TheFlashfamily is one of the largest and most tight-knit familial units in the DC Universe, due in large part to the extensive lineage of Barry Allen. Family is an essential theme in the Flash’s lore, seeing as every relative is connected by the unseen Speed Force that flows through them just as their shared blood does.
While some relations between the Flash family’s members are obvious, such as that ofWally West and his biological children, others are a bit more difficult to parse without in-depth explanation. Barry’s lineage even features more than one Flash as an added complication. Therefore, this list aims to simplify the Flash’s confusing web of relatives and make sense of the nonsensical. Without further ado,here are the numerous powerful characters who encompass the Flash’s family tree throughout the DC timeline.
Creators:
Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher
Introduced in 1956 at the beginning of the Silver Age, Barry Allen may not be the first Flash in DC history - that honor goes to the Golden Age’sJay Garrick- but he is the first Flash of his family line. This forensic scientist is the son of Henry and Nora Allen, the latter of whom was murdered by Reverse-Flash in his rebooted origin story.
Barry’s accomplishments include cracking time travel and causing the infamous Flashpoint event, which altered the entire DC Comics timeline, though the damage is now rectified. Even his unforgettabledeath inCrisis on Infinite Earthscouldn’t slow this Flash down, as he came back to life in 2008 and has been running alongside his family ever since.
Mark Waid and Jim Aparo
Barry was thought to be an only child for much of his existence, but inThe Flash#144 by Mark Waid and Pop Mhan, it’s revealed that he has a long-lost twinbrother named Malcolm. Unlike him, however, Malcolm was raised by the cruel Thawnes rather than the Allens. His rough childhood has caused him to resent Barry for living a better life, fueling his desire for revenge.
Wielding a blue flame that can steal the Flash’s speed, Malcolm becomes the villainous Cobalt Blue and targets the whole Flash family with his sorcery.Although his speed-stealing magic was remarkable for the time, every speedster can now borrow speed from others, so Cobalt Blue is no longer as formidable as he once was.
Carmine Infantino and John Broome
Barry Allen isn’t the only Flash in his family tree, as Wally West - the nephew of Iris West-Allen, Barry’s love interest - has also held the mantle.Wallygot his own super powersafter being struck by lightning in the same spot that Barry was hit when he first became the Flash. This uncle and nephew duo then became the Flash and Kid Flash respectively, fighting villains side-by-side.
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Once Barry faced his untimely demise, Wallyreplaced him as the main Flash, and he has gone on to reach greater heights of power than his mentor ever did. From hisInfinite Mass Punchto his ability to side-step between planes of reality, Wally West has cemented himself as the true Fastest Man Alive in his family - and in the DC Universe.
Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul
Barry Allen is Wally’s uncle by marriage, but he had another uncle named Daniel West, the Reverse-Flash of DC’s New 52 continuity.Daniel was one of Iris West-Allen’s two brothers - the other being Rudy West, Wally’s dad - who shunned himself from the family after pushing their abusive father down the stairs and paralyzing him. A collision with a Speed Force battery later gave him his super-speed.
Thisversion of Reverse-Flashbecame fixated on traveling back in time to kill his father instead of merely injuring him, draining the energy of as many speedsters as possible to do so. Iris and the Flash manages to talk him down, and Daniel later lost his life in a time bomb explosion, never to be seen again.
Brett Booth, Ron Frenz, Robert Venditti, and Van Jensen
Daniel West’s son, Wallace “Ace” West, has a rocky history in DC lore. First introduced as an updated version of Wally during theNew 52 reboot, Wallace became the Kid Flash to Barry Allen’s Flash just as his previous iteration had. Then, as the original Wally made his long-awaited comeback in 2016, events were rewritten so that Iris now has two nephews named Wallace West.
Wallace - or Ace, as he’s recently been called to further differentiate him from Wally - has established his own identity by joining the Teen Titans and forming a crime-fighting duo calledSpeed Forcewith Avery Ho, the Flash of China. Despite their initial similarities,Wallace is making a name for himself as Kid Flash outside his cousin Wally’s shadow.
Jim Shooter and Win Mortimer
Dawn and Don - also known as theTornado Twins- are the children of Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen, but they don’t exist in the present-day. Instead,Dawn and Don were born in the 30th century when Barry and Iris traveled to the future to live out the rest of their days.
TheDC timelineendures so many upheavals that it’s difficult to determine when - or if - Barry and Iris will still give birth to Dawn and Don after the New 52 reset. Therefore, the Tornado Twins exclusively exist in the 30th century. Their parents do visit them via the Cosmic Treadmill inThe Flash#800 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico, indicating that Barry is at least keeping in touch with his kids.
Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo
Upon Barry and Iris' relocation to the future, they started a new branch of their lineage in the 30th century.Don Allen and Meloni Thawne eventually conceive Bart Allen, the grandson of the Flash.Unfortunately, Bart’s speed goes haywire not long after his birth, causing him to age at super-speed and spend his formative years in a virtual reality simulation. Iris then brings him to the past so that the Flash family can help him control his powers.
From 2006 to 2007, Bart Allen became the fourth Flash in Wally West’s absence. To learn more, check outThe Flash: The Fastest Man Aliveby Danny Bilson, Paul Demeo, Marc Guggenheim, Ken Lashley, and Art Thibert, available now from DC Comics!
Donning the name Impulse, Bart remains in the present-day under the mentorship ofMax Mercury. He’s since become a member of DC’s Young Justice among fellow up-and-coming superheroes, and with the help of his allies, Impulse has evolved from fighting bad guys in video games to defeating them in reality.
Todd Dezago and Ethan Van Sciver
Thaddeus Thawne II is not technically part of the Flash’s family, yet he is still a relative by blood.Thaddeus is a clone of Bart Allen, engineered by Thaddeus Thawne I as part of an elaborate revenge plot against the Allen family.Because Bart is half-Allen and half-Thawne, his DNA was replicated to produce Inertia and thereby enforce the generational feud between the clans.
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Inertia makes several attempts to kill Impulse, and he eventually pulls it off by constructing a device to steal Bart’s speed, which threatens to detonate upon draining him. Bart ultimately sacrifices himself by taking the brunt of the explosion. Enraged, theFlash freezes Intertiain suspended animation, forcing him to pay the price for murdering his “brother”.
Rags Morales and Brad Meltzer
As mentioned before, Impulse is the child of Don Allen and Meloni Thawne.After Don dies, Meloni has another child with Captain Boomerang named Owen Mercer, who grows up to inherit his father’s mantle.Owen doesn’t associate himself with the Flash family, yet he nonetheless warrants a mention as Bart Allen’s half-brother.
Despite associating more with his immediate family than his relatives on the Flash’s side, Owen has acknowledged his relationship with Bart in the aftermath of his death. To avenge his half-brother, he hunts down the Rogues who aided Inertia and has them arrested as punishment. While the secondCaptain Boomerangis by no means close to the Flash family, he does feel some semblance of loyalty to Bart Allen.
Mark Waid, Jeffrey Moy, and Tom McCraw
While Bart Allen is the child of Barry’s son, Jenni Ognats is the child of Barry’s daughter, making her the granddaughter of the Flash.Also originating from the 30th century, Jenni was raised by parents Dawn Allen and Jeven Ognats. She possesses super-speed, much like her relatives, and utilizes her extraordinary powers as a member of theLegion of Super-Heroes. Fighting under the name XS, Jenni is a talented speedster who’s earned her membership on the team.
Jenni, like her cousin, has traveled to the present-day and interacted with her ancestors. However, she differs from Impulse in that she prefers to stay in the future rather than relocate. Jenni instead chooses to be the speedster of the 30th century as XS, carrying on the Flash family’s legacy.
