Question about the Flash

[Sugar Daddy]

I heard about two different people being the flash, barry allen and wally west. can someone please explain to me how this came about, as i though there is only 1. and which 1 is in the jl show on cn? im assuming that the only way to find out is checking cn's site, which im gonna do, but im wondering if there are any other clues

[Karkull]

This one's pretty easy: in the comics Barry Allen is the "original" Flash (also known as the Silver Age Flash) and Wally West was introduced as Kid Flash. When Barry died in 1985 (during the confusing Crisis on Infinite Earths) Wally West claimed his mantle.

There's also a Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) who was from an alternate reality (until Crisis, which merged his with the Silver Age one), so there is really three Flashes, not counting future versions of the Flash. It's all nice and confusing.

[Memphis Bleek]

The Flash that is feature on the show is Wally West. The other flash you mentioned would be Barry Allen. Barry Allen was the Silver Age Flash. Wally West was Barry Allen's sidekick and was name kid flash. Barry Allen died during Crisis of Infinite Earths and Wally West became the Flash. There was also another Flash name Jay Garrick. Jay Garrick was Golden Age Flash. Jay Garrick is currently a member JSA. I hope this answer your question.

[Sugar Daddy]

big thanks, it explains a lot

[Ed Liu]

Howdy all,

Just some extra clarifications on the whole "Flash" situation.

The first Flash in the DC Comics world was Jay Garrick, who was also a founding member of the Justice Society of America along with Alan Scott/Green Lantern and Carter Hall/Hawkman. These are the heroes usually referred to as the "Golden Age" heroes, and Senator Jay Alan Carter in the JL is probably a tribute to these 3 heroes.

At one point in their history, DC re-launched a number of their costumed heroes, giving them similar names but updated powers and costumes. The new, "Silver Age" Flash was Barry Allen, who eventually picked up a teenage sidekick named Wally West, who was the Kid Flash. Most of DC's heroes, other than Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, all got re-workings at this point.

Here's where stuff gets complicated. One of the classic stories in the Silver Age had Barry Allen breaking some dimensional barrier and meeting Jay Garrick, where he encountered heroes with the same names but different powers and abilities. Barry dubbed his world "Earth-1," and Jay Garrick's world "Earth-2," and the Flash teamup became an annual occurrence. This was also how they explained how there could be 2 different Green Lanterns, 2 Hawkmen, etc.

Unfortunately, DC decided that if 2 Earths was good, more would be better, and proceeded to pollute the comics timestream with another 4 or 5 alternate Earths. This resulted in some seriously messy timelines, and a hopelessly convoluted continuity.

As a result, George Perez launched a maxi-series in the mid-80's called Crisis on Infinite Earths, with the end result that there would be one Earth and one definitive history. Two of the most notable casualties of Crisis were Supergirl, who I believe was killed in battle, and Barry Allen, who sacrificed himself to save the universe. Wally West then inherited the mantle of the Flash, and Barry Allen became the rough equivalent of a saint to the DC heroes gallery.

Since the Crisis, I believe both Jay Garrick AND Barry Allen have made re-appearances in the DC Universe, but Wally still often makes references to Barry in the comics, and about how hard it is to live up to his name. The comments are hard to understand without the extra context.

-- Ed/Ace

[Sugar Daddy]

*claps* that was cool, thanks

[Joe Tully]

During a battle, Barry merged with the speed force, which is the source of the speedsters' powers. He is apparently dead. A useful page on Barry is at http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/barry.html

You can also look up info on the other speedsters at that site, which is an excellent resource of Flash-related info. As was already mentioned, the original Flash, Jay Garrick, is still alive. He is a member of the JSA and a supporting character in the Flash comics.

[Eldermount]

Originally posted by Ace the Bathound
{snip}
As a result, George Perez launched a maxi-series in the mid-80's called Crisis on Infinite Earths, with the end result that there would be one Earth and one definitive history.
{snip}
Actually it was Marv Wolfman. George Perez was the illustrator for Crisis on Infinite Earths.