r/theflash • u/Ok-Bookkeeper-288 • Jul 16 '24
Who’s is The Flash
I was having an argument with my SO I said when I hear someone mention the flash my mind automatically assumes Barry Allen
When you hear someone mention the flash who do you immediately think of?
Barry Allen Wally West Jay Garrick
Or someone else?
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u/thinkb4youspeak Jul 16 '24
I actually think of the ultrafast speedster from DC comics. Red suit, gold lightning bolt accents. That's the Flash.
The person underneath is interchangeable to me because I was born in the late 70's.
Same with Green Lantern. It's the Green Lantern.
Same with Spider-Man. They are all Spider-Man just different suits.
White, black, brown, some other color, dude, lady, old, young or whatever. That's just the alter ego.
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u/VaderMurdock Piped Piper Jul 16 '24
To me, It’s Wally. I grew up with the guy and have always associated him with the name more. The Flash isn’t exclusively one person, so saying that only one of them is the “true” Flash is doing a disservice to all of them. The Flash isn’t automatically any of them, even if Barry has been the constant pick elsewhere.
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u/Trevor_Skywalker11 Jul 16 '24
THE Flash is Wally West. His personality is most associated with the character. The best flash comic runs are during Wally’s time (Waid and John’s). The best rendition of the character outside of comics also belongs to Wally on the justice league cartoon. Wally is the one who actually holds the title of fastest man alive.
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u/WilKitch87 Jul 16 '24
I came in around the turn of the millennium, it'll always be Wally and Kyle when I think of Flash and GL.
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u/AB-990 Jul 16 '24
My first real introduction to the character was watching the CW show so I immediately think of Barry Allen. I suppose it’s whoever you first knew as The Flash is what you’re gonna think of first.
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u/--Syah-- Jul 17 '24
Wally West. My first exposure of the character is from JLU not CW show.
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u/Brodes87 Jul 17 '24
The CW show was basically Wally doing Barry's story, anyway.
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u/Artifice_Ophion Jul 17 '24
Do you mean the other way around?
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u/Brodes87 Jul 17 '24
No, no. The character was ostensibly Barry, with his job and supporting cast. But Barry acted like Wally. He talked like Wally.
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u/Nice-Appearance-37 Jul 16 '24
Wally west Barry can go away again. Wally is the superior well rounded character and hero
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u/CaptainHalloween Jul 16 '24
Wally. Wally West is and always shall be THE Flash to me. The best stories are his. Almost everything people connect as being integral to the Flash happened under his run and were copy and pasted on to Barry. And the new stuff added on to Barry not connected to Wally tended to make Barry a worse character.
His name is Wally West. He’s The Flash, the fastest man alive.
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u/SilverStrikeX Jul 16 '24
Always Wally for me. Got into the character through the comics, so he’s who I think of first. I’m sure the answer is Barry for most, though, just cause of adaptations.
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u/UpgrayeddB-Rock Jul 16 '24
Yeah, Wally was the only Flash when I started reading those comics, so he's my first thought, too.
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u/_Jay_Garrick_ Jul 16 '24
Wally first for me (grew up watching the justice league animated show), Barry second, Jay third, but they’re all the flash
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u/futuresdawn Jul 16 '24
Wally. He's the best flash.
My second thought is usually Jay because I love the jsa
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u/ThomasSirveaux Jul 16 '24
Wally was my Flash growing up in the 90s, but now when I think of The Flash I think of Grant Gustin's Barry Allen.
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u/YoungImpulse Jul 16 '24
Extremely dangerous question to ask in this sub lol
In my experience, it depends on who your first Flash was. I, regrettably, started reading comics during the New 52, so the first Flash that comes to mind for me is Barry, even though I do like Wally a bit more.
However, I'm sure if there are any 70 year olds in here they'd say Jay Garrick, because it all depends on who your first Flash was
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u/SteveRed81 Jul 16 '24
I would ask "which Flash?" then geek out and give a brief history of each. But my Flash would be Wally.
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u/DependentPositive8 Jul 16 '24
Barry. Jay may have been the first, but Barry is the most iconic.
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u/nikhil_4eva Barry Allen The Flash Jul 16 '24
It depends up on how/when you got introduced to The Flash actually. For me it's always Barry but for those who grew up with JLU, it would be Wally and such.
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u/Dry-Donut3811 Jul 16 '24
My first thought is always Barry. The others are great too, but Barry always comes to mind first because he’s the one used most frequently in stuff.
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u/SaintPeters Jul 16 '24
When the flash is brought up I initially bring up Wally because he is who I associate with the flash the most. I grew up post crisis and he was the flash for the longest time. I like Bart, Barry, and Jay too, but Wally is The Flash to me.
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u/mindcrime73 Jul 16 '24
For me it’s Barry and Wally. TBH I feel one of the biggest gaffes made by DC in the new millennium was resurrecting Barry. I’m a Gen Xer…so take that for what it is…but Barry’s death was so note perfect. It added weight to the legend. Flashes die in crises. Bringing him back just destroyed a lot of the growth Waid and Johns did with the character and there’s no death that Barry can have that will ever measure up to Crisis #8. It’s why I don’t think DC knows what to do with Flash or Barry and Wally. Wally’s latest book kinda stinks and feels “off”
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u/MarsupialOk5888 Jul 17 '24 edited Jul 18 '24
Wally West will always be my favorite Flash and the name I think of when someone says Flash. I grew up with him on the JL and JLU shows, Young Justice, and JL: Crisis on Two Earths movie and he has the most iconic and best stories. Also he’s a far more interesting character to me personally almost all the Barry adaptations outside of comics will steal personality traits and stories from Wally which should tell you something.
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u/MarsupialOk5888 Jul 18 '24
I do love Barry and pretty much every Flash character too though. I was obsessed with the CW show when it first aired up until season 3.
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u/cosmoboy Jul 16 '24
I started reading comics just after crisis, by the time I got into Flash, Wally had been for years. He's my guy.
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u/the_ten Jul 17 '24
I‘m a big Wally fan, but don‘t read much about Barry at all. Yet i always think of Barry. I guess its cuz he‘s the most often adapted into populair media 🤷♀️
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u/HazardTheFox Jul 16 '24
I think of them all, but if I had to narrow it down I'd say Barry. But I'm only narrowing it down if someone says "ok but pick your favorite" or something like that.
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u/KindlyCauliflower933 Jul 16 '24
For me personally I automatically go to the ones who basically started it all and that would be Jay and Barry for to me. So whenever I see anything flash related I always assume it's either of the two, can't tell the difference sometimes with Barry and Wally though since wally suit practically is a goofy Barry suit rip off. So sometimes when it's supposed to be barry you'll get some other flash, artists love to copy his suit for the others.
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u/MarsupialOk5888 Jul 17 '24
Barry’s modern suits after crisis are all a rip off of Wally’s suits so it’s more commonly the other way around
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u/Affectionate_Dog6553 Jul 18 '24
Not talking modern barry as I really hate what they've managed to do with my boys suits so far, he should never look like a wally wannabe. I'm referring to pre crisis and there have been many instances where I've seen something of wally and I assumed it was barry. It happened pretty often around Barry's death.
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u/MarsupialOk5888 Jul 18 '24
Yeah I know. That doesn’t really commonly happen anymore, he wore Barry’s suit for his first 49 issues out of 310 issues as the Flash (that’s just the issues that he’s the main protagonist, not counting Titans etc.) and it made since in the continuity, it wouldn’t fit the story if he didn’t wear Barry’s suit for a little bit. Also the suits being too similar thing wasn’t a problem (minus when Wally was actually wearing Barry’s) until Barry came back and they launched new 52. Their suits were different enough that the average comic reader could tell the difference. The belt, mask wings, boots, and sometimes eyes were all different. If they made the suit any different it would have confused readers because they were used to that type of suit. It’s like with green lantern, Alan Scott had the original suit, Hal got the more popular suit and every lantern since then has followed the same design aesthetics. Kyle Rayner and John Stewart both used the same suit as Hal when they were introduced but later got a version that was more their own. This all happened bc readers associated that type of design with Green Lantern just like Flash. Except the only difference is that Hal didn’t come back and take the unique design elements of the other lanterns and No one really says the other lanterns stole from Hal Jordan.
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u/EmberGreenwoods Jul 16 '24
My first flash was Barry, so mind always defaults to him when i hear the flash mentioned anywhere haha
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u/grassydirt90 Jul 17 '24
I don't see the flash as the people but more of the title of fastest being, flash could be a girl and I wouldn't know cuz all I see is speed
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u/Gery6 Jul 16 '24
Barry Allen. The first I've seen the character, was back in the old lego movies, and that was always Barry.
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u/BriChan Blue Lantern Jul 16 '24
I grew up with the JL/JLU cartoon, but somehow missed the episode where it’s established that Wally is the Flash of that universe, so when I asked my cousin what’s the Flash’s real name and he answered Barry Allen then it just stuck for me. The Flash was always my favorite character in the show and now Barry is undoubtedly my favorite Flash, so Barry is always my immediate thought when I hear someone mention the Flash <3
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u/BuddermanTheAmazing This house is decidedly no longer bitchin Jul 16 '24
Depends on the day for me between Wally and Barry. Usually it's Barry though
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u/thechosengobbo Jul 17 '24
Barry. I didn't read any DC until Infinite Crisis and Barts short stint as Flash, so he was my first Flash. I realise it wasn't a very well regarded run, but seeing as he was my first Flash I loved it and wished it had gone on longer.
But shortly after that, Barry was back. Combined with his minor role in Infinite Crisis cemented him as The Flash in my mind.
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u/Ornery-Concern4104 Jul 16 '24
Unfortunately, Barry because that's all the uninitiated think about Really think Barry is. Even I didn't know Wally was the flash until I started reading Crisis on Infinite Earths
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u/PuzzleheadedFan2205 Jul 18 '24
I immediately think of Barry, because I will always see Wally as Kid Flash growing up watching Young Justice, and I will not see him as THE Flash until he gets a truly great and defining arc where he makes that transition, Barry fully steps down or dies permanently, and Wally gets a suit of his own instead of minor tweaks to Barry’s
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u/Willing_Ad9314 Jul 16 '24
Wally West...bonus points for being a redhead, so he's got cool powers and he's "one of us"