Barry Allen (DC)

Revision as of 09:09, 28 July 2020

Barry Allen as the Flash in Flash v4 #1.

Barry Allen is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origin

Barry Allen in Showcase v1 #4.

Barry Allen was the male son of Henry and Nora Allen where he lived in Central City. He became a police scientist with a reputation of being slow and typically late to work with this frustrating his fiancée Iris West. On one night, he was preparing to leave work when he was struck by lightning that had hit a case full of chemicals that spilt on him. A result of this event was Allen being gifted with the ability to run extremely fast along with matching reflexes. He later donned a red tight suit with a lightning bolt whereupon he adopted the name of the Flash with this being based on his childhood comic hero namely Jay Garrick. As a result, he became a costumed crime fighter with his uniform provided by Ira West who designed the Flash suit and the ring that stored it which he kept hidden when he was in his civilian identity.

During his youth, he grew up in the small city of Fallville where he had a childhood sweetheart in the redhead Daphne Dean. (The Flash v1 #126) Whilst at college, one of his class mates was the brilliant Wiley Summers. (The Flash v1 #111) At some point, he had a co-worker by the name of Charlie Conwell with the man becoming a friend. (The Flash v1 #224)

Whilst at the police laboratory, lightning struck the room and caused a number of the chemicals present to spill on him. He gained the ability to travel at super-speed where he began to experiment with his new abilities. Allen later saved his date Iris West from a stray bullet that was fired by the villainous Turtle Man. This inspired him to become a superhero where he drew inspiration from the adventures of the Flash and made a costume for himself. (Showcase v1 #4)

In Flash v1 #167 (1967), a being known as Mopee the 'Heavenly Help-Mate' claimed responsibility for directing the lightning that gifted Barry Allen his powers.

After creating his radio-reception watch, he decided to test it and picked up police emergency in Paris and used his superspeed to reach there. The Flash found a diabolical criminal by the name of le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) who threatened to detonate an atom bomb from the Eiffel Tower. He managed to remove the bomb and apprehend the criminal with the Flash looking to return to Central City but then he received another distress in Cairo involving the abduction of Princess Tara at the Khufu Pyramid. The Scarlet Speedster arrived to find that the criminal el Claw (The Claw) where he helped apprehend the villain and restored the pyramid that was damaged in their fight. Before he could return home, he received another distress from Mt. Everest after an avalanche affected the mountain where he saved the person at the lookout. He then answered a distress signal from a ship in the Pacific that was being targeted by pirates in a submarine where he managed to save the crew from a torpedo. With this completed, he quickly returned to Central City so that he as Barry Allen could reach his luncheon date with Iris West. (Showcase v1 #13)

Whilst patrol, he met another speedster named Doralla Kon who was an alien from another dimension. She was a scientist from the world of Alkomar who had designed a ship to take her to the nearest planet via magnetic and cosmic rays. However, instead of going to Sthanthor, the ship instead took her to another dimension where she arrived on Earth. Unknown to her, the people of this dimension moved at different speeds compared to her ow where she was locked constantly in a state of super-speed. Thus, she found everyone to be motionless except for the Flash who taught her to adjust her speed to that of the rest of the people. Thankful for his aid, she asked if he could help her tour the world where she came to meet Iris West. During the tours, areas around with them suffered from mysterious explosions with Barry's eventual investigation being that this was tied to Doralla whose attempts at slowing down her speed created a side effect whereby a shimmer caused bodies of water to explode. Regretful over her unwitting actions, Doralla Kon provided the Flash some gems to help repair the damage she had caused and departed on her ship to another dimension with Barry bidding her farewell. (The Flash v1 #145)

He then attended an election rally at Central City where his old friend Charles Conwell was running for District Attorney. During his speech, a sniper fired a bullet with Barry unable to intercept it in time leaving his friend gravely injured. After apprehending the sniper as the Flash, he came to learn that the perpetrator was an agent of the Maxel Mob. Conwell came to win the election in a landslide but he never regained consciousness and in fact passed away at the hospital. (The Flash v1 #224)

Whilst watching television with Iris, they saw an incident where a stone gargoyle was dislodged from a building with it going to fall on Al and Rita Desmond. Transforming into the Flash, he quickly went to save the pair but the gargoyle disappeared before it could hit the couple. Afterwards, he responded to a fire at Rita Desmond's car and saved her where she revealed that her husband had reverted to his Dr. Alchemy evil persona. Intending to save Desmond, the Flash pursued his trial to find a building that was engulfed in a mystical green flame. Finding Dr. Alchemy, the villain stated that he was in the thrall of the demon Vadtara who was the dreaded Fire Demon of ancient mythological lore. The creature had been in the stone gargoyle which after disintegrating had possessed Desmond and used as Dr. Alchemy form in an attempt to purify Central City in elemental fire. The Flash appealed to Al Desmond's persona in his mind giving the man the strength to fight back against the demon's influence and remove the Dr. Alchemy persona from himself. Thus, the flames stopped and the Flash helped return Al back to his wife now that the crisis had been averted. (The Flash v1 #230)

They were then visited by Stacy Conwell who was the daughter of Barry's dear deceased friend Charlie Conwell. She had promised her father to continue her education at Central City Junior College and was waiting for the acceptance of her application. Iris then told her that she was welcome to stay at their home with Barry, Iris and Wally being careful on not revealing the Flash and Kid Flash's superhero identity. Kid Flash revealed that the Myrmitrons had returned and instituted their plan for revenge against the Flash by growing Bio-X from a bionic pellet. The organic construct grew at an incredible rate where despite its human form was a thing that was to be a fuse to destroy the world in 12 hours. Bio-X was teleported somewhere in Central City with Wally informing Barry of this threat with the two resolved to stop the destruction of the world. The Flash and Kid Flash pursued Bio-X who was counting down to destruction but Barry came to use cryogenic equipment to freeze the living construct to prevent it from expiring at its intended time thus saving the planet. Afterwards, Stacy Conwell received an acceptance letter from college with Iris and him allowing her to stay after reading a letter from her father asking his old friend to care for her like a daughter. (The Flash v1 #232)

In reality, Allen joined the Speed Force where he shed his identity where he became completely lost with his sense of individuality vanishing. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #1)

Rebirth

The Flash reborn in Flash v3 #9.

In this timeline, his mother Nora Allen was killed with it being claimed that his father Henry Allen had killed her. However, Henry Allen had proclaimed his innocence with Barry seeking to prove his father being not responsible for the death. Despite his efforts, his father died in prison with Barry unable to vindicate him. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #2)

In an attempt to stop Superboy-Prime, the speedsters attempted to shunt him into the Speed Force. However, the rogue Kryptonian threatened to break from their grip but Barry Allen along with Johnny Quick and Max Mercury emerged where they managed to force Superman Prime into the Speed Force to end his rampage. (Infinite Crisis v1 #4)

Wonder Woman had used her connections to arrange for a cover story to explain Barry Allen's civilian absence. Iris was aware of this with it being said that Barry Allen had returned from Witness Protection in order to explain his death and absence for many years. He later accompanied Hal Jordan to Fallville to investigate the speed surge among the speedsters where the pair discovered the Black Flash's deceased body. The pair were attacked by Christina Alexandrova who was angry at her master Savitar's demise after his contact with Allen. Alexandrova's body began to disintegrate after being in contact with Barry whereupon his body began to transform as he was being turned into the new Black Flash. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #2) Barry was kept contained in a container to prevent his energy from killing others but he succumbed to surges in his power. He convinced Hal to release him where he decided to run in order to re-join the Speed Force as he believed that it was calling to him and that he was not meant to had returned to life. Whilst there, he encountered Johnny Quick and Max Mercury who died after encountering Allen but warned of the return of Professor Zoom. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #3)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a new history of event.

His first step in his Force Quest alongside Iris was travelling to the country of Badhnisia to hunt for knowledge regarding the new Force powers. Once there, he came into conflict with a pair of thieves named Gemini who destroyed a church containing the clue. (The Flash v5 #58)

Seemingly within a heaven, he met his mother who showed that he could rest now and that his legacy had brought about generation of heroes that took his name. Barry, however, quickly deduced that this was simply a construct designed by Paradox to entrap him and shattered the illusion. Despite this, he found himself trapped outside of time where its effects were slowly weakening him. After constructing an armour to keep him operating, the Flash determined that he needed help to stop Paradox and sought out the only person to had defeated the villain. This was Eobard Thawne and using the Cosmic Treadmill Barry went back in time to seek the aid of his greatest foe on the night Thawne killed his mother. (The Flash v1 #752)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In his superhero guise, he was known as the Fastest Man Alive and as the Scarlet Speedster. (Showcase v1 #4)

He was said to had hated the heat. (The Flash v5 #28)

When he was young, he often dressed up for Halloween as his parents took him door-to-door to collect candy. However, after his mother died, he did not feel like dressing up anymore until he met Iris West. (The Flash v5 #55)

According to Batman, Barry Allen was one of the most optimistic men he had ever known. As a forensic scientist, he looked at life differently than most in his position as he saw his job in the crime lab being the protection of the innocent rather than damning the guilty. (Flash v2 #205) Batman stated that Barry Allen was the kind of man that he had hoped to had become if his own parents had not been murdered. (Justice v1 #8) He was noted for being honest and meticulous in his approach to work. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #2) Barry claimed that he had faith in redemption for everyone even for criminals. (The Flash v5 #37)

Even before becoming the Flash, he had walked everywhere in Central City as he loved to take in the sights and sounds. This led to him knowing every alley, every street and every brick in the city with it being more than his home as he considered it all part of his life. (The Flash v5 #52)

It was said that Barry always looked to a person in the eye when he was speaking to them. Allen never yelled or never said that he was disappointed in another person with him having a great deal of patience. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #1) He never saw himself as a hero but empathised with others and saw what's special in them. (The Flash v5 #45)

Barry noted that for as long as he could remember he had always sought answers to the point that he drove his mother crazy due to his inquisitiveness. It was one of the reasons he loved science as it was quantifiable with it seeking to answer interminable questions. This became the driving force of his career behind his career in the Crime Lab with it being the core of his identity. (Flash v4 #29) Wally claimed that Barry was the kind of person who knew everything and during his training of West he would pull out small pieces of useless information that he called Flash Facts. (JLA v1 #3)

In the Justice League, he at first did not like Hal Jordan as he found him reckless and that he stared at Wonder Woman too long whilst also laughing whenever they were outnumbered by their enemies. Barry claimed that this changed when he heard Jordan refer to a foe as a 'perp' whereupon he determined that the Green Lantern was a cop. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #1)

He was noted to had collected the adventures of the fictional superhero The Flash Jay Garrick in the comic magazine Flash Comics where he enjoyed reading of his adventures. (Showcase v1 #4) When he was growing up, Barry loved a good mystery novel with it being the reason he wanted to become a detective who solved cases with evidence and quick thinking to find the culprits. (The Flash v5 #36) When he was using his super-speed, he was known to use his radio to listen to scientific audio books. (The Flash v5 #45)

One of his old friends and co-workers was Charlie Conwell who came to run for D.A. in Central City. (The Flash v1 #224) He had a grown up blonde haired daughter named Stacy Conwell. A letter from his friend Charlie asked that Barry look after her and treat her as a daughter as she was a good kid. (The Flash v1 #232)

Powers and abilities

The death of his mother led to his dedication to a life of studying forensics to the point that the crime lab was a second home for him. From there, he had developed the skill to picture a crime scene even before he completed any tests. From that, he could picture the origin of every blood spot and the intent behind any attack. (The Flash v5 #21) In time, he became noted for being the best forensics scientist that Central City ever had. (The Flash: Rebirth v1 #2)

Upon gaining his powers, his molecular structure was altered allowing him to vibrate with eye-blurring speed whilst being propelled by a mysterious force causing him to sprint at incredible speeds allowing him to outrace his shadows and break the sound barrier. Barry's reflexes also allowed him to see objects in slow-motion allowing him to grab objects in air with immeasurable speed. As the Flash, he was able to travel at such speeds that gravity had no effect on him allowing him to run up or down buildings. Similarly, he travelled at such speeds that he could run across water as his feet did not sink into the water. He could also travel at supersonic speeds to create a vortex-like hurricane around targets or locations. (Showcase v1 #4) With his super speed vision, he could see a bullet moving through the air in slow motion and before it could hit its target. (The Flash v1 #224)

Through physical contact, he was able to determine the vibrational frequencies of a world determining whether it was his own reality or an alternate world. (Batman v3 #22) The Flash was able to vibrate his body to make it into a tuning fork allowing him to match the frequency of dimensional transportation allowing him to follow teleportation. (Justice League of America v1 #140) Similarly, he could use his super-speed causing himself to become invisible and match the wavelength frequency of other objects that were invisible such as a hidden Power Battery. (The Flash v1 #168)

The Flash was able to gather compressing air by collecting the air-molecules at super-speed and could shoot them like a battering ram at a target. He could also rotate his arms at super-speed to set up a tremendous gust of wind that had the dual effect of stopping projectiles in mid-air and slamming a target to the ground. (The Flash v1 #153)

It was said that his mind moved so fast that it made it a challenge to control his mind for a telepath. (The Flash v5 #0)

He had a ring that had a button that opened a hidden compartment that ejected his superhero costume that expanded to full-size due to being treated with certain chemicals. (Showcase v1 #4)

At one point, he created a radio-reception watch that allowed him to pick up police signals and dispatches. With it, he was able to intercept communiques globally thus alerting him to crime and being able to respond to them. (Showcase v1 #13)

Barry had created a program that filtered radio signals and police wires picked by the radio receivers in the lightning bolts by the side of his suits headset. This was used to alert him of any emergencies or suspicious events occurring in Central City. (The Flash v5 #39)

Notes

• The Barry Allen Flash was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino where he made his first appearance in Showcase v1 #4 (October, 1956).
• Writer Joshua Williamson in an interview on MTV stated, "I relate to Barry Allen as an optimist,” he continued. “This guy just really wants to help people, in spite of himself at times. He can’t help himself. He wants to help people. He wants to see the best in people, even if it means sacrifice. That goes back to who Barry Allen is. He will martyr himself, and I relate a lot to that. It’s this idea that Barry Allen is always almost trying to do too much, and I feel like all of those things made me really relate to him."

Alternate Versions

• In Elseworld's Flashpoint (1999), a possible version of history showed Barry Allen becoming the world's first superhero in 1956 where he helped fight crime and served his nation in stopping the Cold War along with pushing the Communists from Vietnam in 1963. His career came to an end when he took a bullet aimed at President John F. Kennedy with him being paralyzed from the neck down. He was unable to run fast though he became the fastest mind on Earth and founded a high-tech research firm called Allen Industries. Allen later got married with his wife being Iris West and by 1988 he was involved in a leading a manned exploration of Mars with Vandal Savage who headed Immortality Inc. His contact with the Speed Force empowered Wally West cured Allen of his paralysis though he was still too slow to save Van. Ashe raced to intercept the flashpoint energy, each connection made himself faster along him to circle the globe and save the world until he returned the artifact whereupon he took the relic with him into the flashpoint itself.
• In Superman & Batman: Generations II v1 #3 (2001), an alternate universe setting was shown designated as Earth-3839 where on this Earth Barry Allen had a daughter known as Carrie Allen who became the Flash after Wally West where she operated in the 1980s and 1990s.
• In Superman/Batman v1 #14 (2005), the timeline was altered by the actions of the Legion of Super-Villains who sought to change history by raising Superman and Batman. Their actions included Lightning Lord being on the day when Barry Allen was meant to get his powers and killing him thus preventing Flash from being created.
• In Countdown to Final Crisis v1 #18 (2007), an alternate version of Barry Allen was shown to inhabit Earth-51 in the Multiverse. This was described as the perfect world where the heroes had defeated all the villains and ushered in an era of peace with many superheroes embracing their civilian lives. He was shown as being married to Iris West-Allen and close friend to Ray Palmer with them visiting them one day. At the time, Palmer was visited by the Monitor called 'Bob' and the Challengers from Beyond who was on a quest to find Ray to save the Multiverse. However, the Monitor intended to kill Ray with Barry attempting to intervene but 'Bob' simply aged Allen to dust leaving his skeleton behind that crumbled to dust with the Earth-51 Iris left in tears at the death of her love.
• In Trinity (2008), an alternate reality was created when the Trinity were removed from history. On this world, no Justice League was formed but rather the Justice Society International was created that was aggressive in its role in policing it from danger. Barry Allen joined their ranks as the Flash but was inexperienced when they battled Felix Faust. During the fight, he attempted to vibrate away from a mystical attack but failed with shards of rock embedded in his legs making him unable to run again. He was confined to a wheelchair and hid from the world with people believing he had died where he saw the aggressive means the Justice Society accomplished their goals. Barry in time disagreed with their approach as he saw themselves as heroes but the group seemed more concerned with security rather than liberty. As a result, he formed an underground branch of heroes called the League that he led on this Earth.
• In Flash v3 #6-12 (2011), an alternate world counterpart Barry Allen arrived in the present with him being known as Hot Pursuit. He stated that he was a version of Barry from within the fifty two worlds of the Multiverse. This version was shown to not naturally harness the Speed Force but instead built a Cosmic Motorcycle with the aid of his nephew Wally West. Through it, he was able to travel through time and the Multiverse where he sought to remove any anomalies. This version of Barry Allen later discovered the approaching Flashpoint that threatened to change all of the Multiverse and sought to stop the damage leading him to arriving on the mainstream Earth. Ultimately, it was revealed that Professor Zoom was the anomaly and Hot Pursuit attempted to stop him only to be killed by Thawne who aged the alternate Barry Allen to dust.
• In Justice League v3 #27 (2017), it was shown that in an alternate timeline that Jessica Cruz and Barry Allen became romantically involved. The pair had three children; a son and daughter named Jason and Jenny who could manipulate the Emotional Spectrum whilst they had another daughter named Nora Allen who was a speedster named Cruise. They lived in a time 22 years in the future in a world that was ruled by the Sovereign. They along with the other children of the Justice League went back in time to get their help of their parents.
• In Dark Nights: Metal v1 (2017), an alternate version of the world designated as Earth-52 was shown in the Dark Multiverse. On this world, Batman lost many more of his loved ones and as he grew older he believed he would only fail unless he acquired the power of the Speed Force. This saw him attack the Flash where he defeated the speedster and strapped him on his Batmobile that used designs from the Cosmic Treadmill in an effort to give him the Speed Force. The act merged their bodies transforming Batman into the Red Death where he used his new super-speed to brutally kill villains on his world. Within their merged form, the essence of Barry Allen constantly attempted to stop the corrupted Bruce Wayne from his acts but failed. The Red Death later joined the Batman Who Laughs in serving Barbatos as they invaded the mainstream prime Earth.
• In Wildstorm: Michael Cray v1 #3 (2017), an alternate version of Barry Allen was shown to inhabit a world based on the Wildstorm Universe. On this Earth, Barry Allen was shown to be a paranoid schizophrenic with a split personality leading to him talking to himself. He was a genius inventor who operated at the Boston CSI division where he secretly created chemicals that reacted with his smart armour that made him super-fast. He believed the dangers of artificial intelligence but all his warnings were ignored leading to him secretly killing the scientists working on the project using his speed suit. All the murders were masked by him using his civilian identity to hide his activities by portraying the deaths by other means.
• In Flash: Fastest Man Alive v1 #1 (2020), an alternate version of Barry Allen appeared in an world in the Multiverse. He came to be attacked by a woman named Shift who was revealed to be from the future where she came from the 25th century's Speed Force Resistance. She had come from a time where Eobard Thawne tapped into the Speed Force after being inspired by his hero the Flash but was driven mad in the process whereupon he became a tyrant in this future. To stop him, Lt. Beth Arden travelled back in time to kill the Flash using her 'Shift' suit that shunted her into the timestream any time Barry Allen came near to striking her. He eventually convinced her of his sincerity and she urged him to help her by going into the future to stop Thawne.

In other media

Television

• In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Alan Tudyk.
• In Young Justice, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced initially by actor George Eads and later by James Arnold Taylor.
• In the Arrowverse, Barry Allen made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Arrow, Barry Allen made his first appearance in the live-action television series second season where he was portrayed by actor Grant Gustin.
  • In The Flash, Barry Allen served as the protagonist of the 2014 live-action television series spinoff show from Arrow where he was once again portrayed by Grant Gustin.
  • In Vixen, Barry Allen as Flash appeared in a guest role in the animated web series where he was voiced by actor Grant Gustin.
• In Justice League Action, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Charlie Schlatter.

Films

• In Justice League: Doom, Barry Allen appeared as the Flash in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Michael Rosenbaum.
• In Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Justin Chambers.
• In Justice League: War, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Christopher Gorham.
• In Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated film where he was once again voiced by actor Christopher Gorham.
• In Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the animated film where the role was reprised once more by actor Christopher Gorham.
• In the DC Extended Universe, Barry Allen made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Barry Allen made a cameo appearance in the 2016 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Ezra Miller. He initially appeared to Batman where he gave a warning about the future but the incident appeared as a vision to Bruce Wayne. A second appearance showed him in a security footage that Lex Luthhor had acquired during his search for Metahumans where Barry in his civilian guise stopped a robbery with his superspeed whilst attempting to not reveal his true identity.
  • In Suicide Squad, Barry Allen in the Flash suit appeared in the live-action film with actor Ezra Miller reprising the role where he was shown in a flashback to be responsible for apprehending Captain Boomerang.
  • In Justice League, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared in the live-action film where he was portrayed once more by actor Ezra Miller.
• In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Barry Allen appeared in the 2020 animated film where he was once more voiced by actor Christopher Gorham. He participated in the Justice League's attack on Apokolips to stop Darkseid's upcoming invasion of Earth. However, Darkseid was prepared for the heroes and had an ambush that massacred the Earth's heroes. The Flash managed to escape being killed by phasing away from an attack but was captured. At the time, a critical power reactor was destroyed by the heroes and Darkseid decided to place the Flash on a cosmic treadmill to force him to endlessly run to power the machine. The resistance force later came to free him where most of the heroes managed to escape back to Earth. Despite their efforts, over 30% of the planetary magma was gone and the Earth's rotation had stopped with it expected that billions more would die. By this point, John Constantine had learnt of Barry Allen's involvement in Flashpoint and urged the speedster to run again to change history once more as any other timeline was preferable to their current one. Reluctantly, Barry agreed and ran where his actions caused the erasure of this timeline and Earth.

Video games

• In Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Barry Allen as the Flash appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Taliesin Jaffe.
• In Infinite Crisis, the Barry Allen Flash appeared as a playable character in the MOBA game where he was voiced by actor Michael Rosenbaum. He had a number of alternate costumes available to him including the standard Flash, Hypersonic and Olympian.
• In DC Legends, the Barry Allen Flash was a playable character in the iOS video game.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the Barry Allen Flash appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Neal McDonough.
• In Injustice 2, the Barry Allen Flash appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game sequel where he was voiced by actor Taliesin Jaffe.

Appearances

• Flash v1: (1956)
• Flash v3:
• Flash v4:
• Flash v5:
• Justice League v2:
• Justice League v3:
• Justice League v4:
• Flash: Fastest Man Alive v1: (2020)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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