Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash, the fastest man in the multiverse. Created by artist Carmine Infantino and writer John Broome, his power consists mainly of superhuman speed. The nephew of Iris West, he first appeared in Flash #110 (1959), which depicted his transformation into Kid Flash. Under the mantle of Kid Flash, Wally was depicted as a teenage sidekick to his uncle-by-marriage, Barry Allen, and a founding member of the Teen Titans. After Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, Wally took on the role of the Flash in 1986, and would be the main Flash until 2009, and again from 2021.
Generally portrayed as a white man with red hair and green eyes, Wally was reinterpreted as biracial for DC's 2011 New 52 relaunch. A desire from fans to see the original interpretation of the character restored, however, led to Wally returning in 2016's DC Rebirth, while his New 52 reinterpretation was made into a separate character, Ace West, to avoid confusion.
Wally West has appeared in many other forms of media and was featured as the incarnation of the Flash in the Cartoon Network series Justice League, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, and the 2010 film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Josh Keaton. As Kid Flash, he appeared in Cartoon Network's Teen Titans series voiced again by Michael Rosenbaum and subsequently in the Young Justice series, voiced by Jason Spisak. In live action, Keiynan Lonsdale played the character in Arrowverse shows, notably The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
Fictional character biography
Kid Flash
Wallace Rudolph West II, or Wally West, was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino and introduced in The Flash #110 (1959). The character was the nephew of the existing Flash character's girlfriend and later wife, Iris West. During a visit to the Central City police laboratory where Barry Allen worked, the freak accident that gave Allen his powers repeated itself, bathing Wally in electrically charged chemicals. Now possessing the same powers as the Flash, West donned a smaller-sized copy of Barry Allen's Flash outfit and became Kid Flash. Wally had a strained relationship with his own parents and often looked to his beloved aunt and uncle for moral support and guidance. He also operated as a lone superhero in his hometown, Blue Valley, Nebraska, when not partnering with the Flash.
This costume was later altered in The Flash #135 (1963) to one that would make him more visually distinctive. The original red was replaced with a costume that was primarily yellow with red leggings, gloves and lightning bolt emblem. The ear pieces initially remained yellow, but became red in later issues.
In addition to his appearances within the Flash title, the character was a founding member of the newly created Teen Titans, where he became friends with Dick Grayson, then known as Robin, later known as Nightwing. Sometime later, Wally contracted a mysterious illness that affected his entire bodily system; the more he used his speed powers, the faster his body deteriorated. This could have been caused by one of two things, Wally was a boy when the electrified chemicals altered his body, which was still developing and maturing (as opposed to Barry Allen, who was already an adult when his accident occurred) or when he was struck with a weapon during his time with the Teen Titans. As such, as Wally's body matured, his altered body chemistry was slowly killing him.
The Flash During the 1985–1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry Allen sacrifices himself to save Earth by destroying an antimatter cannon.Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (October 1985) Initially unaware of this, Wally is coaxed by Jay Garrick into assisting the heroes against the Anti-Monitor's forces. During the final battle with the Anti-Monitor, Wally is struck by a blast of anti-matter energy, which cures his disease. In the aftermath of the conflict, Wally takes on Barry's costume and identity.Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986)
The decision by DC Comics' editorial staff to radically change their fictional universe saw a number of changes to the status quo of the character. Wally West became the new Flash, but less powerful than his predecessor. For example, instead of being able to reach the speed of light, he could run just faster than the speed of sound. Also, the character had to eat vast quantities of food to maintain his metabolism.The Flash (vol. 2) #1 (June 1987)
Those changes were quickly followed up and 1987 saw the publication of a new Flash comic, initially written by Mike Baron. These stories focused not only on the Flash's superhero exploits, but the state of Wally's wealth. West won a lottery, bought a large mansion,The Flash (vol. 2) #2 (July 1987) and began dating beautiful women. The character's finances and luck continued to ebb and wane until The Flash vol. 2 #62, when his fortunes stabilized.
The 1990s also saw further modifications to the look of the character, with a modified uniform appearing in 1991.The Flash (vol. 2) #50 (May 1991) This modified costume altered the visual appearance of the traditional Flash costume, with a belt made of two connecting lightning bolts meeting in a "V" at the front (where Allen's costume had a single bolt in a horizontal band), removal of the wings from the top of his boots, a change in the material of his costume (giving it a slight metallic luster), and opaque lenses added to the eyes of his cowl. This modified design utilized elements of the costume designed by artist Dave Stevens for the live-action television series The Flash.
A difficult encounter was made with a vicious foe, the first Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne). Thawne had been killed by Barry Allen shortly before Allen's death, but this version of Thawne was from a time period before he became Allen's enemy. This encounter also served to increase the speed of the character, forcing Wally to push past a psychological block he had placed on his powers. To prevent himself from truly "replacing" Barry, Wally had subconsciously limited his speed so that he could never become his mentor's equal, but when Thawne arrived in the present and briefly posed as Barry Allen, his bragging that he would become the true Flash forced Wally past this block, as he feared Thawne replacing Barry more than he feared himself doing so.The Flash (vol. 2) #79 (August 1993) After this encounter, he was again Barry Allen's equal in speed, and eventually became even faster. Though he still had not been able to recover Barry's vibrational/phasing abilities for a time (he could vibrate through objects but this would cause the object to explode), he gained several new powers that Barry never had. He was able to share/steal speed, use his speed to kinetically upgrade his attacks, and super heal others. These upgrades resulted in him becoming so powerful that he was even able to defeat physically stronger foes like Mongul, an enemy of Superman.
Writer Mark Waid expanded on the character's powers thematically and further redefined the character by introducing the Speed Force, an energy source that served as a pseudo-scientific explanation for his powers and that of other speedsters. Using this concept as a basis, the character's ability to tap into the Speed Force was used to expand his abilities. The character was now able to lend speed to other objects and peopleThe Flash (vol. 2) #95 - 100 (November 1994 - April 1995)The Flash (vol. 2) #101 (May 1995) and create a costume directly out of Speed Force energy. Traditional powers such as the ability to vibrate through solid objects were also restored. Because of this, the Flash felt pressured into having to constantly be heroic 24/7. Also during this time, he joined the Justice League. During Waid's run on the character, Wally married his longtime girlfriend, Linda Park.
The 2000s saw writer Geoff Johns revitalize the character by introducing new versions of characters such as Zoom and making significant use of the Rogues. Other changes included restoring the Flash to a secret identity; his identity had been public since shortly after Barry Allen's death, but the traumatic events of his first battle with Zoom prompted Wally to make a deal with the Spectre to erase his identity from public knowledge.
During the Identity Crisis crossover, Wally and Kyle Rayner learned of Doctor Light's mindwipe by the original Justice League and the cause of the villain's transformation from a dangerous serial rapist to an ineffectual buffoon. When Light vows revenge against the League, Wally realizes that the villain is again a powerful threat. He then warns the Teen Titans and Outsiders not to underestimate Light, and later joins their fight against him.
In the miniseries Infinite Crisis, as a narrative device, Wally West and his family were seen leaving for an alternative reality. This allowed the character Bart Allen to become the fourth Flash and headline a relaunched third volume of the title, called The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive.
The critical reaction to this new version of the Flash was mixed and Bart was killed off in the final issue of the short-lived third volume. It was decided that Wally West should return, and the JLA/JSA story "The Lightning Saga" was used to return the character to Earth along with his wife and children, who appear to have aged several years.
The character next appeared in All Flash #1 (2007), seeking vengeance on those who had killed Bart Allen. This was followed by The Flash vol. 2, which resumed publication after the long hiatus with issue #231 (October 2007). The series found the character struggling with trying to raise his two super-powered twins, plagued by accelerated growth and their inexperience in the heroic game, a task made more difficult by Wally's unemployment, his inability to keep a steady job, and the mistrust of the League for his decision to bring two children into the fold. The series was canceled with issue #247 (February 2009).
In Final Crisis, the character was reunited with Barry Allen, who had returned to life. Later, in The Flash: Rebirth, Wally makes modifications on his costume's cowl and emblem to further differentiate himself from Barry.
Blackest Night During Blackest Night, Wally West assists Barry Allen in spreading the word to every hero on Earth about the rise of the Black Lantern Corps. When Black Hand brings back Nekron, Barry is attacked by an army of Black Lanterns, while struggling to fight them off, Wally comes to his rescue, bringing with him the Justice League and Teen Titans, Bart Allen, the Kid Flash, among them. The three Flashes fight their way through Black Lanterns and charge at Nekron. Before they can strike, the Black Lantern Guardian Scar attacks them, attempting to convince them into becoming Black Lanterns. Right after, Hal Jordan and the leaders of the seven Lantern Corps arrive to assist. The heroes attack the Black Lanterns, but when Black Hand reanimates Batman's corpse as a Black Lantern, the resulting emotional shock allows the Black Lantern rings to latch onto the resurrected heroes, transforming Superman, Superboy, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Kid Flash into Black Lanterns. Black Lantern Bart Allen attacks Barry Allen, and the two brawl for a moment before Wally fights him off. A pair of Black Lantern Rings then lock onto Barry and Hal. Wally flees with Barry, with Barry telling him to stay and protect himself and Bart. Barry and Hal then flee the scene to avoid becoming Black Lanterns.
Return: The New 52 and DC Rebirth