Sorry Barry Allen, But Wally West is Actually the Best Flash

The Flash is one of the most venerable parts of the DC Multiverse, first appearing way back in 1940 in Flash Comics #1, with Jay Garrick wearing the yellow lighting bolt. Jay was popular, but the next Flash would truly define who the Flash was — Barry Allen. Barry’s first appearance, Showcase #4, was the first book of the Silver Age, with Barry becoming the poster boy for the era. Barry eventually got a sidekick in The Flash #110, a young boy named Wally West. Wally earned his stripes as Kid Flash, eventually joining the mega-popular New Teen Titans, and in Crisis on Infinite Earths would get his greatest promotion as the death of Barry Allen would lead to West becoming the greatest version of the Flash ever. Sorry, Barry. I mean, Bart Allen also became the Flash, but the less we talk about that the better. Avery Ho is a better Flash than Bart, but even she can’t match Wally’s greatness. Wally is the best, and that’s all there is to it.

Of course, DC would eventually bring back Barry in the ’00s, when the company was all-in on Silver/Bronze Age nostalgia. However, this started an outcry among Flash fans who wanted their favorite, Wally, back. Barry got popular again, even starring in a successful CW show, but eventually, the irate fans and the diminishing returns of Barry stories would see the return of the GOAT Flash. Barry is a great character — well, at times Barry is a great character, but Wally West is the best Flash, and there’s really no denying it.

Wally West’s Tenure as the Flash Changed the Mantle Forever

Before we get to why Wally is the best Flash, we have to talk about why Barry isn’t. Barry comes from another school of comic character. Silver Age Barry was boring and lame, but in the best possible way, if that makes sense. Barry was the always the responsible adult, using his scientific knowledge to be a better superhero. He was devoted to his work, his wife Iris, and teaching Wally to be a hero. These are all admirable traits, and they can make Barry stories exciting, but Barry’s biggest problem is there was nowhere interesting for the character to go. Let’s be real — Barry is white bread. Delicious and you can make a great sandwich from it, but there’s better choices. Even after his comeback, DC’s writers put a heaping helping of Wally’s demeanor and humor into the character. Barry isn’t Hal or Ollie; Hal and Ollie are interesting characters who have evolved as the years went by. Barry couldn’t do that, and that’s why he can’t be the best Flash. Barry’s old crew cut really tells you everything you need to know about Barry as a character.

The best thing Barry ever did was die, because it allowed Wally to step up. Wally was another Silver Age cliche, but all of that changed with New Teen Titans. Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s blockbuster series enhanced every character it touched. Wally was portrayed as becoming more jaded with his superhero life, and eventually retired because his powers were fading. He returned during Crisis, and his powers stabilized after Barry’s death. This was the beginning for Wally, but it almost was a bust. The Flash hadn’t been popular for a while by the time Crisis made a new Flash. It was a tough sell, with creators basically ding Barry stories with Wally, and Wally’s run could have been dead before it even got a chance to get started, but DC stuck it out until the character that changed everything for Wally showed up — Mark Waid. Waid and Greg LaRocque’s inaugural story, “The Return of Barry Allen” is a blockbuster, a story that is over thirty years old and still better than 90% of the books currently on the stands. Mark Waid’s run on The Flash took the clay of Wally West and molded him into an actual interesting character, redefining what the Flash could be.

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What makes Wally a better character than Barry is the fact that he actually feels like a human being. Barry Allen was part of the school of Silver Age heroes that was meant to be an exemplar. He was the superheroic ideal, and that gave him little room to change. Wally, on the other hand, was always a much more human character. From his relationship to his future wife Linda to his burgeoning friendship with Green Lantern Kyle Rayner to the way he interacted with the Rogues, Wally wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes and always kept going. Wally was relatable and that helped readers love him. Waid kept Wally growing throughout his run, and by the time Geoff Johns took over the book, Wally had grown into a great hero, following Barry’s example but blazing his own path. Then, of course, there was the Speed Force.

While Barry has since become the engine of the Speed Force, Wally was the one who discovered it. Wally soon became the most powerful Flash, the lessons he learned from Barry and then later mentors Jay Garrick and Max Mercury paying off. The Speed Force added a whole new aspect to the Flash mythos, and Wally helped define that. Wally blazed this new trail. Speed Force stories felt right with Wally, whereas with Barry, they just feel like they’re being done because it’s expected. Also, while Barry definitely had some amazing creators working on his book, Wally has had three defining runs from Waid, Johns, and Jeremy Adams, each of them a snapshot of Wally as he developed. Waid made Wally the hero he always could be. Johns built off that, changing Wally’s status quo and his relationship to the Rogues. Adams brought Wally back to prominence, reminding people why we loved Wally. Adams even pulled what I like to call a “Morrison” — taking Wally’s family and making them a much more vital part of the character than ever before (something Morrison did on Animal Man to great effect; I know other people have done it before, but Morrison did it the best). Add to that Simon Spurrier’s current run, a twisty narrative that made the Speed Force more interesting than ever, using it and the history of the Flash to tell something of horror story. Spurrier is now telling more “normal” Wally stories, taking all the tools he was given by the many creators who worked on Wally, and using them to build exciting superhero family stories. On top of all of that, the Rogues became much more interesting with Wally. Now, obviously, this is part of the changing tides of the comic industry, as villain became more fleshed out than ever, but it fit Wally’s tenure as Flash better. He was growing, the Rogues were growing, everything about the Flash was on an upswing. Wally’s time as the Flash saw the Flash mantle grow in way it never could under Barry. Barry was fine, but he was basically a more boring Mister Fantastic; Wally has become DC’s Spider-Man — a wisecracking everyman hero that is relatable to the audience — and that’s the perfect place for him.

Barry Allen Is Great, but Wally West Is the Best

Barry Allen is a great character. There’s something about the endearingly lame speedster that just works. However, Barry only has so far he can go as a character. Barry can’t really grow, and that’s why Wally is better. It was cool to have Barry back, but the way DC completely sidelined Wally for almost decade will always be looked at as a huge mistake. Wally is the Flash for multiple generations of DC, and that’s all there is to it. There’s a reason that Absolute Flash has Wally as its star despite him being the third Flash — he’s the one that fans actually want to read about.

Barry has had some great stories since his return, but he doesn’t have anything on Wally. Wally’s story — the sidekick who becomes the star and eventually outpaces his mentor — will always be better than Barry’s adventures. Sure, we all love Reverse Flash showing up to try to kill Barry for the hundred thousandth time, but that’s all. With Wally, we want to know what’s happening with the family, his powers, his life. We want to see him hang out with the Justice League. We want Wally in all his messy, imperfect glory. Wally West became the Flash when the mantle was at its lowest ebb and made the Flash popular again. Throughout the ’90s and ’00s, The Flash was the height of superhero action with Wally in the driver seat. His return in the 2020s has continued that, giving readers the best Flash adventures imaginable. Barry is cool, but Wally? Wally’s the Flash.