Facts About The Flash:
The Flash is one of DC Comics’ most popular superheroes. As the man who has earned the title of the ‘Fastest Man Alive’, the Flash is a force to be reckoned with. There is a reason he is called the Scarlet Speedster. He is revered by his friends and feared by his enemies. After all these years of super-heroics, the Flash finally found his true calling after he was adapted to both the small screen world and the big screen world. The CW network, as well as the DCEU, has given us a lot of the speedster. But the Flash is not a character you would label as black and white. He too has shades of grey and dark secrets that DC comics would rather stay hidden. Presenting – 10 incredible facts about the Flash DC is not ready to let you know!!
1. There have been way too many superheroes to have held the title
The Flash is not one guy. It is actually a mantle for any speedster worth its salt taking. The first ever Flash was Jay Garrick – the golden age superhero who got his speed powers after inhaling gases from a hard-water experiment gone wrong. Jay Garrick was succeeded by Barry Allen, the most popular iteration that got his powers due to a combination of a weird mix of chemicals and a lightning strike. Wally West also got powers similarly, and he took over the role after Barry Allen died saving the universe. The latest speedster hero to become the Flash was Bart Allen, the 30th Century descendant of Barry Allen that hailed as the superhero Impulse for some time in the present timeline.
2. He is way, way faster than Superman
Who wins in a race – the Flash or Superman? It is a debate that has been going on for decades. The Man of Steel is faster than a speeding bullet, or so they say. The more yellow sun radiation he absorbs, the more powerful he becomes. This means that there is no limit to his speed as well, as long as he has access to solar radiation. But there is a catch – Superman, for all his powers, is still bound by the forces of physics. Friction is a thing for him and he can never let it slide. The Flash, on the other hand, is powered by the physics-defying Speed Force. And this gives the Flash a huge competitive edge. Do not for a second believe that Superman could defeat the Flash in a race.
3. He is responsible for DC’s current state of things
The Flash’s antics are the reason the New 52 timeline came into existence. It was the Flash that went back in time to stop his mother from being killed. The outcome was that the entire timeline changed into a grotesque and mutilated version of the former. The Flashpoint timeline would later give rise to the New 52 timeline, one of the most hated story arcs in the history of DC Comics. The after effects of the Flashpoint arc would lead to the Speed Force reverberating throughout the multi-verse like an echo, changing it forever. The fans still long for the good old days of classic DC comics. They will never get it again though. And you can all blame Barry Allen for that.
4. There is no limit to how fast the Flash can run
The comic books, the movies and even the TV show featuring him show that even the Flash has a limit to his speed. His access to the speed-force does grant him powers but he is not a God. In reality, that is not true. The Flash can actually outrun light. He has done it so many times in the comic books that we have lost count. The Flash also is not limited by the other barriers to speeding up – sound, time, dimensional and the Speed Force Barrier). The reason the Flash does not run so fast is that the surrounding environment will be utterly annihilated if he speeds up too much. This is why you see the Flash not going over Mach 10 in the comic books.
5. He has other abilities than just speed
The man we come to know and revere as the Flash is a man of many talents. Sure his access to the Speed Force makes him super-fast at catching bad guys and saving the kid from under the bus, but that is not all. The Flash has several other powers derived from the Speed Force. Several iterations of the Flash have shown that he can even control his musculature and his own body density. By vibrating his body, the Flash can achieve intangibility as well. He has a very fast healing factor too. And let us not forget the Infinite Mass Punch – his most destructive power yet. The ability to steal and borrow as well as gift speed to others is also worth mentioning.
6. His mind is special
And by special, we mean super-super special. Every speedster with access to the Speed Force also needs to have a mind that could keep up with the speed. Otherwise, it would be pretty pointless to run at super speed if you can’t think things through as quickly while making the run. The Flash’s mind can think and interpret at the speed of light. He has the power to observe things that happen for events less than a millionth of a second. He can also use this power to learn at superhuman rates. Couple that with his genius-level intellect and you get an instant, unstoppable genius. His super-fast thoughts also make him immune to telepaths, who can never read a mind that processes thoughts at the speed of light.
7. The Rogues are the nicest of Villains out there
The Flash’s primary villains are called the Rogues, a set of super-villains that usually end up going head to head with the Flash in his home town of Central City. But the Rogues are not like the classic villains from the caves of Batman or the fortress of Superman. They are different in the sense that they have a strict moral code – They will not harm children, women, and their own teammates and not kill superheroes. The code is enforced by Captain Cold, leader of the Rogues. It might seem noble of them but it is actually a logical step. The best way to grab the attention of the cops or the Justice League was to kill a cop or a superhero. Cold aka Leonard Snart is just stupid cold and calculating.
8. He has the weirdest gadget in all of the existence
After being accidentally flung through time during one of his adventures, Barry Allen decided to harness his time traveling component to his powers by using it to power a cosmically charged treadmill, called the Cosmic Treadmill. The treadmill allows Barry Allen to control the tachyons generated from his body when he runs too fast, creating a portal to other timelines as he so wishes. The gadget is a weird little thing and beats Batman’s utility belt and Superman’s fortress by a huge margin in terms of being strange and unique.
9. Every bad thing that has happened to him is because of Zoom
Hailing from the 24th Century, Zoom is a speedster villain that does not want to kill the Flash but to replace him. Zoom was fascinated by the Flash’s adventures and wanted to be him. So he used advanced technology to gift himself access to the Speed Force and went back in time start tormenting the Flash. Everything bad that has happened to the Flash – his dog dying, his traumatic experience of falling down the stairs, his mother’s death and his father being framed for the mother, the death of his first wife Iris West – it was all Zoom’s doing.
10. The Flash is a murderer
The Flash has a very strong moral compass. He is one of the nicest guys with an infallible character there could ever be. But there is a limit to how much a man can take, even the Flash. Eobard Thawne has been a constant source of pain and regret for the Flash. When Eobard killed Iris West, it took the Flash years to come out of the trauma. He tried to do the same thing to Fiona Webb, the Flash’s second wife. This time though, the Flash had had enough of Zoom and decided to end the latter’s life and the former’s own misery by snapping Reverse Flash’s neck, killing him.
