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15 Reasons Why Wally West is the “Fastest Man Alive” Not Barry Allen

Ever since CW brought us the Flash TV show, the character has created a crazy fan base. The show made the character so popular and easily one of the favorite DC characters of the fans. It introduced so many characters from the Flash comic lore and made them a household name.

One of those big characters introduced on the show was Wally West aka Kid Flash. He may not have been given the center stage on the show yet, but in the comics, he has proven to be much better than Barry many times. Here are the reasons why Wally is a Superior speedster to Barry Allen.

Infinite Mass Punch

The Punch was made famous by Barry Allen in The CW Show but in the comics, it was Wally who invented it. Wally runs so fast that his body breaks light speed, increasing his mass to infinite times and the resulting punch is earth-shattering. It is said that the force of the punch is equivalent to that of a dwarf star. The punch can knock the brains out of major supervillains in DC universe. It is due to Wally’s unique body chemistry that he can endure the impact of such enormous speed.

Close Combat Skills

Barry Allen uses speed force tricks like speed mirages, short-term time travel and handmade vortices and tornadoes to take down his opponents. If you take away Barry’s speed powers, he can be beaten by a street criminal. So, in a way, he is totally dependent on his gifted abilities and never improvises.

On the other hand, Wally, owing to his natural athletic ability, can kick and punch and do all those things Barry does like a fluid martial artist. Wally may not be the best fighter when it comes to hand to hand combat, but he can use those abilities when he absolutely has to.

Mechanical Aptitude

Believe it or not, Wally is smarter than Barry. With the speed force, both speedsters can speed read to understand anything but Wally has such an uncanny talent to understand the technology that it is borderline superhuman. Wally’s understanding of advanced technology is a human talent and is not linked to his connection to speed force. Barry’s interest lies in chemistry, forensics, and that kinda stuff.

Can time travel without the Cosmic Treadmill

Wally West was the first to discover that he can time travel without the use of the treadmill. In the comics, Barry needs the Cosmic Treadmill to zoom through time while all Wally needs to do is to run like hell. Barry requires super speed and cosmic rays to be able to jump through time and that after specific adjustments are made. There is one cosmic treadmill in Star Labs in both comics and CW series. Wally can travel beyond light speeds and zoom through time cycle as if he is in a fast forward mode.

Can travel between dimensions using the Speed Force

The Speed Force is a nexus of all dimensions. While Speedsters can tap into its power, Wally is the only one who can use it to skirt through dimensions. Barry Allen needs a portal for inter dimensional travel. Wally doesn’t. In Flash season 2, we saw Barry Allen travelling across dimensions using wormholes, not by his own speed. Wally can indulge in inter-dimensional travel at his will, this is a unique power that only a rare breed of speedsters have perfected, another one is Reverse Flash. There are DC comic-book characters who either use portals or even magic to travel across dimensions.

He is actually a lot faster

The recent CW Show just showed a fraction of the difference between Wally and Barry’s speedster powers. Wally’s connection to the speed force is so strong that as he increases his speed, he gains more mastery over the Speed Force. If he indeed chose to use his full potential, he can beat Flash by a mile. DC comics have evolved and with the new version of Barry, it is difficult to say that Wally can run faster than him. But pre-crisis Wally was certainly smarter and faster than pre-crisis Barry.

Has a rare and direct connection to the Speed Force

Barry Allen is the creator of Speed force which speedsters all over the multi-verse tap into for their sustenance. But Wally’s connection is more direct and hence unique as compared to other speedsters. When Wally went into the Speed Force to save Linda Park, he emerged with an array of new abilities. Wally’s connection to the Speed Force cannot be cut off and he can siphon of energy from the dimension to survive in even the most inhospitable of environments.

Heal others and restore memories

After Flash Rebirth, Wally returns to the mainstream DC Universe with a new ability. Anyone he touches could have their lost memories restored. Post Flashpoint, he was effectively erased from the timeline, but he still managed to bring old memories back into their minds. He has even used his speed force powers to heal Jesse Quick of her injuries in the past.

Create Solid Constructs of pure Speed Force Energy

Wally can use the Speed Force energy running through his veins to literally create the suit out of thin air. He can even manipulate the suit to give it armor or make emergency pockets but it takes a lot of concentration. He can literally construct objects out of pure energy. It would appear to be a huge talent but it has limited applications during a battle not because weapon ain’t useful but it requires massive amounts of concentration to produce a weapon.

Can survive without food, water or air for an eternity

Wally does not need sustenance or even air to survive. His connection to the speed force is all he needs. When in outer space, Wally can just use the Speed Force to provide him with all the energy he needs to live. Air, Water and Food are no more a requirement for this guy.

Fix the New 52 timeline

The New 52 timeline rebooted DC and introduced a lot of nonsensical plot elements while subtracting major fan favorite characters from the mainstream DC Universe. .Wally is the guy who fixed this godforsaken timeline and made it into something so beautiful.  He singlehandedly saved DC Comics!!

Lend his speed to objects and people

If a speedster wants to pull a person or object away from something, he/she needs to physically touch them and remove them from the way. Wally on the other hand, can just lend his speed temporarily to people and objects and let them do the running themselves.

Take away the speed of objects and People

Similar to his ability to lend his speed to others, Wally can reverse it and steal the speed of other people and objects. He, at one time, used this ability to stop the entire planet to a standstill. Although, Flash can steal speed of others but mostly they are speedsters. We don’t remember him stealing speed of an object to his advantage. The only two persons this ability cannot work on are Barry Allen (as he is the Speed Force) and Professor Zoom (as he relies on the Negative Speed Force).

He can fly

Wally’s connection to the speed force is best described as a quantum phenomenon, meaning it has a variety of applications and is extremely malleable. Wally can direct his molecular energy and use it as a thrust to fly high but he seldom uses it. Wally could tap speed-force to literally fly, but Barry Allen can best run on clouds with specific properties but he can’t run on air or fly.

He has outrun Death

wally west barry allen

Black Flash is the personification of Death for Speedsters in the DC Universe. Wally West has managed to outrun the guy, chasing him to the end of space and time and into the next universe. When Black Flash came for Wally West, it proved to be an unsuccessful mission which led to Linda Park (then Wally’s girlfriend) brought into the speed force. It tried one more time but this time, time froze and Max Mercury, Jay Garrick & Jesse Quick were able to aid Wally in the battle. That is Wally West for ya!!!

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Bibhu Prasad

Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just... do things
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