At this point in the CW’sThe Flashrun, we’re up to our neck in speedsters! And because of that, we thought now would be the perfect time to do a breakdown of the ones we know about in the present, along with those who are set to join this motley crew in the future. Here you’ll find a guide to each of the speedsters connected to the “Speed Force,” (along with some who aren’t – or aren’t yet), as well as what they’re like in the comics that spawned them. Plus, where they may be going in the future (or the future-past, or the Earth 2 past, or the Earth 1 future …). Strap on yourFlashring and let’s sprint right into it.
Editor’s Note:Stay tuned, as we’ll be updating this post as we gain more information about the newest speedsters. Also, if you don’t want any comic book spoilers, just jump past each of the “In the Comics” sections.
Barry Allen / The Flash
Name:Barry Allen / The Flash
Actor:Grant Gustin
Timeline:Earth 1 Present / Earth-1 Alt
Status:Active
Origin:Barry Allen, Forensic Scientist for the Central City Police Department, is struck by lightning while searching for the murderer of his mother when he was a child. The lightning bolt connected him to an energy force, appropriately dubbed “The Speed Force” which allows Barry to move at supersonic speeds. In an attempt to discover his mother’s murderer, and protect the city he lives in, Barry, along with some friends at STAR Labs, becomes the Flash.
Powers:In short, super speed. Of course, the long of it is that Barry has found countless methods to apply his speed such as vibrating through solid objects, creating hurricanes with his arms, time traveling, and many other numerous tricks he has up his sleeves. He’s a jack of all trades when it comes to being a speedster.
In the Comics:Well, Barry Allen has been around for a long time at this point. Originally, Barry became the Flash and remained so for some time, but during the DC Comics’ event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, he sacrificed himself to stop the gargantuan “Anti-Monitor.” For a few decades, Barry remained dead, with his successor Wally West becoming the new Flash, until Barry was resurrected in another comic book event entitled “Infinite Crisis.” When DC rebooted their line with “The New 52,” Barry was once again the Flash, having never died in the first place and having always been the only Flash on Earth.
Harrison Wells / The Reverse Flash 1.0
Name:Harrison Wells / The Reverse Flash 1.0 (technically Eobard Thawne in the body suit of Harrison Wells)
Actor:Tom Cavanagh
Timeline:Earth 1 Future
Status:Dead (erased from the Timeline. However, Harrison Wells 2.0 from Earth 2 is alive, though is not a Speedster).
Origin:The Reverse Flash, who first appears as the main antagonist inThe Flash’s premiere season, is Eobard Thawne, a time traveler from the future who jumps into the present, killing and stealing the identity of Dr. Harrison Wells thanks to his obsession with (and hatred of) Barry Allen. Unfortunately, Reverse Flash traveled a bit too far into the past, appearing before The Flash had even become the Scarlet Speedster. The “new” Wells puts his plans into motion to make Barry into the Flash earlier than the original timeline he’s from, in order to utilize that speed for himself. After a season of hints, his identity is eventually revealed, and the truth that Reverse Flash was responsible for the murder of Barry’s mother is brought to light. The duel between the two speedsters eventually ends with Thawne’s relative, Eddie Thawne, killing himself in order for Eobard to blink out of existence.
Powers:Thawne could also access the Speed Force, and basically has the same powers as the Flash, albeit with much more experience in his speed than Barry when the two begin throwing down in Season 1 (he can also hide his suit in a ring, which Cisco is fascinated with).
In the Comics:Eobard Thawne was obsessed with The Flash, originally traveling back in time to take his place and become him. Eventually, after years of the two tangling, Thawne attempted to murder his wife (Iris), leaving Barry no choice but to snap Thawne’s neck before he could do so. Much like Barry Allen, Eobard was dead for quite some time, until the event “Blackest Night” saw him resurrected, and had him coming back to haunt Barry and the other speedsters of the DC Universe, while also tapping into the “Negative Speed Force.” This new energy allowed him to transform Barry into a “Grim Reaper of Speedsters” (dubbed “The Black Flash”), and generally be a pain in the neck. Also, it made him faster than Barry once again. With the New 52 reboot that Thawne actually caused by travelling through time – much like Barry – Eobard is now an entirely new character who we don’t know much about.
Eobard Thawne / The Reverse Flash 2.0
Name:Eobard Thawne / The Reverse Flash 2.0
Timeline:Earth 1 Future / Earth 1 Alt (Also in the Past onLegends of Tomorrow)
Actor:Matt Letscher
Origin:The same origin as Reverse Flash 1.0, barring the fact that this is the Reverse Flash who has yet to murder Barry’s mother or take Harrison Well’s life and appearance. Time travel is confusing folks, but this works surprisingly well in terms of aligning with Thawne’s twisted personality in that his origin isreverse. While his ultimate fate is still unclear since he eventually has to stop existing thanks to Eddie Thawne’s actions, the Reverse Flash may find a way to outrun his fate.
Powers:The same abilities as the Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne 1.0, yet much less experienced.
In the Comics:This version of Thawne is simply a byproduct of the television show, and doesn’t quite exist in the comics. Eddie Thawne was an original character made up for the CW, so there was never an ancestor of Eobard’s to kill himself.
Jay Garrick / The Flash (Earth 3)
Name: Jay Garrick / The Flash (on Earth 3)
Actor:John Wesley Shipp
Timeline:Earth 2 and/or 3 Present
Status:Alive
Origin:Jay Garrick receives his powers in a similar fashion to Barry Allen, yet does so on an alternate world. A scientist, Jay becomes his world’s Flash but unfortunately runs into the monstrous speedster named “Zoom.” Zoom manages to defeat Jay, which eventually leads a Teddy Sears-looking Garrick to Earth One in order to warn Barry and the gang of the dark speedster on the way. We later discover that the Garrick we knew was actually Zoom himself and the real Jay (Shipp), kept captive, was in fact from another Earth entirely (Earth 3, in fact).
Powers:Garrick is connected to the Speed Force, like Barry, though we don’t quite know the extent of what he can do considering we haven’t seen him show his stuff that much, what with being powerless and all. In the comics, Jay was always slower than most of the other speedsters (but that could have been attributed to his age, which we’ll get into shortly). Consider him to be “Barry Allen-lite” when it comes to speed. He does sport a nice helmet that he can use to catch bullets, though.
In the Comics:Jay Garrick was the first Flash of DC Comics, appearing years before Barry hit the scene. While he was originally a byproduct of Earth 2, his origin slightly changed to make him an Earth 1 resident down the line, creating the Justice Society of America during World War 2. Jay eventually joined the other speedsters, though was much older than the rest, mostly living a quiet life with his wife, Joan. He brought the Justice Society into the present and led them for a while, teaching a younger generation of heroes. Once the universe was rebooted, things changed up once again, with Jay once again being an Earth 2 resident, not having encountered Earth 1 folk yet.
Zoom / Hunter Zolomon
Actor:Teddy Sears (voiced by Tony Todd)
Timeline:Earth 2 Present / Multiple Dimensions
Status:Deceased (Sort of? Currently The Black Flash)
Origin:Hunter Zolomon is a serial killer from Earth-2 who takes the identity of Jay Garrick and becomes Zoom on the side. Gaining his powers from a lightning bolt from the Speed Force during his incarceration, he steals speed from other speedsters to increase his own.
Powers:Aside from super speed, Zoom is far and away faster than Barry, handing him his own butt throughout the second season thanks to a boost from Velocity 9 serum. He has also been jumping between dimensions and stealing the speed from others.
In the Comics:Zoom is different in the comics for sure, looking closer to the Reverse Flash’s appearance than the horrible “tar-like” monster he appears to be in the television show. This is where we start seeing an overlap, because Zoom in the comics was the second Reverse Flash, as well as the character of Hunter Zolomon (see below). The “Black Flash” of the comics is far closer in appearance to the television Zoom, and he was more a skeleton in a Flash costume than a human speedster.
Hunter Zolomon, in the comics, is Zoom. He appears first to wreak havoc in the life of Wally West, attempting to make him a better hero through tragedy. A police psychologist who specializes in the Rogues specifically, Zolomon gets his back broken by Gorilla Grodd. Imploring Wally to travel back in time and stop this tragedy from happening, Wally refuses, and Zolomon tries using the time traveling machine, the Cosmic Treadmill, himself. The machine blows up in his face, but allows him to control his own timeline, making him far and away the fastest person on Earth, as he can literally make himself however fast he needs to be. Zolomon was beaten by Wally, but returned a few times, only to lose his powers and be replaced by Eobard Thawne.
The Black Flash
Name:The Black Flash
Actor:Teddy Sears
Timeline:Earth 2 originally but now, who knows? Outside of it maybe?
Status:Sort of Alive-ish?
Origin:When Hunter Zolomon’s attempt to destroy Earth 1 went awry, his presence was made known to the time wraiths that watch over the timeline. Grabbing Zolomon, his flesh is horribly torn away and “zombified,” along with his costume altering to reflect an appearance similar to the Black Flash from the comics.
Powers:Unknown on the show.
In the Comics:The Black Flash is scary! Thought of as the “Grim Reaper of the Speed Force,” the Black Flash is essentially a skeleton in a Flash costume, running after speedsters when their time has come to shed this mortal coil. While Zoom’s speed would most likely be present in this new form, the Black Flash also had the added benefit of killing any speedster he touches. He appeared at first to fight Wally West but was an instrumental part in bringing back Barry Allen from the dead with his resurrection in the past few years. While the Black Flash in the books had no real identity outside of a ghoulish marathoner, the television series promises to give him a connection to Barry and the gang with his past identity of Hunter Zolomon in full effect.
Wally West / Kid Flash
Name:Wally West
Actor:Keiynan Lonsdale
Timeline:Earth 1 Present (Kid Flash in Flashpoint)
Origin:Wally West is the brother of Iris West and son of Joe, kept secret from them both by Iris’ mother/Joe’s wife. Wally joined the cast in the show’s second season, street racing in order to pay for his mother’s hospital bills. When the group was attacked by Zoom during an experiment to give Barry his powers back, a wave of Speed Force energy hit Wally and he may have been given super speed. While he isn’t Kid Flash currently on Earth 1, he is running around, protecting the world in the Flashpoint timeline.
Powers:Super speed on the same level as Barry Allen in the Flashpoint timeline, and now in Earth-1.
In the Comics:For a really long time, Wally West was The Flash. Following Barry’s death, Wally lived in his predecessor’s shadow, creating a life for himself and marrying Linda Park, who is actually an ex-girlfriend of Barry’s in the show (weird). Wally eventually managed to surpass Barry in terms of speed, but was eventually pushed to the side once Barry returned again to take the mantle of The Flash back.
Listen, Wallywasthe Flash for me, and I’d be dishonest if I said that bringing back Barry as the Flash wasn’t a sore spot. With the New 52, Wally received a cosmetic change and a new origin to match the CW show, and has even managed to get his own costume and powers.
Trajectory
Name:Eliza Harmon / Trajectory
Actor:Allison Paige
Timeline:Earth 1
Status:Deceased
Origin:A former co-worker of Caitlin Snowe, Harmon reverse-engineered Velocity 9 for her own use.
Powers:A speed similar to Zoom’s, bolstered by Velocity 9 which drove her insane. Eventually she exceeded what her body could handle and disintegrated, screaming, into nothingness.
In the Comics:Trajectory isn’t that well known as a speedster, since she appeared somewhat recently in the DC Universe. Her powers were actually given to her by Superman villain, Lex Luthor, as part of his “Infinity Inc.” experiment. When she discovered Luthor’s actual motives, she rebelled against him, which unfortunately led to her demise as he stripped her powers during an important fight with the villain, Blockbuster. Trajectory also has yet to appear in the New 52.
Name:The Rival
Actor:Todd Lasance
Timeline:Flashpoint and Earth 1
Origin:The Rival was a speedster in the Flashpoint timeline, but his personality and powers were transferred over to his Earth 1 counterpart by Alchemy and Savitar. While his origin in Flashpoint remains unclear, his motivation is seemingly to act as a Rival to any speedster he comes into contact with, hence the name!
Powers:Super speed. If he follows the books, his speed is comparable to that of Jay Garrick’s.
In the Comics:Think the Reverse Flash, but for Jay Garrick, andyou have the Rival. It’s certainly a strange choice for this season, as the Rival never was a substantial villain in the comics. Using a version of the serum, Velocity 9, which gave Jay his powers, the Rival managed to connect to the Speed Force as so many other speedsters have in the past. In the books, the Rival looks like a shadowy version of Jay Garrick’s costume, helmet and all, but in the show he’s getting an upgrade that is something closer to a midway point between the Flash and Zoom’s costumes.
Jesse Quick
Name:Jesse Wells / Jesse Quick
Actor:Violett Beane
Timeline:Earth 2 Present
Origin:Recently held prisoner by Zoom and trapped on Earth 1, she is also revealed to be Earth 2 Harrison Wells' daughter. Because she was hit with a wave of energy during a battle with Zoom, which granted her super speed.
Powers:Jesse Quick has access to the Speed Force similarly to Barry, Wally, and others.
In the Comics:Jesse Quick comes from a lineage of Speed, in the form of her father Johnny Quick, and uses a super speed formula inherited from her father to allow her to access the Speed Force similarly to Barry, Wally, and others. Jesse was also an entrepreneur, but acted as a hero on the side. She became a member of the Justice Society, meeting her husband Rich Tyler, a.k.a. Hourman. Though she had many adventures on her own, she never took off in the way the Flashes had though she also managed to be a member of the Teen Titans.
