When you think of speed, what comes to mind? The Flash? Well, in mythology though, it is the Roman God Mercury and the Greek God Hermes. They were fast enough to outrun Gods and deliver messages. This concept made its way into the comic book genre in several different phases. The earliest known speedster in DC is The Flash (1939). Though Marvel has their own version of the speedster called Quicksilver, he came out in (1964).
There have been many more speedsters created between 1939 and 1964 in the DC universe. We will list them all for you which will include their roles, costumes and how they got their powers.
The Flash: Jay Garrick (1940)
This is the original appearance of the Flash in the era known as the golden age. Jay belonged to the Justice Society of America (JSA) and featured in the All-star comics. His first known solo comic appeared in 1941 as the All-Flash. The character’s popularity dropped with the culmination of World War II.
In the later issues, Jay disappeared all together. But he did make guest appearances in the 60’s and 70’s, and lives on Earth-two. Jay’s costume comprises of a red shirt with a lightning bolt across, blue jeans and helmet fixed with gold wings on the sides. He is currently known as ‘grandpa flash’.
Johnny Quick: Jonathan Chambers (1941)
This version of the speedster made his debut in The Golden Age comics and also resided on Earth-two. When not fighting crime, he works as a photographer for the Sees-All/Tells-All News. Johnny derived his powers from a mathematical formula (3X2 (9YZ) 4A) which was taught to him by Professor Gill. The good professor found this formula inscribed on a Pharaoh’s tomb.
His costume is a red shirt and yellow spandex pants with red boots, yellow gloves and a thin black mask.
Max Mercury: Max Crandall (1940)
Max was born in the nineteenth century, and was known to be a very friendly guy to the black foot clan. He was originally a scout with the US Cavalry; one day his commanding officer ordered an attack on his tribal friends. He rushed to scene to find a dying Indian Shaman who granted him super-speed.
Max has been shown in various timelines and has taken up the mantle of Blue Streak and Quick Silver. He was also recruited by Jay Garrick, Wally West and Johnny Quick to take down the Reverse Flash. His costume is a combination of blue and white and wears a red mask. Max was also the mentor for Bart Allen.
The Reverse Flash: Edward Clariss (1949)
This was the first original arch enemy of Jay Garrick; his secret identity was Edward Clariss. He was professor at the university that Jay attended. He recreated the same formula that gave Garrick his speed. However, it only worked for some time. His costume was a darker version of the original flash with the lightning bolt facing the other way.
The Flash: Barry Allen (1956)
The Flash made a debut in the 1956 comic book series of the same name, replacing Jay Garrick. This version was nicknamed the scarlet speedster and received an instant welcome from the public. He has been a part of the cinematic, comic and animated movies for a very long time. Where Jay Garrick was a much more serious flash, Barry is considered to be talkative and funny.
He is not related to the original Flash in any way, though the accident that gave him his powers is the same as Jay. His costume is entirely red, with golden boots, a golden lightning belt and golden wings on the sides of his head. He also has a single lightning bolt on his chest.
Kid Flash: Wally West (1959)
Wally is the third flash and nicknamed as ‘the fastest man alive’. After Barry’s demise, he takes on the mantle of the Flash and becomes a founding member of the Justice league. Wally is the nephew of Barry and had received his powers the same way as the second Flash. Kid Flash has had multiple reboots ever since he first came out. In the current lore of the animated television series, he is one of the founding members of the teen titans and so on. There are multiple origin stories of this character, but this is the oldest one known.
The Kid Flash is depicted wearing a dual coloured suit of yellow and red, a red lightning bolt on his chest and red wings on the sides of his head.
Professor Zoom: Eobard Thawne (1963)
A bête noir to Barry Allen’ Flash, in many animated television series and comics, he appears to be faster than the Flash. The Flash issue #139 explains the origin story. Thawne was a brilliant scientist of the twenty-fifth century and had found the Flash’s costume in a time capsule. The suit still had super speed wave patterns, but Thawne dyed it into reverse colours. Zoom then becomes the Flash’s rival and is able to attack him by travelling through time.
The Tornado Twins: Don and Dawn (1968)
Don and Dawn are twins born in the thirtieth century and are the children of Barry Allen and Iris West. The two had genetically received their powers from their father. Since they were in an era where metahumans were disliked, they operated in secret as superheroes. The two of them wore identical purple coloured suits that did not have a lightning bolt to represent them.
Jesse Quick: Jesse Chambers (1992)
She is the daughter of the golden age Johnny Quick speedster and Liberty Belle. She genetically received her powers from both her parents. Her powers also came from adopting the same mathematical formula her father was taught. Jesse, Wally and Max Mercury were also the mentors for Bart Allen by teaching him the ways of super speed. Her costume comprises of a red shirt with a black coloured pair of wings printed at the center of it. She also wears yellow spandex pants, gloves and a red mask.
Impulse: Bart Allen (1994)
The son of Don Allen and Meloni Thawne, he’s well known as the Impulse and was born in the thirtieth century. Bart was the part of a complex history since both sides of his family were either superheroes or super villains. The rivalry between the Thawne and Allen family ended with the birth of Bart. Since he inherited the power of super speed from his grandfather Barry Allen, Bart was born with a progeria-like condition that would age him faster than normal. To make sure that his body and mind remained in sync and to help him control his powers, his grandmother Dawn took him back in time to race with Wally around the world, which helped keep his powers in control.
Max Mercury took up the responsibility to raise and train Impulse to control his powers. His costume is a combination of white and red, with a red lightning bolt stretching from the top to the bottom. He also wears a red mask with golden wings on the side.
