The Flash isn’t exactly on the level of Superman and Batman, but the various Scarlet Speedsters have been one of the most important parts of the history of DC Comics. Everyone knows who the Flash is, even if they’ve never read a comic, and it’s been that way for decades. The hero’s legacy stretches back to 1940, when Jay Garrick began his race against evil, one that the various Flashes and various related heroes have spent years running. The Flash Family has become one of the most beloved superhero families of them all; they’re the only family that can even match the illustrious membership of the Bat-Family is the Flash Family.
The Flash Family is on another level when it comes to legacy. Multiple generations of characters still fight against evil together, protecting the Twin Cities of Keystone and Central, protecting the innocent and winning hearts everywhere they go. They are the best of the best, creating a legacy that no other superhero family can hope to match. The Flash Family shows exactly how a superhero family can operate, and these five reasons prove why they’re the best.
Jay Garrick is an undisputed DC legend and has been since he inhaled some hard water back in 1940. He started the legacy of the Flash, helping found the Justice Society of America, and showing exactly what a speedster should do. He would return in the Silver Age, bringing the multiverse with him. He had many adventures with the Justice League as member of the JSA, and would remain a key member of the group until Crisis on Infinite Earths and beyond. He would play a huge role in mentoring Wally West, and later Bart Allen, all while fighting evil with the Justice Society and still protecting Keystone City. He’s been a key member of the Flash Family for decades now and he’s one of the reasons the team has had the success they have. He’s always there to remind all of them what they should be and how they should fight, a living legend running with them. Most superhero families are missing their grand patriarch, and the fact that Jay Garrick is still with the group shows just how important legacy is to them.
Jay Garrick premiered with one of the coolest costumes ever, setting the standards for the Flash Family costumes. He started the red, the lightning bolt, and while his winged hat never caught on with other members, the wings did become a part of most Flash cowls. Barry Allen’s first costume was different in a lot of ways, but you could still see the design elements from Jay. The first Kid Flash costume was just a kid’s version of Barry’s, before he changed it to the classic yellow and red and even that one kept the red and the lightning. Wally’s Flash costume had several different elements based on Barry’s. Impulse’s was slighting different, but still had the red and the lightning. While ancillary members like Max Mercury or Jessie Quick have their own kind of costumes (although Jessie did have a Flash-inspired costume for a while and she still has red as one of her main colors), the main members of the group all look like a family, each of them matching various parts of their outfits, giving them just the right feel.
The Flash Family is mindblowingly powerful. They’re fueled by the Speed Force, which is one of the building blocks of the multiverse. While it’s been around since the beginning of time, it was undiscovered by humanity until the zen speedster Max Mercury posited its existence. When it was formally discovered, Wally started mastering it, able to pull off feats of speed that no one else could. The various other speedsters would start to work with the Speed Force and by the time Barry Allen returned to life, most speedsters could pull off some pretty great feats with it. While the Flash Family doesn’t all have the same power level – Wally is the most powerful, Barry and Bart are next, Wallace would be after them, then Jay, with the rest at varying levels – but they’re tough as nails. The Flash Family’s power has played an important role in their history, mostly because their powers allowed them to beat anyone. The Speed Force has allowed to survive long enough to set up a legacy.
The Flash Family has various branches and each of them is cool on their own. So, for example, you have Jay Garrick, his wife Joan, and their daughter the Boom, who was removed from time for years, leading to them having to get know her again. Wally West married Linda Park, and the two have had three children – Jai and Irey and Wade. All of them are powered by the Speed Force in different ways, with Jai and Wade able to use it for things beyond speed. Also, they’ve met a future version of Wade who’s basically a Speed Force cop. Barry Allen has his wife Iris, who is Wally and Wallace West’s aunt, and the two of them had children in the 30th century, Don and Dawn Allen, the Tornado Twins. Don had a child, who would become Bart Allen, who came back in time to become Impulse, Kid Flash, and the Flash. That’s before we get to characters like Avery Ho, Max Mercury, and Jessie Quick. The Flash Family is a joy to explore, each of them with their unique flavor.
Superhero families are call that for a reason – because they’re usually full of people related to each other. However, the Flash Family take that to the next level. The Allen-West clan has formed the nucleus of the Flash Family for years, producing the two best Flashes. Bart Allen has come up as the next generation, and the West family has the ones after him covered in the form of Jai, Irey, and Wade. Even the non-related members of the group are considered part of this family as well. This has helped the Flash Family gain a closeness that many other superhero families can’t match. It’s allowed them to build in ways that other superhero families can’t, ensuring the legacy of the Flash Family for generations to come. The blood ties of the Flash Family, and their strong pro-adoption attitude, has allowed them to create a group closer than any other. They put the “family” in “Flash Family”, showing that there’s nothing they can’t do together.
