Superhero Origins: The Flash (Barry Allen)
advertisement
VOICE OVER: JG
WRITTEN BY: Michael Wynands
We all know The Flash, but do you know the secret origins behind the DC character? For this installment of "Origins," we're combing through the creation and publication history of Barry Allen, AKA The Flash! Our history of The Flash will take you through how Barry's creation was inspired by Marvel's choices, how DC created his in-universe origins, how he returned after a long time away, and more!
Like a bolt of lightning, this speedster ignited the Silver Age of Comics. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the secret origin of Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash.
If it wasn’t for Barry Allen, comics history as we know it would be very different. As the Flash, Barry has brought about major changes that affected the entire DC Universe, both on and off the page. Barry wasn’t the first Flash, of course. That honor goes to Jay Garrick, who originated the name as DC’s premier super-speedster of the 1940s when a “hard water” experiment went awry. He had a really good run, but like just about every superhero who wasn’t Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman, he disappeared in the early 1950s. Superheroes had just fallen out of favor. When Marvel tried to revive Captain America, Sub-Mariner and Human Torch in the mid-1950s, audiences didn’t take the bait.
But DC editor Julius Schwartz learned from Marvel’s failure. Rather than just reviving an old super-hero, he decided to revise him. So instead of bringing back Jay Garrick, a new Flash would be created. He turned to writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino to develop a new personality and look for the Fastest Man Alive. Kanigher was an experienced comic writer, having worked on the likes of Hawkman, Green Lantern, and Black Canary. He found a home writing war comics and spent more than 20 years scripting Wonder Woman. Infantino had drawn some of Jay Garrick’s adventures, as well as those of the Human Torch and the Justice Society. He became strongly identified with Barry Allen, whose lighthearted superspeed antics were a good fit. In the 1970s, Infantino spent several years as the publisher for DC.
The origin story they came up with for 1956’s Showcase #4 is now a classic. Police scientist Barry Allen had a secret fondness for comics starring the Jay Garrick version of the Flash. Allen wondered what it would be like to have super speed – and just as he did so, lightning flashed into the room, striking him and knocking over a cabinet full of chemicals. Instead of killing him, this accident gave Barry superspeed, as he discovered over the next few hours. He was now so fast that he was even capable of grabbing a speeding bullet before it can strike his girlfriend, Iris. That bullet came from the Turtle Man, a villain who moved so slowly that he was difficult to catch. Barry quickly put together a striking red-and-gold outfit and tracked him down. Though the Turtle Man initially tricked him, Barry eventually used his scientific brain to find a way to apprehend him. And thus the new Flash burst upon the comics scene.
Fan response was positive, and after a few more tryout issues, Flash was given his own comic. More importantly, fans were so enthusiastic about the Flash, that DC was prompted to bring forth revised versions of many other Golden Age heroes like Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom. Suddenly there was a rebirth of interest in superheroes, and what came to be known as the Silver Age of comics was in full bloom – thanks to Barry.
Barry’s early adventures tended to have a lighthearted, whimsical touch to them – but that didn’t keep them from having repercussions throughout the DC Universe. For example, 1961’s “Flash of Two Worlds” was intended as just another Flash story. In this one, though, Barry got to meet his supposedly fictional idol, Jay Garrick. While entertaining some orphans, Flash vibrated at such a strong rate of speed that he disappeared from our Earth – and ended up on another Earth. Designated as Earth-Two, this Earth occupied the same space as Barry’s Earth-One, but vibrates at a different speed. And on this Earth, Jay Garrick was a real, live super speedster, not a comic book character.
From this humble beginning grew the whole idea of parallel universes in DC comics, with the Golden Age heroes living on one Earth and the newer characters on another. And eventually, many other Earths were discovered, leading to the idea of a multiverse – an almost infinite number of universes that were somewhat similar and somewhat different to Earth-One’s. Barry also picked up a sidekick, when a young boy named Wally West went through an accident that was the exact duplicate of Barry’s. This Kid Flash played a major role in Barry’s stories, and eventually even took over as the Flash.
As time wore on, Barry’s stories lost some of their lightheartedness. This new serious tone reached a peak during the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series in 1985 and 1986. This series, which eventually did away with the multiverse concept in favor of one world on which all the superheroes existed, featured an almost-unstoppable foe named the Anti-Monitor. In one of the most stirring and memorable sequences in the series, Barry literally ran himself to death in an effort to stop this monster from destroying all existence. Fans were shocked at this turn of events. Even though Wally adopted the Flash persona, fans mourned the loss of Barry Allen.
Soon after the Crisis, a new retelling of Barry’s origin attempted to tie things up in a neat bow. In this version, Iris was in danger for her life and Barry was nowhere near her. He lamented the fact that he couldn’t help her. Just then, a lightning bolt entered his laboratory – and then time froze. A mysterious voice seemed to come from the lightning bolt. It told Barry that he can save Iris, but doing so would require a sacrifice on his part. Barry willingly agreed, and the lightning bolt struck him and the appropriate chemicals, giving Barry his speed. Later on, Barry was fighting the Anti-Monitor. As he raced, he ran far faster than he ever had before – so fast, in fact, that he became a being of pure energy. In this state, he was trying to grab the tachyon particle that the Anti-Monitor had fired, in order to save the universe. He traveled back through time as he did so, witnessing the major events of his life. Just as he grabbed the tachyon, he wished that he could live his life over. Somehow, this changed Barry into the same lightning bolt that struck his lab and gave him super speed in the first place.
Eventually, it would become known that Barry’s ultra-speed had taken him into a place called the Speed Force, which provides the power for all of DC’s many super speedsters.
When Barry died in the Crisis, many fans believe it was just temporary. But as years went on and he didn’t return, they accepted his death as final. To their surprise, however, more than 20 years after his death, Barry did indeed return during the Final Crisis story in 2008. It turned out he had been trapped in the Speed Force the whole time.
And his origin was changed as well. Now, it turned out that Barry’s mother had been killed when he was a child, and his father convicted of the crime. Barry became a police scientist partially as a way of trying to clear his father’s name and find his mother’s real killer. What was even more amazing though, was finding out that everything bad that ever happened in his life – including his mother’s death – had happened because of his arch-enemy, Prof. Zoom. Zoom had traveled to the past, altering Barry’s future so that bad things kept happening to him. Fortunately, Barry was able to keep him from his latest plan – destroying Iris, the love of Barry’s life.
Writer Geoff Johns handled Barry’s return to the DC Universe, reinvigorating the character and giving him new relevance for changed times. He also oversaw another major Flash change, one which again was influential in redefining the DC Universe. Barry had decided to go back in time to prevent his mother from being killed. But doing so had the unintended consequence of changing the world completely through an event called Flashpoint. His mother was alive, but his father was dead. Worse, the entire Earth had been altered. Wonder Woman and Aquaman were engaged in a war that threatened to destroy the planet. Superman, Green Lantern, and almost all the familiar DC heroes didn’t exist or had been significantly changed. Barry no longer had his super speed and had to find a way to regain it in order to go back in time and let his mother die by stopping himself from saving her. Complicated? Sure, but it’s since become a defining Flash story.
Barry succeeded in his quest – but the world he returned to was not exactly the one that existed before the Flashpoint. Instead, it was the New 52 version of the DC Universe, which made significant alterations in the lives and stories of most of DC’s characters. For instance, Barry’s new love was Patty Spivot rather than Iris West. But the New 52 didn’t last for very long. In 2016, DC rebooted its entire line with its “DC Rebirth” project. Wally West had been trapped in the Speed Force, and when he returned, he let Barry know that someone – presumably Dr. Manhattan of the Watchmen – was responsible for the recent changes to the universe, not Barry.
Barry Allen has been a huge part of the DC Universe for decades. As such, he has made numerous appearances in animated films and has been the star of two live-action TV series. The CW’s Flash series even made use of the Flashpoint storyline, albeit in a much-altered form. With his move to the big screen, Barry has gained even more exposure. And that’s only fitting for a hero who has played such a major role in the DC Universe – and in comics history itself.
Secret Origins: Barry Allen's The Flash
If it wasn’t for Barry Allen, comics history as we know it would be very different. As the Flash, Barry has brought about major changes that affected the entire DC Universe, both on and off the page. Barry wasn’t the first Flash, of course. That honor goes to Jay Garrick, who originated the name as DC’s premier super-speedster of the 1940s when a “hard water” experiment went awry. He had a really good run, but like just about every superhero who wasn’t Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman, he disappeared in the early 1950s. Superheroes had just fallen out of favor. When Marvel tried to revive Captain America, Sub-Mariner and Human Torch in the mid-1950s, audiences didn’t take the bait.
But DC editor Julius Schwartz learned from Marvel’s failure. Rather than just reviving an old super-hero, he decided to revise him. So instead of bringing back Jay Garrick, a new Flash would be created. He turned to writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino to develop a new personality and look for the Fastest Man Alive. Kanigher was an experienced comic writer, having worked on the likes of Hawkman, Green Lantern, and Black Canary. He found a home writing war comics and spent more than 20 years scripting Wonder Woman. Infantino had drawn some of Jay Garrick’s adventures, as well as those of the Human Torch and the Justice Society. He became strongly identified with Barry Allen, whose lighthearted superspeed antics were a good fit. In the 1970s, Infantino spent several years as the publisher for DC.
The origin story they came up with for 1956’s Showcase #4 is now a classic. Police scientist Barry Allen had a secret fondness for comics starring the Jay Garrick version of the Flash. Allen wondered what it would be like to have super speed – and just as he did so, lightning flashed into the room, striking him and knocking over a cabinet full of chemicals. Instead of killing him, this accident gave Barry superspeed, as he discovered over the next few hours. He was now so fast that he was even capable of grabbing a speeding bullet before it can strike his girlfriend, Iris. That bullet came from the Turtle Man, a villain who moved so slowly that he was difficult to catch. Barry quickly put together a striking red-and-gold outfit and tracked him down. Though the Turtle Man initially tricked him, Barry eventually used his scientific brain to find a way to apprehend him. And thus the new Flash burst upon the comics scene.
Fan response was positive, and after a few more tryout issues, Flash was given his own comic. More importantly, fans were so enthusiastic about the Flash, that DC was prompted to bring forth revised versions of many other Golden Age heroes like Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom. Suddenly there was a rebirth of interest in superheroes, and what came to be known as the Silver Age of comics was in full bloom – thanks to Barry.
Barry’s early adventures tended to have a lighthearted, whimsical touch to them – but that didn’t keep them from having repercussions throughout the DC Universe. For example, 1961’s “Flash of Two Worlds” was intended as just another Flash story. In this one, though, Barry got to meet his supposedly fictional idol, Jay Garrick. While entertaining some orphans, Flash vibrated at such a strong rate of speed that he disappeared from our Earth – and ended up on another Earth. Designated as Earth-Two, this Earth occupied the same space as Barry’s Earth-One, but vibrates at a different speed. And on this Earth, Jay Garrick was a real, live super speedster, not a comic book character.
From this humble beginning grew the whole idea of parallel universes in DC comics, with the Golden Age heroes living on one Earth and the newer characters on another. And eventually, many other Earths were discovered, leading to the idea of a multiverse – an almost infinite number of universes that were somewhat similar and somewhat different to Earth-One’s. Barry also picked up a sidekick, when a young boy named Wally West went through an accident that was the exact duplicate of Barry’s. This Kid Flash played a major role in Barry’s stories, and eventually even took over as the Flash.
As time wore on, Barry’s stories lost some of their lightheartedness. This new serious tone reached a peak during the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series in 1985 and 1986. This series, which eventually did away with the multiverse concept in favor of one world on which all the superheroes existed, featured an almost-unstoppable foe named the Anti-Monitor. In one of the most stirring and memorable sequences in the series, Barry literally ran himself to death in an effort to stop this monster from destroying all existence. Fans were shocked at this turn of events. Even though Wally adopted the Flash persona, fans mourned the loss of Barry Allen.
Soon after the Crisis, a new retelling of Barry’s origin attempted to tie things up in a neat bow. In this version, Iris was in danger for her life and Barry was nowhere near her. He lamented the fact that he couldn’t help her. Just then, a lightning bolt entered his laboratory – and then time froze. A mysterious voice seemed to come from the lightning bolt. It told Barry that he can save Iris, but doing so would require a sacrifice on his part. Barry willingly agreed, and the lightning bolt struck him and the appropriate chemicals, giving Barry his speed. Later on, Barry was fighting the Anti-Monitor. As he raced, he ran far faster than he ever had before – so fast, in fact, that he became a being of pure energy. In this state, he was trying to grab the tachyon particle that the Anti-Monitor had fired, in order to save the universe. He traveled back through time as he did so, witnessing the major events of his life. Just as he grabbed the tachyon, he wished that he could live his life over. Somehow, this changed Barry into the same lightning bolt that struck his lab and gave him super speed in the first place.
Eventually, it would become known that Barry’s ultra-speed had taken him into a place called the Speed Force, which provides the power for all of DC’s many super speedsters.
When Barry died in the Crisis, many fans believe it was just temporary. But as years went on and he didn’t return, they accepted his death as final. To their surprise, however, more than 20 years after his death, Barry did indeed return during the Final Crisis story in 2008. It turned out he had been trapped in the Speed Force the whole time.
And his origin was changed as well. Now, it turned out that Barry’s mother had been killed when he was a child, and his father convicted of the crime. Barry became a police scientist partially as a way of trying to clear his father’s name and find his mother’s real killer. What was even more amazing though, was finding out that everything bad that ever happened in his life – including his mother’s death – had happened because of his arch-enemy, Prof. Zoom. Zoom had traveled to the past, altering Barry’s future so that bad things kept happening to him. Fortunately, Barry was able to keep him from his latest plan – destroying Iris, the love of Barry’s life.
Writer Geoff Johns handled Barry’s return to the DC Universe, reinvigorating the character and giving him new relevance for changed times. He also oversaw another major Flash change, one which again was influential in redefining the DC Universe. Barry had decided to go back in time to prevent his mother from being killed. But doing so had the unintended consequence of changing the world completely through an event called Flashpoint. His mother was alive, but his father was dead. Worse, the entire Earth had been altered. Wonder Woman and Aquaman were engaged in a war that threatened to destroy the planet. Superman, Green Lantern, and almost all the familiar DC heroes didn’t exist or had been significantly changed. Barry no longer had his super speed and had to find a way to regain it in order to go back in time and let his mother die by stopping himself from saving her. Complicated? Sure, but it’s since become a defining Flash story.
Barry succeeded in his quest – but the world he returned to was not exactly the one that existed before the Flashpoint. Instead, it was the New 52 version of the DC Universe, which made significant alterations in the lives and stories of most of DC’s characters. For instance, Barry’s new love was Patty Spivot rather than Iris West. But the New 52 didn’t last for very long. In 2016, DC rebooted its entire line with its “DC Rebirth” project. Wally West had been trapped in the Speed Force, and when he returned, he let Barry know that someone – presumably Dr. Manhattan of the Watchmen – was responsible for the recent changes to the universe, not Barry.
Barry Allen has been a huge part of the DC Universe for decades. As such, he has made numerous appearances in animated films and has been the star of two live-action TV series. The CW’s Flash series even made use of the Flashpoint storyline, albeit in a much-altered form. With his move to the big screen, Barry has gained even more exposure. And that’s only fitting for a hero who has played such a major role in the DC Universe – and in comics history itself.
