You know you've always wondered about it and some point in time.
"Who's really the fastest; Barry Allen or Wally West?"
For most of his career, Barry was easily always the fastest. Wally really didn't come into his own until he broke a huge mental block, and admitted that he was scared he was faster than his former mentor and partner.
Eventually we saw over time just how right Wally was, as he became the first person to enter and successfully escape from the Speed Force.
After that life-altering revelation, he gained the powers to out right borrow or steal speed from other objects or speedsters, while also embuing certain objects with a portion of his own speed.
Even Barry never did that.
And so we were content to know that as good and as fast as Barry was, Wally was faster.
Hell back in the late 90's during Grant Morrison's run on the JLA, He and Wizard Magazine choose Wally over Barry as the better, faster Flash. Especially, as was pointed out, since Wally grew up with a working knowledge of his powers and the Speed Force, while Barry was just a scientist cop who learned while on the job. Maybe a bit of flimsy reasoning, but not too crazy to consider.
Then Final Crisis came, and Barry(the Silver Age martyr of the DCU from the first CRISIS) came back to us, creating a new problem for DC.
The problem(although I don't see it that way) was there was too many speedsters/Flashes running around.
Wally was then but on the back-burner, while Barry was allowed to re-take his place as THE Flash.
Not how I would've handled it, but that's what happened, and where we are now after the reboot.
So........
Barry Allen
VS.
Wally West
......Who Wins and why?
Think about it, he'd be all but retired, secure in the knowledge that his protege Wally had successfully taken over the mantle of the Flash. He could go back to being a foresnic cop, and really make a difference in that area, occasionally coming out of retirement for an odd battle or two.
Barry would finally be allowed to enjoy his life with Iris, be in in the future or the present.
Wally would then really be in a postion to likewise train his eventual successor, Bart. But it'd be a natural progression instead of just aging him to fit the role.
But alas, that will never happen, unless it's on in an alternate universe.
8 comments:
As much as it urges me to say Barry Allen Barry Allen Barry Allen, strict comic-book continuity instructs me to say Wally West.
Why? Well, he was the only Flash to truly understand and harness the power of the Speed Force, which was never [hardly] expanded upon until Allen's death and he took over as the new Flash.
Id like to say Barry Allen really, as he was the one who split the time-stream/dimensional corridor between Earth 1 and Earth 2 in that classic issue with Jay Garrick, which started off all that multiple earths storyline, but his speed only ever hinted at how fast he could go.
That classic race between Superman and the Flash could sway the vote though. I think that was the first time Supes was ever dethroned as the fasted hero alive up to that point when Barry took him on; then it was established that even with super-speed he couldn't beat Barry.
Cool pictures btw; just wish the Flash family has included Jenni Ognats - XS from the Legion, whos been virtually erased from continuity.
@Karl:, yeah tough choice right? I think both had considerable knowledge of the speed force, even though barry I think knew the mechanics more since he was a scientist, yet practicle-wise you would think Wally had the edge there. Now it can be debated since Barry temporarily escaped the Speed force to help out Wally during the 3 times he'd need to, who truly understood the speed force. Wally seemed to be able to dive right in during the Flash:Rebirth many, that I think up till then kinda' asnwered who was faster, not only between Superman ansd Barry, but maybe even Wally as well. While both outran the magic bullet in crisis, only Barry became positioned as the living source for the Speed Force. I added to that he could time travel w/o the add of the treadmill, and I gotta give it to Barry in the end. If he's the source of the Speed Force that gives every speedster theirt power, then it could be reasoned that he could sever that connection as well, thus stripping the speedster of their powers.
Hey I grew up with Wally as my Flash, but Barry wins this one by a hair.
This is a hard call, Wally does have more experience with the force and at first my answer was going to be Wally just because of that, but I think experience actually turns it to Barry. I just picture him at the finish line of a fun race waiting for Wally and saying, 'I fought in injustice gang and kept the reverse flash beaten across two earths for years without the speedforce - nothing beats elbow grease and the hard way son'
If it was Death Race / Mad Max - two men enter, one man leave style Barry. He'd know Wally knows the ins and outs of the force more than he, so he'd prep his main advantage, chemistry. He'd either fill the air with a tailor-made chemical compound that triggers on adrenaline levels and can't be super accelerated through, to make the race a short one and prove brains always trumps brawn, be it in fist or foot.
Wally wins hands down.
if you're into quantum mechanics you'll know what i mean when i say Wally ran so fast he surpassed planck time. for those who don't understand it means he ran so fast that he was everywhere in the universe at once. a planck instant is about 27 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 times the speed of light, travelling at that speed it would take you 3 seconds to run around every single planet star comet asteroid and any other object in the universe about 7 times. Then there's the thing about barry being the source of the speed force, that may be true but he can't control the speed force, so he would'nt know how to sever other speedsters connection to the speedforce, why do you think he did'nt just do it to the reverse flash and the black flash. oh that's another thing Wally outran the black flash, the black flash is the living embodiment of death.
Barry, because everybody says that Wally understands the speed force better, but Barry created it, and spent 20 years inside of it, coming out 3 times today help Wally
Barry out ran death for 20 years
Barry,because he created the speed force and Sally is still on young justice Barry is on the justice league.😂
Wally West might have ran faster than instant teleportation, but Barry Allen has explained to Superman how he can perceive moments that happen in less than an attosecond, he has admitted he can run faster than time, even without the speed force he broke past the rules of quantum physics themselves and ran back in time to save his mom. The amount of speed in that run was enough to change the timelines of all things like a bullet through glass. Even without the Speed Force Barry is the Fastest Man Alive
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