7 Best Flash Comics Since 2000, Ranked

The Flash is one of the most important characters in comic history. The concept is simple – he’s a guy who runs fast – but creators have been able to create numerous versions of the hero that always seem to resonate with audiences. The mantle of the Scarlet Speedster has been handed down for almost 90 years and readers have gotten some of the greatest stories of all time from the character. The comic industry would look like a very different place without him, and the 21st century has been quite an exciting time to be a fan of the world’s fastest man.

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The last 26 years have been very eventful for the character; at times he was one of the most important characters in the DC Multiverse. The Flash has always had great stories and creators have been especially fruitful with him in the new millennium. These are the seven best Flash comics since 2000, tales that deserve their place in legend.

7) The Flash: Rebirth

The Flash: Rebirth, by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, isn’t a perfect book by any means (Van Sciver’s art isn’t great at all) and there were a lot of sus decisions made for the plot, but it’s pure Flash goodness. Barry Allen had come back in Final Crisis, but this was his first adventure back, seeing his friends again and getting pulled into a conflict with his greatest foe. Barry’s return in the 21st century had its share of problems, some of which started here, but this story was an amazing moment in the character’s history, a celebration of what made him a legend.

6) DC Rebirth #1

DC Rebirth was an exciting time for the publisher and it all kicked off with this story from Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, and Phil Jimenez. This story was about the entire DC Multiverse, but it was based around the Flash Family, bringing back Wally West after years away. While you can argue that the stories this book teased weren’t great, it’s still such an amazing read, brimming with energy and potential. It uses the emotion built up over years of Flash comics and pays it off beautifully. It’s a Flash story through and through, one of the best around.

5) The Flash (Vol. 2) #182

Geoff Johns’ run on The Flash was handed the baton by the stellar Mark Waid run and dashed for the finish line. There are a lot of great stories from this period, several more of which you’ll see on this list. Johns would do one-issue stories focusing on the Rogues during this run, digging into the villains, and the best of these single issues stories if The Flash (Vol. 2) #182, by Johns and Scott Kolins. This issue focused on Captain Cold, digging into the blue collar baddie and humanizing him tremendously. Johns helped modern readers realize why he’s an amazing villain with this issue, allowing him to get more popular than ever this century.

4) The Flash (Vol. 1) #774-779

Wally West is the most beloved Flash and his return to the mantle in 2021 (technically, he had used the name since he returned in 2016, but he was the secondary Flash) has made fans very happy. His first run back from Jeremy Adams was beloved of fans and one of the coolest parts of that amazing time came in The Flash (Vol. 1) #774-779, by Adams, Christian Duce, Fernando Pasarin, and Brent Peeples. This six-issue stretch is actually several stories that grow out of each other, culminating in a battle with Eclipso. This is vintage Wally West Flash; well-built stories that use the character’s history and supporting cast to its utmost advantage.

3) “One-Minute War”

The Flash Family is the greatest superhero family and one of their finest moments came in Adams’ best Flash story, “One-Minute War”, with artists Roger Cruz, George Kambadais, Fernando Pasarin, Lisandro Estherren, and Serg Acuna. The story saw the Earth invaded by the forces of the Fraction, an alien race that steals the Speed Force from worlds, leaving them barren husks. The Flash Family are the only ones fast enough to combat this menace, but even they may not be enough to win. This story is everything you could want from a Flash epic, with the greatest speedsters in comics proving that sometimes, all you need is family (and the power of a multiversal force that makes you and your friends the most powerful humans on the planet).

2) “Blitz”

Geoff Johns’ run on The Flash (Vol. 2) was one of the first places that readers noticed the writer and was the home of one of the finest moments of his early career: “Blitz”. Hunter Zolomon was a paralyzed former FBI agent working with the Keystone Police. He asked Wally to go back in time and warn him about the case that paralyzed him, killed his father-in-law, and cost him his family. Wally told him it was impossible, but Hunter tried to do it himself with the Cosmic Treadmill and Zoom was born. With time powers greater than any speedster, the villain decided to test Wally to the breaking to make him a better hero, leading to West’s greatest loss. This story is an action masterpiece, finally giving West his own Reverse-Flash, giving him his greatest test in years. Even knowing how it all turns it, this one is still a tearjerker.

1) “Rogue War”

Johns did a lot of work with the Rogues, forging them into the best villain team in comics. All of that would come to a head in his final story on The Flash (Vol. 2), “Rogue War”. The Rogues had been split ever since it was revealed that the Top had been mindwiping them for Barry years ago, their hostility brewing to a full-blown conflict, one that would see some of the biggest returns in Flash history (up to that point, at least). Johns and DC lifer Howard Porter do a fantastic job with the story, giving readers the kind of action they’d come to expect from Johns and Scarlet Speedster.

What’s your favorite 21st century Flash story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!