5 Things You May Not Know About The Flash
The Flash over the years has become a man of many talents. Dubbed the Fastest Man Alive, The Flash can manipulate speed and time and also use lightning to his advantage. He has faced myriad different villains over the years with each one putting his abilities to the test.
Despite the fact The Flash has existed for over 80 years there is still so much the general audience and casual readers may not know about the character.
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5. Jay Garrick Was The First Flash
If you ask many people they may tell you about growing up with Barry Allen and Wally West but neither of those two was the original man to first use the moniker of The Flash. That title belongs to Jason “Jay” Garrick who will forever be immortalized as the original speedster for DC comics. Jay has had a tremendous legacy over the years even if he has been somewhat forgotten due to the fan favorites in Barry and Wally.
4. The True Fastest Man Alive
So one thing that seems to follow The Flash wherever he goes is the title of the Fastest Man Alive but truly there can only be one definitive fastest person alive. That title belongs to Wally West who has outrun Barry Allen in continuity several times and proven to be the fastest man alive. Wally took up the mantle in 1985 and had a solid run after Barry in the titular role after serving as Kid Flash for many years before that. It has also been proven that while Wally is the fastest man alive, Barry Allen is also canonically faster than Superman thus making Wally by definition faster as well.
3. Abilities
We all know that The Flash can run fast and change history in the blink of an eye but he has some rather cool abilities that only hardcore fans may know. He cannot have his mind read. Gorilla Grodd has tried but the mind of The Flash just like the rest of his body moves at a very fast pace leaving him impenetrable to even the most skilled mind readers. He is also very hard to attack in general with his ability to phase which allows the cells in his body to vibrate at such a high frequency that things just go right through him.
2. Speed Force
The reason why The Flash is so fast is his connection to what is known as the Speed Force which is essentially a connection to anything in time and space that provides him with his abilities. The Speed Force is more of a spiritual connection but also can pass down that connection to his kids and grandkids. We learn this with his grandson Bart Allen who is better known in the comics as Impulse who visits his family from the 30th century. The Speed Force allows speedsters to refuel, connect with their minds and powers better, and further understand just how delicate time and space truly are when being meddled with.
1. Defying Death
While Barry Allen did run so fast during Crisis on Infinite Earths that he disintegrated, it was later revealed that when he did so he became one with the Speed Force. It has also been shown that speedsters such as Barry Allen and Wally West have the power to outrun death by running so far into the future that they reach the end of the universe which means if nothing else exists then death will cease to chase. Now it was not addressed why The Flash did not cease to exist but the Black Flash, being an avatar of death, had nowhere to go and Wally West was able to elude death.
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