The Flash



Barry Allen was a police scientist who had a reputation for being very slow, deliberate, and frequently late. One night, a bolt of lightning crashed through the window of his lab and a wave of electrified chemicals washed over him. As a result, he found that he could achieve incredible speeds when running and had quickened reflexes. He dubbed himself the Flash (after his childhood hero, Jay Garrick, who was the first to carry the title) and became the protector Central City. Barry would ultimately give his life to protect the remnants of the multiverse in Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Since Allen's death others have taken up the mantle of the Flash, including his nephew Wally West and grandson Bart Allen.

Recommended Comics

 * Flash (V1987) #62-230
 * Flashing Back
 * Iron heights (read between #176 and #177)
 * Secret files and origins 2010
 * Volume 3 (Barry allen)
 * Flash of two worlds (flash v1 #123)
 * Crisis on infinite earths
 * Flash & green lantern : the brave and the bold
 * Flash #0 (Wally gets back in time to speak with is 10 year old self).
 * All-flash #1
 * Superman vs The Flash (Various)
 * Superman #199; Flash #175; World's Finest Comics #198-199; DC Comics Presents #1-2; Adventures of Superman #463; DC First: Flash/Superman
 * A collection of the greatest races between the Man of Steel and the Scarlet Speedster.


 * Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and The Bold (Mark Waid & Tom Peyer/Barry Kitson & Tom Grindberg)
 * DC brings you six unseen episodes from the lives of Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, ranging from their early team-ups to the darker times many years later. With guest apperances from Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, Kid Flash, Green Arrow, and the Guardians of the Universe, as well as a rogues gallery of villains (including Sinestro, Mirror Master, Black Hand and Star Sapphire), Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and The Bold captures the spirit of an era in the story of a unique - and unlikely - friendship.


 * The Flash: Year One: Born To Run (Mark Waid & Tom Peyer/Various)
 * Flash v2, #62-65; Flash Annual #8; Speed Force #1; Flash 80-Page Giant
 * Collects the moving ealry adventures of a one-time kid sidekick who would grow up to inherit one of the most famous names in comics history.


 * The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen (Mark Waid)
 * Flash v2, #74-79
 * When he was Kid Flash, Wally West looked upon Barry Allen as nearly perfect. Hero. Mentor. Icon. The Flash even sacrificed himself to save the universe. Now, Wally has taken on the mantle of the Flash, trying to live up to Barry's example... But what will happen when his mentor returns from the dead?


 * Impulse: Reckless Youth (Mark Waid)
 * Flash v2, #92-94; Impulse #1-6
 * From the pages of the increasingly popular Flash series comes Bart Allen, the grandson of Barry Allen, the original Flash. Bart was born in the 30th century and raised in a virtual-reality playpen where his super powers had no real consequences. Now, relocated to 20th-century Alabama where he must hone his abilities as the young hero, Impulse, Bart soon realizes that his reckless streak can lead to real trouble.


 * The Flash: Terminal Velocity (Mark Waid/Various)
 * Flash v2, #0, 95-100
 * As a result of the events in Zero Hour, Flash achieved the speed of light, and in so doing was flung headlong into an odyssey of self-discovery. He encountered, for the first time, the mysterious Speed Force, a strange energy that in time would cause him to transcend all previous limits, transforming Wally West into the quintessential fusion of humanity and velocity.


 * The Flash: Dead Heat (Mark Waid)
 * Flash v2, #108-111; Impulse #10-11
 * A maniac named Savitar attempts to take control of the Speed Force, the energy field that is the source of all speedsters' powers. Learning that each of his allies has lost their speed, the Flash rushes to take on this new menace. But when the Scarlet Speedster confronts Savitar, he learns that his enemy has diligently studied the Speed Force and can use it in ways that Flash never dreamed of. Up against a foe who is more than his equal, Flash's only chance of victory now lies in the desperate self-sacrifice of one of his dearest friends.


 * The Flash: Race Against Time! (Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn/Various)
 * Flash v2, #112-118
 * After his encounter with Savitar in Dead Heat, Wally West, finds himself lost in time. His only lifeline back home, cut. Now the fastest man alive must face incredible obstacles and unlikely odds in order to find his way home.
 * The Flash: Emergency Stop (Grant Morrison)
 * Flash v2, #130-133
 * The Flash: Still Life in the Fast Lane (Grant Morrison)
 * Flash v2, #134
 * The Flash: The Human Race (Grant Morrison)
 * Flash v2, #136-138
 * The Flash: The Human Race (Grant Morrison)
 * Flash v2, #136-138
 * Flash v2, #136-138


 * Flash v2, #139-141 'The Black Flash' (Mark Millar)
 * The Flash: Mercury Falling (Todd Dezago)
 * Impulse #62-67


 * Flash v2, #145-150 'Chain Lightning' (Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn/Paul Pelletier & Vince Russell)
 * Flash v2, #152-159 'The Dark Flash Saga' (Mark Waid & Brian Augustyn/Paul Pelletier & Vince Russell)
 * Flash v2, #164-225 (Geoff Johns/Various)
 * The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive: Lightning In A Bottle (Danny Bilson & Paul Demeo)
 * The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive #1-6


 * The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive: Full Throttle (Various)
 * The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive #7-13; All Flash #1


 * Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge (Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins)
 * At times, they've been laughed at, ridiculed and hunted – but the Flash's Rogues have had enough. Following their betrayal at the hands of Inertia and the events of JLA: Salvation Run, the villains decide to remind the world why they're not to be taken lightly.


 * Flash Rebirth (Geoff Johns/Ethan Van Sciver)
 * Blackest Night: The Flash (Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins)