A Short History of the Flash
The Scarlet Speedster Runs Out of Comic Books & Onto Television
Dec 15, 2008
Originally created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert in 1940, the Flash has been part of the DC Comics universe right up to the present day. Four main versions of the character have existed at one time or another. Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West and Bart Allen have all borne the mantle of the Flash. Ironically, the original incarnation of Jay Garrick is the only one that has not made it to television in any form.
Unlike Superman or Batman, the title of the Flash has passed from one hero to another. This makes for some confusing continuity, particularly when the character is transplanted from one medium to another. In many cases, the version of the Flash that is pictured on television is an amalgam of two or more of the versions that have appeared in the comics.
Clothes Make the Man
In the comics, Jay Garrick wore blue pants, a red shirt festooned with a lightning bolt and a helmet that looked much like the helmet worn by the Greek God Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The modern symbol used by FTD Florists looks much like the Jay Garrick Flash.
Barry Allen wore the signature red unitard with a lightning bolt symbol and a cowl to conceal his identity. Wally West wore a slightly modified yellow and red version of the outfit when he called himself Kid Flash. West later adopted the red outfit after the Barry Allen character died and Wally became the Flash. Bart Allen wore something similar to West's Kid Flash outfit and he too took up the traditional red outfit when he replaced Wally as the Flash.
On television, the Flash has almost always been portrayed in the iconic red unitard. Regardless of which version of the character the show in question portrays, the Scarlet Speedster lives up to his name.
Attitude is Everything
As a comic book character, the Flash has undergone a major shift in attitude since the 1980's. The Jay Garrick version was every inch the hero, but in a relaxed fashion. His successor, Barry Allen, was a much more serious man. A police scientist, he suffered the loss of his wife, Iris, which coloured his already serious demeanor.
Wally West, the first Flash to exhibit the need to eat copious amounts of food to replenish the energy he expended at super speed, was a much more laid back character. Generally a layabout who would use his super powers to get by, his laziness was at one point reinforced by a lottery win. Never one to take anything seriously before, the money made him positively irresponsible.
Bart Allen, too, was a less than serious young man. His character in the comics comes much closer to mimicking Wally West than either his uncle Barry or the original, Jay Garrick, Flash.
For the most part, the Wally West version of the Flash is the one most often seen on television. His irrepressible, irresponsible nature makes him almost irresistible to television writers as a vehicle for comic relief.
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