Every Version Of The Flash Ranked

there are a lot of super fast characters out there Sonic the Hedgehog a train from the boys and Quicksilver from both the x-men and Avengers movies are all known for their speed though Marvel's Quicksilver wasn't fast enough to dodge those bullets apparently too soon none of them compared with the most famous speedster of them all the flash not only that but he's never been made into a CGI monstrosity like the original movie Sonic the flash has proven to be a legend time and time again the only real rival he has this himself there have been several versions of the character over the years but which one is the best let's find out by ranking the best flashes of all time [Music] Smallville in many ways was a testing ground for the ambitious air overs that was to come the ten season epic not only showed Clark Kent's early years but also introduced several heroes from DC Comics Green Arrow Aquaman cyborg and Supergirl all made appearances opposite Tom willings Clark one of the most popular guest stars in the show was Kyle Gallner as Bart Allen he was depicted as an immature thief who used his super speed for selfish reasons Clark teaches him the values of using superpowers heroically and Bart becomes a hero throughout the series he appears several more times he helped start the Justice League with Clark's other hero friends and even assists with a doomsday situation that being said he's not the most impressive flash we've seen for starters choosing the Bart Allen flash for Smallville was a strange choice fans were more used to Barry Allen and Wally West from the fourth incarnation of the character Bart was much more immature than the wise Barry Allen or the fun-loving West also the effects depicting his SuperSpeed were pretty cheesy sure they didn't have the best effects budget but compared to the Grant Gustin flash he looks just silly that also goes for his costume which is basically just a hoodie though it probably would have been weird to see Bart Allen in costume while Clark was just wearing red and blue clothes they never did get to see Tom Welling wear the Superman suit the fact the fans still aren't over the flash family was pretty extensive in the 90s Jay Garrick Wally West jesse quick and the occasional cameo by the then dead Barry Allen all made up the comics extended cast one of the most popular additions was the time displaced Bart Allen he was Barry Allen's grandson and long to live up to his legacy this character went on to become Wally West's sidekick impulse he joined teams like Young Justice and the Titans before being upgraded to the big league after West's decided to retire to take care of his family Bart stepped up to act as the flash in his absence while he proved to be very popular as impulse his time as the flash ended pretty quickly shortly after he took the role over Wally West returned to take up the mantle this also proved to be short-lived as DC revived Barry Allen to be the flash again in any case Bart's run as the character started Flash's declined from the massively popular 90s story imple still entertains fans on the show young justice but it's unlikely that he'll take the mantle a flash ever again [Music] live action superhero performances in the 90s were a mixed bag sure Lois & Clark the New Adventures of Superman and the original blade were big hits that being said this was also the time when Joel Schumacher's embarrassing Batman films came out why don't you put nipples on a bat suit one of the most under loves superhero adaptations was the flash starring John Wesley Shipp as the titular hero this was a pretty faithful adaptation for the most part she played a Barry Allen in a suit that had thick fake muscles this might look kind of weird but it is accurate to the very toned flash of the comics the show also featured Mark Hamill as a very colorful version of the trickster who appeared several times the show didn't last very long but that was not the end of his story this version of the flash returned during 2018 arrowverse event Elseworlds here we see him among the corpses of his world heroes having failed to fight against the monitor he fought alongside our heroes for a short time but vanished suddenly he set to return in crisis on Infinite Earths in 2019 this may very well prove to be the end of his story here's the hoping that he goes out as a true hero while characters like Superman and Batman have appeared on the big screen several times the flash hasn't for some reason the character has yet to have a franchise of his own today did not pay attention to how successful the TV show is the only big screen flash we've seen so far is Ezra Miller's version of the character in Justice League he might be named Barry Allen but his personality isn't like him at all his silly manner and immaturity was much more similar to bard Allen's flash than Barry Allen's serious and intelligent version this left many fans unhappy with the performance they believe that the popular character was just relegated to comic relief that being said Ezra Miller injected the part with all of the energy and charisma that he could well his character was a bit too much like Tom Hollands spider-man he was at least entertaining the infamously stoic Henry Cavill definitely could have used some of Miller's charisma he also didn't seem to be as powerful as his comic counterpart his flash seemed slower than Superman and pretty incompetent as a superhero not only that but his lightning was blue set of the classic yellow lightning time will tell if we ever see Miller's take on the character again it's not looking likely though hopefully we get a flash movie soon whether he plays the character or someone else Grant Gustin certainly knows what he's doing long before the days of the MCU there was another popular shared superhero universe that dazzled fans the DC Animated universe featured characters from the Batman and Superman animated series these characters combined into the epic Justice League cartoon this featured an extremely fun take on the character Michael Rosenbaum may be famous for playing Lex Luthor in Smallville but he also voiced the animated flash this fun-loving take on Wally West often acted as the comic relief against so a characters like Batman and Hawkgirl the most famous episode featuring the character is Justice League Unlimited splash and substance this shows flash in his home of Central City they are the townspeople are celebrating flash day complete with a parade and everything we get to see him in his natural environment and even meet a few of his villains instead of acting as violently against them as Batman would he casually tells the trickster to turn himself in this is perhaps the most light-hearted take on the flash we've ever seen Barry Allen seemingly changed everything when he tried to change the past and flashpoint when he returned to his own time everything was a bit different the DC Universe was changed into the new 52 though now it's unclear whether flashpoint changed everything or if a being like dr. Manhattan is responsible in any case Barry Allen's long and epic history was erased we now follow a very familiar but a younger take on Allen instead of being a loyal husband Barry was relegated back to his always late slightly irresponsible self this was a bit of a disappointment considering how legendary the pre new 52 version was from there though he's proven himself to be a worthy successor his cunning mind has been on full display in events like The Watchmen crossover the button here he teamed up with Batman to investigate the mystery behind the legendary button from the famous graphic novel time will tell of this Barry Allen will ever be as legendary as his predecessor but he's running on the right track there have been so many flashes over the years but there can be only one first flash back in the year 1940 gee Garrett first sped on to comic book pages with the iconic red costume and his ridiculous helmet throughout the Golden Age Garrett was the go-to speedster he was friends with Green Lantern Alan Scott and a member of the Justice Society of America he may have faded away so the Barry Allen could take the mantle but his story wasn't done yet Jay Garrick reappeared in the legendary crossover flash of two worlds he saw Barry Allen accidentally traveled to Gary's world earth to this established the existence of the DC multiverse which would shape the comics for years to come everything changed again when the multiverse was destroyed due to the crisis on Infinite Earths event Derrick was brought into the main DC Universe as Barry Allen's predecessor the semi-retired flash continued adventuring in the reformed JSA and with the extended flash family Derrick's history may have been erased from the new 52 but his legacy will never be forgotten following Barry Allen's flash seemed like an impossible task when the former flash sacrificed his life during crisis on Infinite Earths his sidekick took over graduating from the team Titan Kid Flash into the Justice League's flash with a rocky start for Wally West things really took off for him when Mark Waid started writing for the character in 1990 he became much more interesting as his romance with Linda Park took off he squared off against villains like zoom saboteur and the reverse-flash eventually he married Park and the two had kids he briefly retired from super heroics but that didn't last the new 52 saw a massive change for his character while a new version was introduced the old version was actually pulled into the modern universe this was initially met with excitement but his involvement in the controversial heroes in crisis has hurt his credibility West might not be as legendary as he once was but now that he's back in the mix again there's hope it's hard to think that the arrowverse used to be just arrow the gritty superheroes show may have been a big hit with fans but it lacked of the lighter tone DC is known for seeing as the DC EU was already doing that clearly we all needed something more fun and that's why the show spin-off the flash was exactly what every comic fan needed Grant Gustin injected the arrow verse with a ton of positivity and fun combined with the excellent Harrison wells twist the series proved it wasn't just a spin-off right off the start it's continued for several seasons where Barry has teamed up not only with Oliver Queen but Supergirl as well the latter even joined him for a special musical episode he's been involved in several huge crossover events that rival Marvel's in terms of epic superhero action except with dno a television budget the show also has provided him with several evil big bads reverse-flash zooms sabot are the thinker and blood were all pretty formidable foes yes I did leave off the cicadas they were both horrible the show also gave Gus some the best supporting cast Flash has ever had Cisco Caitlin elongated man and a revolving door of Harrison wells all make up the awesome team flash for many grant is the definitive take on the character even if they do give him a slightly worse costume every single year there's really no argument here the pre new 52 comic book Barry Allen is the entire reason the flash is a legend in the first place sure Jay Garrick started it but Barry Allen taking on the likes of Captain Cold reverse-flash and Grodd made comic history he had quite a dramatic journey to Barry married his longtime love iris West only for her to be ripped away by the reverse-flash then Barry ended up taking the villains life as he was trying to attack his new love Mary Ellen went on trial forward in one of the comics most epic courtroom dramas perhaps his most famous feat was giving his own life to save the world in crisis on Infinite Earths for decades the fallen hero was the Honorable role model for all other heroes whose statues and museums were made in his honor then Geoff Johns brought him back for more in his rebirth series unfortunately the end of his character arc featured him kind of destroying the universe in flashpoint still that's not enough to tarnish his reputation as one of the finest heroes in comic book history and there you have it all the best flashes ranked which one's your favorite let us know in the comments and don't forget to Like and subscribe for more

Channel: Collider

Views: 153,375

Rating: 4.8845639 out of 5

Keywords: The Flash, Barry Allen, Smallville, Arrowverse, Grant Gustin, Wally West, Justice League Unlimited, Bary Allen, Jay Garrick, Crisis On Infinite Earths, The Flash Of Two Worlds, martha dump truck in the flash, the flash season 6, godspeed, crisis on infinite earths, supergirl, superman, batman, batwoman, arrowverse crossover, elseworlds, the flash song, grandmaster flash, the flash godspeed, the flash bloopers

Id: uzBJzoHLj5Y

Length: 11min 25sec (685 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 30 2019