Is The Flash Actually DC’s Most Powerful Hero?

The Flash is one of the defining heroes of DC Comics. The Flash’s legacy reaches back to 1940, when Jay Garrick gained the power of super speed in an accident. Since then, there have been multiple Flashes, with characters like Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen, and Avery Ho all putting on the lightning bolt. One of the most interesting things about the Flash is the way that DC used science to inform his powers. DC editor Julius Schwartz had the writers of The Flash use the “Flash Facts” to teach readers about physics while showing just what the Flash was capable of. Over the years, the Flash has become more and more powerful, and there are many out there who think that the Flash is DC’s most powerful hero thanks to the Speed Force.

The Speed Force is a multiversal energy that the Flashes and other speedsters tap into to get their powers. It became a part of the Flash mythos in the ’90s, during the character defining Mark Waid run on The Flash. Over the years, we’ve seen heroes and villains who use the Speed Force do some amazing things. The Flashes’ powers have grown to such an extent that they can do nearly anything they need to in order defeat their foes. Looking at the Flash’s feats, it’s plain to see just how powerful that the Flash really is.

The Speed Force Made the Flash More Powerful Than Ever

Power scaling has always been a big part of superhero comics, especially in the DC Multiverse. DC has some of the most powerful heroes in comics, and over the years, those power levels have fluctuated, sometimes going up, sometimes going down. However, the Flash’s power has always gone up over the years because of the Speed Force. During Barry Allen’s time as the Flash, the Flash had some limits on his powers. Barry couldn’t break the speed of light, and had to use technology like the Cosmic Treadmill to do things like travel back in time or to alternate Earths. When Barry died, Wally West became the Flash, and for a while, his power levels were pretty low.

The Speed Force would allow Wally to become the most powerful Flash, and it led to a lot of new powers for the Flash. Wally became an avatar of the Speed Force, gaining the ability to move faster than the speed of light, steal the speed of others, and even completely freeze people by removing the Speed Force from them. The Flash became a ridiculously powerful hero because of the Speed Force, something that only intensified when Barry Allen returned as the Flash. The Flash is one of those heroes where, when you look at his feats, it’s hard to make an argument for anyone to ever beat anyone wearing the lightning bolt.

One of the best examples of the Flash’s OP nature is the infinite mass punch, which was introduced to readers in JLA (Vol. 1) #1-4. Wally was fighting the Hyperclan’s speedster and talked about the physics of the speed of light — that the closer you get to the speed of light, the more your mass increases, until the point where your mass is infinite. Wally is able to reach speeds approaching the speed of light, his mass increasing so much that he can punch with nearly infinite mass behind it. This one move is ridiculous and would allow the Flash to beat basically anyone, even characters like Superman or Darkseid. It’s just one of the many powers that have made the Flash into a character that is basically unbeatable.

The Flash should never get hit; his perception of time slows down while running, allowing him to avoid any shot. The faster Flashes can vibrate their molecules and phase through any attacks, so any hits they can’t avoid, they can phase through. He can run around an enemy and create tornadoes. The Flash’s lightning has becom part of his powers, allowing him to sometimes use it as an offensive power. The Flash can create enough friction to burn through anything. As much as Flash fans love the Rogues, there’s really no way any of them should be able to best the Flash. Unlike other powerful characters in the DC Multiverse, the Flash doesn’t really have any weaknesses. In the Si Spurrier run on The Flash, we’ve seen the Speed Force used in entirely new ways as well, making it an even more powerful source of energy for the Flash.

The Flash Is the Justice League’s True Secret Weapon

I think one of the hardest part of writing the Flash is trying to figure out a way to beat the character without always leaning on villainous speedsters like Reverse Flash, Zoom, or Godspeed. The Speed Force has been built up to such a level that the Flash’s powers are pretty unbeatable. The Justice League has a lot of secret weapons, but the Flash is easily the most powerful one.

The Flash is one of those characters that is completely and totally broken as a concept. He can move faster than the speed of light, hit you with infinite mass, and avoid or phase through just about any attack thrown at him. Honestly, the Flash can beat pretty much every character you can think of, in either DC or Marvel. Even gods have nothing on the power of the Flash.

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