 of the episode "The Brave and the Bold" when the Flash goes into a comatose state he has some strange dreams; in one he has gained so much weight that he is too fat to run, a homage to the Silver Age issue of The Flash #115, and in another he has a giant head, a nod to another Silver Age comic, The Flash #177.

• He made a cameo appearance in "The Joining, Part Two", the season 4 finale of The Batman. He also appeared in the season 5 episode "A Mirror Darkly", portrayed by voice actor Charlie Schlatter, who reprised his role as the Flash from Superman: The Animated Series. Producer Alan Burnett said that while Flash had no distinct identity in the episodes, he considered this particular Flash to be Barry Allen.

• Barry Allen is featured in Batman: The Brave and the Bold voiced by Alan Tudyk. In "Sidekicks Assemble!", he made a cameo with the other Justice League members when an asteroid threatens Earth. In "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!", he was thought dead when he was pursuing Professor Zoom, only to be found in another time period which Zoom had conquered. With help from Jay Garrick, Kid Flash (Wally West), and Batman, he defeats Zoom and returns to his original time period.

• Barry Allen appears in the Young Justice animated series as a member of the JLA and Kid Flash's mentor. He is voiced by George Eads. He is shown wearing Wally's costume rather than his original Silver Age outfit.

Live-action

• Actor Rod Haase appeared as Barry Allen's Flash in 1979's two-part special, Legends of the Superheroes.

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DVD Box Art for The Flash: The Complete Series

• Barry Allen was the Flash in the 1990s Flash live-action TV series, although this character incorporated elements of Wally's social life, as well as previously non-existent characters such as a brother and nephew. He was played by John Wesley Shipp. This version of the Flash reaches maximum speed upon breaking the sound barrier, at which point he has to stop to rest. CBS originally wanted to cast Jack Coleman, who declined the role to pursue a career in Broadway. Incidentally, Coleman went on to play a different hero, Noah Bennet on NBC's Heroes.

• The unsuccessful 1997 Justice League of America pilot featured actor Kenny Johnston as a 20-something, unemployed, Barry Allen.

• The fifth episode of season 4 of Smallville, entitled "Run", featured speedster Bart Allen (Impulse). He is portrayed as a self-centered teenager who uses his powers for personal gain, (including the Flash logo on his rucksack) although by the end of the episode, he was showing signs of changing his ways. Bart also carries around identification of Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, three Flashes in the main DC Universe. In season 6, episode 11 ("Justice") he is working with Green Arrow, Cyborg, and Aquaman to bring down Lex Luthor's plans of experimenting on "meteor freaks". He is also in the season 8 finale of the show entitled "Doomsday".

• The Flash appeared in the off-Broadway musical DCOX RULES and starred Jeffrey Hammond as the Flash.

Film

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Flash (Barry Allen) in Justice League: The New Frontier.

• Barry Allen stars in the 1997 live action TV pilot Justice League of America. He is played by Kenny Johnston. The pilot never aired in the US, but did in other countries.

• Barry Allen appears in the animated adaptation of a Darwyn Cooke graphic novel entitled Justice League: The New Frontier voiced by Neil Patrick Harris.

• Barry Allen will be the main character in the live-action movie version of The Flash.

Video games

• Barry Allen is the Flash in the crossover video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe voiced by Taliesin Jaffe. He appears in a variant of his current costume. Although the character model contains green eyes, normally a sign of Wally West, as well as the dual lightning bolt belt (instead of Allen's single bolt belt), which is associated with West's, the game's "Bios" section confirms that it is indeed Allen. In Flash's ending, Flash discovered that he had retained a psychic bond with the warrior Liu Kang as a result of his aura attunement. The two agreed to warn each other of any cross universal breaches. It wasn't long before Liu Kang appeared and warned the Flash about the impending attack by the sorcerer Quan Chi.
• Barry Allen appears as the Flash in the 2011 MMOG DC Universe Online, voiced by Dwight Schultz. In the exclusive "Who do you trust" trailer, he appears to be taking an order from Batman, and runs upon being told. While running, he stops to see Hal Jordan about to get killed by Black Adam. He runs there to save Hal. Before he can, though, Black Adam sets off an explosion that kills Barry, Hal, and other heroes.

Music

"Ballad of Barry Allen" - A song by the band Jim's Big Ego on their album, They're Everywhere. The song portrays Barry as a tragic character, whose perception of the world is so accelerated that all of reality appears to proceed at a snail's pace, causing him to gradually slip into depression. The band's frontman, Jim Infantino, is the nephew of Flash co-creator Carmine Infantino, who provided the cover art for the same album.

Mentions and references in media

• In the 2008 pilot episode of The Middleman, Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales) mentions The Flash as one of her favorite comics. When the Middleman, her soon-to-be boss asks, "Barry Allen or Wally West?". Wendy simply replies, "Do you want me to leave?" Left unanswered is which of the two she does prefer.

• In the movie Catch Me If You Can, Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) uses the name Barry Allen from the Flash comic book as one of his aliases in the film. The fact that he uses the name of a comic book character leads Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) to believe that Abagnale is much younger than he had previously thought. He also had some Flash comic books in his room when his father woke him up to get the suit.

• In the TV series The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper dressed up as Flash in two of the episodes.

External links

• Alan Kistler's Profile On: The Flash - An analysis of the history of the Flash by comic book historian Alan Kistler.
• The Flash: Those Who Ride The Lightning - Fan site with information about the super-speed characters of the DC Universe.