Barry Allen is said to be the fastest man alive, but every now and then a new speedster comes in and proves to be much faster than him, which turns out to be a motivating factor for Barry that allows him to improve and eventually beat that particular Speedster. Throughout the fast run of the Flash, Speedsters like Zoom, Reverse Flash, Savitar, Trajectory, Rival and many more have come up, challenging Barry, making him stronger than before. Well in the new rebirth run, that Challenger has been none other than his old sidekick Wally West.
Wally started off as a sidekick to Barry, and he became Kid Flash under the mentorship of the Flash. Now in the new Rebirth Run of DC, Wally has taken up the mantle of the Flash, and now two Flashes exist at once. We know that the Barry has had more experience and practice being a Speedster, but with his mentorship, Wally became fast very swiftly and he, in fact, came close to being as fast as Barry in no time.
Recently, the question to whether The Flash is faster than Superman was answered by the comics. Barry Allen and Wally West engaged in a high-speed chase that threatens to destroy the Earth in the attest edition of The Flash #49. Their hustle brings about shockwaves through The Speed Force that starts to affect the real world. In order to stop all this and prevent Amanda Waller and ARGUS from enacting a lethal sanction against them, the Teen Titans and the Justice League step in to halt the two Speedsters.
So as we all would expect, the Man of Steel tried to step into the action as he flew after the two speedsters, but to the big surprise for everyone, he returned to his allies and the ARGUS group out of breath and panting, having to take a moment to compose himself before he can speak. For the very first time, we got to see Sups in a mess with his face all flushed and sweaty and his hair disheveled as he mentioned that he was unable to get close enough to The Flashes for them to hear him and admits that he couldn’t catch up to them.
This not only proved that Superman is significantly slower than the Flash, but it also showed us that he is way slower than Wally West as well. So now the only question that remains intact is that who among Barry and Wally is faster. Well, not for long! DC comics have also given us this answer in the latest issue of The Flash.
In the last few issues, the Flash War has been creating catastrophes and it also brought in Zoom as the new Flash who now has more powers than a regular speedster does. In the new issue, Zoom broke the Time Barrier and then he was being chased by Barry and Wally. Since Zoom is now more powerful than ever, the two Scarlet Speedsters who usually claim to be the fastest men alive were finding it really hard to catch up with Hunter Zolomon. None of the two knew that the answer to being able to catch him lies in a moment from their past.
Right after this moment, Barry goes into flashback recalling a race between him and Wally that happened in the past and Wally became the one to be the winner because of his ability to tap into the Speed Force on a pure and primal level. So, Barry actually confirms that Wally is faster than him by saying:
“I was always so lost in the science of the speed force that I’d miss out on having fun and just cutting loose. But you always knew how to enjoy the speed…and the day we raced, that was how you won. And now you need to remember…you’re Wally West…and you’re the fastest man alive!”
This may actually be disheartening for the fans of the two cinematic Flashes as Barry has finally been proven to not be the fastest man alive as Wally West who used to be Kid Flash has now earned the right to be called that. But you guys don’t need to worry as in a fight, Barry would always emerge victorious as all this confirms is that Wally is the superior speedster in just terms of speed, Barry has superior experience and scientific prowess. Well, Barry also confessed that:
“My name is Barry Allen…I’m not the fastest man alive. Not anymore.”
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