Hey there, Flash fans, and welcome to Speed Force’s fourth anniversary celebration! We four regular contributors will be writing about some of our favorite Flash memories, and thought it might be nice to get you folks involved as well. What better way to do that than with a contest?
Here’s how it’ll go: simply share your favorite Flash-related memory, or an early memory that you think is pretty special (for whatever reason — it could be entirely personal) in the comments section of this post. We’ll collect the stories and set them up as a poll to be voted on by readers, and the top-rated four will win!
There will be four winners, and the contest will run until 9 pm ET on Tuesday, June 19. Prizes will include Flash variant issues. There aren’t any rules or restrictions, although please share just one story to make things fair for everyone. So dig deep into your memories, and have fun!
Update: The results are in!
My favorite Flash memory is rediscovering The Flash (and comic books) with Flash #4 (Wally’s series). It had been a year or two since I had read any comics and I was stuck at my aunt’s house for a week with nothing to do. My mom picked up three comics for me: Flash #4, Adventures of Superman Annual #1 and an issue of Firestorm (forget the number). Loved them all, but it was Flash #4 that really wowed me. Everything from the cover to Wally’s battle with the Kilg%re just left me begging for more. It was the first time I had ever really fallen in love with a comic book and Wally West has been my favorite character ever since. It took me years of tracking down back issues (and a reboot of the series) but I now own every issue of the Wally West Flash series.
One of the earliest things I recall with collecting was being at the local mall where the comic shop was at the time. There were lots of artists and wanna be artists there showing off their stuff… i recall picking up one of my first Flash comics starring Wally West… I know before this I had picked some up, Superman and a few of the end run of Barrys comics years and years earlier… but for some reason, this issue of Wallys run really struck me… It was Flash #25… Porcupine Man… or at least part of that story. Struck me as odd seeing the last page of someone wearing the top part of the Flash costume with jeans as I’d never considered the costume to be more than just one piece… This got me hooked on the Flash and I recall digging into the back issues for a few more books from this time. It wasn’t until years later that I would actually track down 100% of the Wally West series, and even more years before going even further back to Crisis and tracking down almost all of Barry’s run even. Wally’s stories make you feel, there’s a connection that just isn’t there anymore with a lot of the books. Those were the days…
I’ve got a Masters in Forensic Science and I run marathons. Later in life I discovered Barry Allen and realized what I had in common with him. Absent the super-speed… I pretty much AM Barry Allen. And that realization is my favorite Flash memory.
I’m one of the oldest Flash fans following the site, so my favorite memory goes way back…to The Flash #160 (labeled April 1966), which was an 80 Page Giant. This came out in the days of “Go-Go Checks” – just a black and white checkerboard stripe that went across the top of all DC Comics, as a means to more easily ID the DC issues. It was my first introduction to Jay Garrick and Johnny Quick and the wonders of the Golden Age Heroes…and it also had a story featuring Wally West as Kid Flash, giving me all three generations of Flash that existed at the time. This issue did two very important things for me as a comics fan…it gave me a love of reading about every Flash generation, and it introduced me to the heroes of Earth 2 that I so admired then and now. Even in my much-older years, I still have fond memories of those stories, and I still enjoy reading the new stories as they come out. I’ll talk about them from time to time on TheFastestForumAlive and in comments here – but the main thing is I still look at stories about The Flash with the same enjoyment today that I had so many years ago.
My THE FLASH memory was when everyone in The justice league was being defeated by Brainiac who is in lex luthors body and takes out everyone except flash and uses his awesome speed to beat the brainiac out of lex luthor at first he lost himself to the speed force but his friends brought him back it was the best memory
I’ve been a Wally West fan most of my life. I thought his character really came into his own during his Kid Flash “run” on the great Marv Wolfman/George Perez “New Teen Titans”. I was heartbroken when he was pulled from the main line-up (due to his 1st retirement). That leads into my favorite Flash moment. After learning his uncle & mentor, Barry Allen, died saving the universe, Wally finally realizes who he is and, more importantly, what he must become. Then you see him in “the suit” standing in front of Jay Garrick uttering the line, “From this day forth … The Flash will live again!”. In that moment, Wally became something more than a 1,000 reboots can ever force fit. He became both incredibly human & a legend. Thrilling.
Simple and sweet: finding the complete episodes of Justice League and Flash & Substance. I went months as a newly rabid fan waiting for the TV station to play JL after the last episode of JLU, only they kept going back to the first episode of JLU. Plus I kept missing this fabled episode called Flash & Substance.
Then I found the discs and devoured them all in one sitting. I got to see Flash being a flirt, messing up, saving the day, and getting Batman riled by nearly killing Alfred. It was glorious.
At the end I was red-eyed and exhausted, but one happy Flash fan.
(And, yeah, F&S was well worth waiting for.) 🙂
Heh, my favourite memory is related to F&S too; I just posted it 🙂
I’ve grown up with Wally West as The Flash. But I became a fan of the Flash only when I could read MY first stories with Barry Allen: “Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold” and “JLA: Year One”. These books have made me a great fan of Barry Allen. Only when Allen was back to red I began to read The Flash comics monthly.
I’ve got a few, but my favourite has to be ‘Terminal Velocity’ storyline.
Wally seeing his future and trying to prevent it. Team Flash with Jay, Max, Johnny, Jesse and Bart ALL kicking arse & taking names. Speed Force, impossible odds, team ups this storyline had EVERYTHING.
Easily (for me) the highlight of Mark Waid’s run and a culmination of everything he had been building since his first issues.
Alright so my friend and I were at his house. He is a hardcore Spiderman fan, and I am a hardcore Flash fan. So of course he has to bring up, “Who would win in a fight Spiderman or Flash?” about every month. This would result in very painful discussions with my friend with him making crazy claims on how Spiderman could defeat The Flash. Well finally one day I decided to settle our dispute by texting that question to KGB. They replied with the answer- “The Flash has the advantage, he is considered to be one of the most powerful meta-humans on the planet. Spider-Man will have a hard time beating him.” He hasnt bothered me about it since….
From a young age, I’ve always been intrigued by the Flash. I think early on, it was more about his costume than anything, because red is my favorite color and he just looked so awesome! Later on, I started delving more into his character and mythology. My favorite Flash memory is collecting the Mark Waid run on the Wally West Flash run, because it explored not only Wally, but the entire Flash Family. This intrigued me to no end, and I loved every page. Watching as Wally grew up, as Bart and Max lived a comedic domestic life in Manchester, watching Jesse and her father fight side by side until the very end, it was just an awesome feeling, getting so attached to this family of speedsters and seeing how they developed and grew. And of course, seeing Barry from time to time, watching Wally try his very best to find his way out of his mentors shadow. So, my favorite Flash-related memory is watching the Flash Family grow and develop into one of the greatest, most intriguing families in comic books!!!
My favorite Flash memory has to be that I was fully brought into comics in general and The Flash specifically by watching the TV series on CBS. I had already watched the Superman and Batman movies and enjoyed them as well as the Superfriends cartoons, but the TV sow bright it full circle. Even though I was a fan of the more popular and well known DC characters, I always felt a connection to The Flash because I have felt that a speedster is somehow a bit more grounded to reality than a super powerful alien or even a wealthy person that lurks in the shadows doing his best to right wrongs. I just can see myself trying to do the things The Flash can do easier than any other superhero I have ever read about.
As a result, when the TV show was on the air, I could sit back and imagine myself running around Central City having the time of my life. After the series was over, I took up collecting the comic book version with Wally West and I as so interested in it I made it my mission to get back issues so I could see how it all started for Wally after Barry’s passing.
In all, he TV show made a very good starting point for my reintroduction to the DC Universe after my childhood and I will never forget it.
JLA #3 by Grant Morrison! Nothing beats the infinite mass punch he used against the Hyperclan member Züm! Easily the coolest moment I’ve seen from any of the Flashes.
For me, it was watching Crisis On Infinite Earths unfold over the 12 issues. I was (and am) a huge Flash fan, and seeing in the early issues those images in time of Barry slowly disintegrating and reaching out, then his truly heroic demise, and then to witness Wally stepping up to take on the mantle, all in an age where there was no such thing as Previews and you just had to wait to see what happened, was completely engrossing. Easily my most on-edge and emotional response to a series unfolding – ever.
One of my favorite Flash memories was from several years ago when I began reading comics and I read Crisis on Infinite Earths. When Barry Allen sacrificed himself to try to stop the Anti-Monitor I knew that he was a true hero, and since then he has been one of my favorites.
It also helps that he’s best friends with my all time favorite hero, Hal Jordan. 😀
I was just getting back into comics, and perusing the racks, my eyes fell upon Flash #88. A Mark Waid-penned issue with a gorgeous Mark Farmer cover. Bought it, and was hooked on Wally West from that day forward. I owe Waid and Farmer much for that.
My favorite Flash memory is rediscovering the character during the Mark Waid and Geoff Johns runs. I had been a regular Flash reader during the Silver Age and read the book all the way until the final issue, #300. When it re-launched after Crisis, I loved the first couple of years but grew bored with it. When Waid came on and revitalized Wally West, making him a strong and interesting character, I thought it was a miracle. When Waid left the series later I had written off the book…no one could could write Wally that well! Then Geoff Johns came on and did a superb job by taking Wally West even further than before. Even though Wally is gone for now, and even if the current incarnation isn’t good enough for some of us, The Flash is indestructible. Someone will eventually come along and make him work again.
I got into Flash with Barry near the end of his run with ‘The Trial of Flash’. Bates, Infantino, I loved the whole book. But being new, I didn’t know the whole back-story. Who was Reverse-Flash? Why did Barry kill him? and so on. Fortunately, they still used editorial footnotes back then so I knew what issues or what range of issues in which to look for answers.
My local comic store at the time was part used book store, part comic store. They had quite the bins of back issues. So saving up my allowance, I scoured their Flash back issues for anything related to Reverse-Flash or failing that, any issue whose cover I liked. I just wanted to read some Flash.
What I found was quite amazing to me now, even more so back then in my youth. I came across Flash #324, the issue where Barry kills Zoom. Stunning to read.
I also found Flash #139, Zoom’s first appearance. Today, the issue may be graded as Poor, maybe Good on a good day, but the interior pages were whole and the coloring still good. And there it was, the beginning of the rivalry, the feud, right there in my hands. (and for the low, low price of $1.10) Every panel was a treat to read. Great story.
Also came across Flash #225, ‘Green Lantern, Master Criminal of the 25th Century’ featuring a team-up of Flash with Zoom! What?! My younger self had to read that masterpiece.
Last was Flash #305, which has one of the best covers I’ve ever seen on a comic. First off, now there are two Flashes?! And one is accusing the other of hiding something?! Had to read that and my knowledge of the Flash mythos expanded overnight.
Learned about Wally, followed Barry through the end of his trial only to see him die in CoIE (which, back then in ’85, really, really hurt to see such a hero die in such a noble cause) Then saw Wally take up the mantle and been following Flash ever since.
But those four issues, plus the Trial, really helped make Flash one of my favorite comic characters ever. And that’s my favorite Flash memory.
Around 20 years ago, when I was about 6 or so, I got my first glimpse at the Flash universe through a TV programme showing clips of what was the then new Flash TV series. It would be another 10 or so years before I actually got to watch the series but just the image of the scientist getting struck by lightning and being given super powers from that just stuck with me. Once I’d actually seen it I was hooked and it inspired me to try to find somewhere that sold comics to find out more. I eventually got hooked on the Wally West series and he has since become my favourite character but it’s still that initial lighning strike that I remember most.
My favourite Flash memory actually occurred about a month ago. I was in another city for work and went to one of my favourite comic book stores there. I was actually looking for 70s Detective Comic back issues, but found something I never thought I’d ever see: an original copy of The Flash #123 from 1961. The cover was pretty ratty looking but pretty much all there, and the story itself was complete (no pages missing, torn, etc.). It was labeled in “fair” condition and was priced at only $60 (which I thought was incredibly cheap for such a piece of comic book history) so I snatched it up. I have reprints of the comic but I never thought I’d ever own an original copy. It is the pride of my collection.
The thing I love most about the Flash family is that it’s not just a name–family is an inseparable aspect of every Flash. I have a brother and a sister who are twins (now age 5), and I’m old enough to be their mother. I’ve spent a lot of time taking care of them and raising them, to the point where I almost feel sometimes that they’re like my own kids. Wally’s relationship with Jai and Iris is one of my favorite things in comics, and I feel like I especially identify with him because of it. This stuck out for me the most in The Brave and the Bold v.2 #8, with Flash and the Doom Patrol. It’s all about difficult decisions, and trying to do what’s best for his children. At the end Wally faces an impossible choice, but he overcomes and manages to save both of their lives. Even so, he feels guilty that he can’t be a perfect parent. It was a great moment of depth for the Flash family, and one that really made the family feel alive to me. It’s my favorite Flash memory because it’s a beautiful story that proves that superheroes really are just like us.
My favorite Flash memory is when Wally broke his legs, but then created the most awesome costume in Flash history…literally out of the Speed Force…which still let him run!!! Chariots of Fire moment!
There was only 1 superpower that ever made me go “I want that more than anything in the world” and that was superspeed. Growing up I was the biggest Flash fan out of anyone I knew, It only made sense that Wally was my idol because I grew up with him. Needless to say i’ve read through Flash Vol 2 numerous times because Waid’s run on Wally blew me away, which leads me to my favourite flash moment during Waid’s run. It’s a simple moment in Waid’s first run of “Born to run” where Barry is teaching Wally how to vibrate through a brick wall. It’s certainly not the most action packed or spectacular scene but it’s one in where we get to see Wally’s first attempt at vibrating through a brick wall and failing. And as we all know Wally never got the hang of it and was exploding walls every time he vibrated through them. This scene is my favourite because it shows the difference between Barry and Wally no matter how much they are family inside there was always a difference and vibrating through molecules through a wall was one of them.
My favorite Flash memory was when I was in New York City at FAO Schwarz. I had my Flash shirt on (it’s red and has the symbol on it, so it’s pretty basic) and one guy (a worker) came up to me with smug expression on his face and asked me, “Which one is your favorite, Allen or West?” I pondered it, because that isn’t an easy decision for me and replied,” West.” He seemed shocked and said “I was hoping for a confused look, I’m surprised you knew what I meant.” To which I replied, “Of course I knew what you meant. I love the Flash. And I believe you’re forgetting two. You have to count Jay, the man who started it all, and Bart, whom went from Impulse, to Kid Flash, and then became the Flash himself.” In response I got a puzzled look and a nervous laugh. I’ll never forget it.
I have to give a little bit of backstory to how I got into comics but I’ll try and be brief. Through highschool I didn’t buy comics at all. I had collected some spiderman and batman as a kid but didn’t have a comic store around my suburban area and never liked the feeling of endlessness to a comic universe. A friend of mine really liked DC and whenever he would jokingly dish out superhero names from the JLA to our group I was always the flash.
The end of highschool was very bittersweet. I was graduated and was moving downtown into the city to work for a year and enjoy adulthood before going to college but a lot of friendships fell apart and I had just gone through a bad break up. I was unsure of what direction I was heading in with many aspects of my life.
As it turns out there was a comic store down the street from where I moved and the same friend urged me to buy some flash now that Wallys run had ended (the first time) and Bart was now the flash. He explained the legacy of the flash and Iremember being intrigued by the idea. I picked up issues 0, 1, 2, 5 and 6 (I was only going to pick up 0 1 2 but I couldn’t possibly resist the ever so brilliant “OH NO! ITS MY HUSBAND” cover) and I was off to read.
I enjoyed the first few issues and found Wally very relatable but then I read issue 0 by the brilliant Mark Waid and something about reading that issue at that moment in my life just filled me with an insane ammount of hope. It may sound silly but thats my flash moment and the reason he is my favourite comic charactor of all time.
Ever since the flash (esspecially but not limited to the wally stuff) has been my book to read that will NO MATTER WHAT put a smile on my face and make me feel like I can tackle anything. I personally think Mark Waids run on the book is the greatest comic run of all time and I would not trade my collection for anything in the world.
Been lurking this site for years and love it btw. Had to say, now that I’ve actually posted.
wow…. that was way longer than it seemed while I was typing… sorry for the length.
Really delighted by many of the entries at the Speed Force contest! http://t.co/aDeMPgV6
My favorite Flash memory. Well, I’ve been a fan of the Flash since 1994 so I’ll have to say Terminal Velocity. When Wally di9scovered the Speed Force, it changed the Flash forever! I thought it was an amazing idea, a Valhalla for speedsters…a mystical field all speedsters tap into. I’m sure some had their doubts about it, but not me…I antacipated getting the next issue…as patient as I could be lol. That is my favorite Flash memory.
Mark Waid’s Flash has continual significance for me, but never moreso than in “The Return of Barry Allen.” This is the arc that brings Waid’s whole approach together. It’s not about Barry, actually, but rather the Reverse Flash’s attempt to play mindgames with Wally West, who has yet to fully embrace his mentor’s legacy, or his own abilities. He turns to the Zen master of speed, Max Mercury, as well as the original Flash, Jay Garrick, for inspiration and support, and it’s here where Waid truly revolutionizes comics, making them more cerebral, not in the way that Frank Miller and Alan Moore tried to make them “grow up,” but rather by bringing in a new maturity to the storytelling process, allowing his characters to breathe. Later, Waid perfected this in the pages of Impulse, also featuring Max Mercury (no wonder this minor figure became one of my favorites), and I’ve been trying to write like this ever since.
My absolute favorite is when Wally and the family return from being on an alien planet post Infinite Crisis. Jai and Iris are older and Wally’s training them to be heroes, much to the Justice League’s dismay. Even Batman questions Wally’s parenting skills, to which Wally replies, “Really? The guy who’s gone through four Robins is going to lecture me on good parenting?” Or something to that effect. Loved it!
I’ve been a Flash fan since the late 1990s, largely thanks to Morrison’s work with the character in JLA and Waid’s writing in the Flash’s own book, but my most important memory comes from 2008. I was in the hospital for over a week, recovering from major illness and surgeries, and my roommate bought me a copy of the Blood Will Run trade paperback. I read it countless times while recuperating both in the hospital and at home, and losing myself in tightly-written superhero stories like that one helped take my mind off the pain and discomfort. Blood Will Run remains one of my favorite Flash stories to this day, and it solidified Wally West as my favorite Flash, bar none.
For me it would have to be either Barry Allen’s death in ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ – because this defining moment showed what it meant to be a hero.
But I did love Wally West ‘Year One’ story arc – as it showed how two characters with the same powers could be so different, yet great at the same time.
You have a great site Speed Force, I hope that my site can last four years. http://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/
My favorite Flash memory is a very brief and somewhat disturbing moment. I had stopped reading comics for a while but had kept buying them, for whatever reason. Eventually, I decided to sit down and read some Flash. Fortunately for me, it turned out to be the final issue of Geoff Johns’ “CROSSFIRE” all the way up to the final issue of “BLITZ”. My heart is still torn in two directions over that ending. I hate it because its so so sad, but I love it so much because its down so so well. I’ll never forget that page, and the quick realization on Wally’s face that nothing has changed. That he’s won nothing. My favorite Flash memory is Wally and Linda crying over their lost children.
I want to share my favorite Flash memory here, but I think I’ll hold out on the off chance that I win the contest http://t.co/pt8SsKPX
Maybe not the most emotional, but I remember Wally tussling with the Kilg%re. Pushing himself past his limit and after beating it simply saying “How about that, I outran the damn thing.”.. or something of that nature.
Striving to be the new Flash and not knowing if he’d fail but still trying… It’s why I love the character:)
My favorite memory of the Flash is also my first memory of him (as in Barry) and of spending time with my oldest cousin (he’s 8 years older). He got stuck watching me one afternoon while his mom and mom chatted about his younger sister’s upcoming birthday party (she’s 2 years older then me). I was about 4 at the time and thought he hung the moon.
I’m sitting there in the living room playing with his sister’s dolls when he pulls out this very colorful thing–turned out to be the Flash, back when he thought Iris was dead and she was in disguise and he was on trial for killing the Reverse Flash. I remember staring at it (and my cousin) for a while before he noticed I’d stopped humming the My Little Ponies theme.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, putting aside the comic and like any kid with a younger sibling he’s used to watching he started rattling off things that I could want or need. I kept shaking my head until finally he stopped and asked me what I wanted.
I toddled over and pointed at the comic, I was used to my dad reading to me and must have assumed it was just another picture book. My cousin looked at me, looked at it and told me I wouldn’t like it. Having never been denied reading material before I started getting upset and he hastily changed his mind, sat me down next to him and began reading aloud from about half way through.
Later I found out he thought I’d grow tired of it and fall asleep, but when I didn’t and demanded more he had to pull out his entire collection to placate me. He figured out pretty quickly I wanted to hear about Barry Allen’s (Bawwy Aley–since I couldn’t say my L’s or N’s back then) and continued reading his stories to me. By the end of the afternoon he had given me my own issue (a duplicate he had) and promised that he’d read more to me next time. (it would be about 3 years before I found out ‘My Bawwy’ was dead in the current comics and another 4 before I found out that blasted DC wouldn’t be bringing him back).
I debated on choosing the time I received my first Flash comics from my mother in my Easter basket (they smelled like chocolate for a long time) or the experience of showing my recreation of the final splash page from Flash 77 with Greg LaRocque at a local comic show…
…but my favorite Flash memory and reason I always loved the character can be summed up in 5 simple words:
“Nobody dies. It’s a rule.”
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Flash. Partly because he was one of the first superheroes I learnt of, from watching a snippet of the TV series with my father. But largely because the first episode of Superman: The Animated Series that I ever saw was the one in which Superman raced the Flash. I loved his brash cleverness (the scene where he suavely described getting himself out of the ice-trap without Superman’s help was a favorite part of the episode), and the sheer power of his speed. And when Justice League started, the Flash was always one of my favorite members, behind only the World’s Finest themselves.
But my favorite Flash memory is the weeks I spent researching the history of the Flash Family. It started when I happened to land on the Flash: Rebirth page after hitting the Random Page button on Wikipedia. I’d known vaguely from reading Internet forums that Wally West was in fact the latest of several Flashes, even though he was the only one I really knew, and that only in his DCAU incarnation. But in reading the issue-by-issue summary of Rebirth, I could see unfolding a larger story, the story of a heroic mantle passed down for generations. The story of a family, defined not by blood, but by a common power and a sense of justice.
One link led to another, and I read articles on each member of the Flash Family from Jay Garrick to Bart Allen, down to the outlier members such as Max Mercury and Jesse Quick. I read of the mystical Speed Force that gave the speedsters their power and linked their individual histories together into a shared tapestry. I read about the highlight storylines, about murders and trials and surprise resurrections, about legacies and maturity, growth from awkward youth to mature hero. And I fell in love with the sprawling, 70+ year epic that is the Flash. Going back and reading my way through the comics that told the original stories was wonderful, as was keeping up with the new developments in Flash history. But there was something special about consuming in concentrated form such a long history in a short amount of time. It was an intense, heady few weeks, and the excitement of discovering Flash history has never faded.
I remember as a kido around 6 or 7. My brother, my cousin, and me were with my parents at the store. Each of us had around $10 bucks we saved up for to spend on toys. So since we were all in to DC comics. There was lot of DC action figures to choose from. Sure everyone wanted superman or batman. But once I saw the flash that was the one I had to get. Since then he’s my # 1 super hero.
My favorite Flash memory is the comic that got me started reading the series in the first place. I was never a huge fan up to that point. Sure I like the character on the old Superfriends cartoon etc. But I never went out of my way to really pay attention to the fact that there was a comic book. So during my monthly foray to my local comic book shop I notice the cover of Flash #45(Gorilla Grodd was on the cover) I picked it up read it and was hooked after that.
My favorite Flash momen is the whole Flash: The Rebirth event. For a heroic death there´s a heroic and EPIC return, something that everyone was waiting for and something everyone was waiting for, for almost decades. Barry Allen is back and his ready to take off from where he left. Soem may argue that his death wasn´t that heroic,l that it happened in the dark, well, that truely is the heroic death, he sacrificed himself – the ultimate selfless act – not looking for personnal triumph and glory but looking for to protect the people he vowed to protect, knowing that something like his ultimate help would be needed for good acts to continue. Besides being the most heroic death it was also the most realistic because it was the one that lasted longer(and think about all the other super hero deaths, all in the spotlight fighting for the soul of the world or a hero uses his superpower to such a high level that kills him or alikes) After all, he trained a protege, and now he sees that all those years he wasn´t around his sidekick took care of everything, took care of his legacy, he sees that Kid Flash is now a man made at his image. And now he is helping him. What´s heartbreaking is seeing that his sidekick wasn´t the only one who never forgot him, every single hero he had the humble pleasure of calling “friend”, will help him. Flash: The Rebirth is about a legacy thatb has never or will ever be forgotten, The Flash is back, that´s what this story moment tells us, and he has come to stay.
My favorite Flash moment was the whole Flash: The Rebirth event because for a heroic and epic that there´s a heroic and EPIC return. Some may argue that his death wasn´t really that heroic because it was practically in the dark but that´s the point, he sacrificed himself – the ultimate act of selflessness – not because he was looking for personal triumph or glory but because he wanted to protect the people he has always vowed to protect, knowing that an act like this could be needed for good deeds to continue. Besides being timeless, his death was also realistic because he had the death that lasted longer and he didn´t die in the spotlight, just like a true hero would do and not mind doing. He left a protégé when he was gone and now he sees what he has become, a man made at his image, keeping his legacy intact, keeping his memory alive. But the people he humbly called “friends” are with him as well, they (just like the writer and fans) did not forget him. Flash: The Rebirth it was about the intact legacy, it was about the unforgotten memory, the unquestionable family, about the return of an icon, it was about a statement,it was about a celebration of speed over evil and it was about The Flash that drove generations insane with goodness filling their lungs. The Flash has come, hurray!
As many great memories as I have from reading Flash stories, probably my favorite Flash memory is of the neighborhood Flash Fan Club my friends and I started when I was a kid, around 1977. We drew posters of the Flash, Kid Flash, and his villains; had a secret password (H-SALF, Flash spelled backward); and would practice running with our hands flat “to cut down wind resistance.” All the better to master super-speed!
The Flash has always been there for me. The first time he was there was when my parents were going through a tough time. They had been fighting over any little thing and I felt alone and scared, I seriously thought that my family was breaking up. Then I read Flash #0 by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo. Here was young Wally West, going through the same thing with his parents and him feeling alone – just like I was. Then older Wally came and explained to his younger self that everything would work out in the end. I remember that one thing that older Wally said; that his parents were just afraid to dream. It was then, that I knew everything would be okay.
After this I was hooked on anything with the Flash. I just couldn’t help myself. As I read more stories I was amazed of how much the Flash loved his family. Whether it was a possible future seen by Waverider in the Armageddon Annual, Wally saving his father during the storm in the Year One storyline and then Linda and Wally raising the twins, the Flash once again showed me how important love and family are. Then I read Crisis #8 and was again inspired how Barry Allen gave his life to save all those he loved, and even those he didn’t know. Once again, I remembered what he said – there is always hope.
Especially now, when many of our heroes have become cynical and dark the Flash still remains with his lightning bolt symbol, reminding us that even in the darkest storm there is still light and to never stop running toward the future with hope.
My favorite Flash memory was when I ran the 2011 New York Marathon (26.2 miles) dressed up like the Flash. I wasn’t wearing a full costume, I just wore a shirt with the Flash symbol and a Flash themed baseball cap with the earpiece lightning bolts sticking out. It was pretty cool having people cheer me on as the Flash, saying “Go Flash” or “You should already be at the finish line, Flash.”
It was pretty cool seeing how recognizable the Flash is amongst the general public except for a few cases of mistaken identity when people cheered “Go Shazam” or “Go devil dude” (must have been the lightning bolts). Funnily, I do not remember anybody calling me Flash Gordon. Anyway, all that cheering got me to shave off 30 minutes from my previous marathon time.
http://imgur.com/d3Rhi
My favorite memory of The Flash is him helping me through the end of a particularly bad training run. The run was just one of those sucky runs happens now and then. Toward the end, I started remembering how in a story I had just read (I can’t remember what story at the moment) had pushed harder and harder even though he wanted to stop. He didn’t let the pain stop him. He hit the wall and kept running hard. I thought about how Wally is just a regular guy with superspeed. If he could hang in, so could I since I’m a regular guy, too, just with regular-guy speed 🙂
My favourite Flash memory is the death of Iris Allen. We’d had several issues of amped-up intensity, which I was loving, but couldnt see continuing. And then, with no pre-publicity, the unbelievable occurred – Barry’s oldest, most important supporting character, the love of his life, died. And I was simply knocked out.
Today, that couldn’t happen, we’d know months in advance, but back then, encouraged by new editor and classic Flash artist Ross Andru, Cary Bates truly earned his Mr Surprise nickname. And he didn’t rest on his laurels, he used the event to set Barry off on a terrible, unpredictable, hugely entertaining journey he couldn’t cut short via super speed. Classic.
Anyway, I’m sharing because you asked, not cos there’s a contest. Congratulations on four years of speedy goodness.
Favorite Flash memory? Dragon*Con 2009. I found the tackiest fabric in the world and decided that I had to cosplay as Trickster II (Axel Walker). Not too long before the con, I checked online to see if there would be any other Flash or Rogue cosplayers.
There was. A whole gaggle of Rogues to rally around. Headed by Mirror Master, with a Captain Cold, Pied Piper, Trickster I, Heatwave, and a Weather Wizard. They were all old hands at cosplay, familiar with cons, and I was just this punk kid who really didn’t know what I was doing, but they welcomed me with open arms (and a few punches. Axel’s an annoying kid, so I made sure to get a picture of each Rogue punching him/me out), and we spent hours playing, joking, and posing for villainous photos along with a few Flashes and an Impulse. By the time the heroes were too exhausted for more posing, the Rogues were just gearing up for more fun, so we headed to the bar, because it is, after all, the Rogues’ natural habitat. After that, the night’s a little blurry for me, but I do remember them making sure I got back to my hotel safely, because hey, Rogues watch each other’s backs.
New entries are closed, but I found an old one that was sent to me by e-mail on Monday.
Anj writes:
There are a lot of historical Flash moments that I am sure will be nominated, from Barry’s sacrifice in Crisis to Wally marrying Linda.
But for me, one of my favorite memories come from Flash #110, part 4 of the 6 part Dead Heat story were Wally fights Savitar.
Savitar worships the Speed Force, is short circuiting other speedsters ability to tap into it, and is draining some of the Force, using it to power his ‘super speed ninjas’. With few other options, Wally decides to attack Savitar’s fortress bringing Jesse Quick along for the ride. It is a desperation move but it is classic Wally. He needs to help his friends. He needs to keep his family safe. And he needs to bring down the bad guy. It has the feel of a suicide mission. And all seems lost when, despite breaking the dynamo which is interfering with the Speed Force, Savitar and 50 superspeed ninjas face a battered Wally and Jesse. Savitar can’t help but gloat wondering what the odds are of Wally surviving.
And then we get the end splash page, a great cliffhanger, and my favorite Flash moment … maybe better called a Flash family moment. In a flash of lightning the now re-powered super-speed family arrives to help the Flash. The odds just got better.
This moment has everything that was great about Waid’s landmark run: Wally’s growth as a true hero worthy of the Flash name and with it that willingness to sacrifice himself to do what’s right, his absolute love of Linda and his family, and that sense of legacy in the super-speedsters.
I got goose bumps the first time I read this and I got a shiver reading it again. A small moment in a small story arc for sure, nothing historical here, but absolutely my favorite.
——————————————-
Voting is now open! Please vote for your top 4 at this poll.
I suppose I should say “Thanks for the memories!”
Comments are open again. You’re welcome to share more memories (just not eligible for the contest) or respond to the ones already posted.
Pingback: Contest: What do you like about Firestorm? | Firestorm Fan
Pingback: VOTE! Top 6 Entries from 'What do you like about Firestorm?' | Firestorm Fan