For the fastest man alive,the Flashhas had a lot of quick changes through the years, and yet one thing is sure: Barry Allen looks good in red and yellow.Allen’s Flash has been around since 1956, when he ushered DC Comics into its celebrated Silver Age. However, it did take him more than fifty years to finally change his costume. Once he got started, there was just no catching up with him.
From lantern rings to alternate realities to possible futures, the very best Barry Allen Flash costumes in comic history have little in common other than the man wearing them.That said, these costumes are the foundation for the Flash Family and influenced what every subsequent Flash would wear, such asWally West and his various costumes. But Barry Allen is the quintessential Flash, and he’s got the fastest fashion show in the world.
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10Frank Miller’s Flash Defies Expectations
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again(2001-2002) by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
Frank Miller gained critical acclaim with his redesigns of staple DC heroes like Batman and Superman, and in the sequel toThe Dark Knight Returns, Barry Allen got his Miller makeover. The Flash of this world conforms to Miller’s Batman, with dark and brooding colors,making it one of the first times Barry Allen’s signature red and yellow suit was redesigned according to more modern standards.
The showing of bare limbs with sneakers to match is a bold choice, and shows the Flash as a speedrunner first and a superhero second.Miller is always loosening up his characters out of their stuffy hero archetypes, and so Barry Allen gets to be something other than the hero of Central City. In a world without a lot of lightness, Barry Allen tries out a black suit, in a first step towards modernizing a long-overdue costume change.
9Injustice Flash’s Militaristic Design
Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One(2013) by Tom Taylor and Jheremy Raapack
In another alternate world, Barry Allen uncharacteristically joins a fascist regime headed by none other than an evil Superman bent on eradicating all crime - by force.This Flash works as an enforcer for Superman, often standing by his side like a soldier. Hence, the armored look is necessary because Barry Allen has devolved from a superhero into the right hand of a tyrant.
Although this version has its adaptation in the comics, it was originally conceived for the gameInjustice: Gods Among Us(2013):
In a world like this, the Flash’s simple fabric suit just doesn’t fit the bill. A militaristic look is required, and nothing shows the harshness of this world better than the thickness of this suit.The Flash isn’t about being fast to save someone now - it’s about being fast and hard, like a punch his enemy can’t see coming. The colors, however, are the same, showing that the same Flash is in there somewhere, under all that armor.
8Future Flash’s New 52 Pure Energy Look
The Flash: Out of Time(2015) by Robert Venditti and Van Jensen
In this story, Barry Allen is composed entirely of electrical energy. This futuristic Flash comes from a future where the Speed Force is broken beyond all repair.So he runs all the way back to the present to stop Barry Allen from making the same mistakes he made- by killing his own younger self and thereby mending the rift in spacetime, making him a serious villain, especially compared tosome of the weirder villains the Flash has faced.
There are more than enough time travel stories when it comes to the Flash, but this costume is like no other. The one-note color gives this Barry Allen an ominous and alien look. The suit is practically holding him together, and the electricity makes up his very skin.There is no humanity in this Flash, just pure energy,and this costume communicates that effect by showing the impartiality of energy.
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7Hot Pursuit’s Sleek Biker Outfit
Another alternate Flash zooms into the DCU, this time with a completely different look that leaves behind any vestige of the Flash’s iconic colors. Just beforeFlashpoint,thisBarry Allen from a parallel universearrives to warn Earth One’s Barry of trouble coming his way.The best part about it is that he’s not even the Flash at all. He’s called himself Hot Pursuit, and he’s also the Fastest Man Alive - just not on his feet.
Hot Pursuit easily updates the outdated Cosmic Treadmill with his Cosmic Motorcycle. Considering his speed has nothing to do with how fast he can run,this Flash is one of the most interesting Flash Family characters, and his costume shows exactly that. This is what the Flash would wear if he were a Nascar driver instead of a runner. Still, the emblem on his chest is somewhat in the shape of the Flash lightning bolt.
6Old Flash Finally Perfected His Suit
The Flash: Year One(2019) by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter
In Barry Allen’s first year of being a speedster, he runs so fast, he finds himself into the future and gets a sneak peek into what that future holds for him. Here,he meets his future self, which for the first time feels like a completely different version of Barry Allen altogether.This old Flash of the futurenot only has some cardio advice for young Barry, but he teaches him a thing or two about his own future.
Flash Fact! InFlash: Rebirth(2009) by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the Flash proves he can far outrun Superman and doesn’t need to be scared of him!
This costume is a welcome change to the Flash mythos, all while keeping in line with the classic red and yellow. For the first time,the Flash’s costume looks like something a runner might actually wear.Reminiscent of Miller’s sleeveless look, this Barry Allen also declines to wear a cowl, because the most important piece of the suit is the symbol on his chest. Barry Allen is the Flash, and there’s no bifurcation between secret identities. Future Flash finally figured that out.
5Negative Flash Shows the Dark Side of Barry Allen
The Flash: Negative (2016)by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter
In Williamson’s extensive run onThe Flash, the Negative Flash version of Barry Allen isn’t so heroic. While not the only villainous costume on this list,Negative Flash has a curse put upon him after Reverse Flash’s traps him inside the Negative Speed Force. What escapes isn’t exactly Barry Allen as Central City knows him, but a faster, meaner - and scarier - Flash that looks more like a villain than he does a hero.
The dark energy trailing off him and deadening his pale face gives him a possessed look, which is exactly how the Negative Speed force reacts parasitically to his body.With the only color being a red the shade of blood, this Flash looks more like the Black Flash than Barry Allen. This costume also shows that not much has to be changed to get one’s point across. A simple difference in color is what makes a hero’s costume a villain’s.
Flash Fact! The Black Flash is the Speedster manifestation of death that first appeared inThe Flash: The Black Flash(1998) by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar!
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4The Flash Is a Beacon of Hope as the Blue Lantern
Blackest Night(2009-2010) by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
In the crisis-level Green Lantern event,Blackest Night, Barry Allen, recently back from the dead, helps out his pal Hal Jordan against the horde of zombies that threaten the DC Universe.In a key change to the Green Lantern lore, the emotional spectrum is expanded to hold the entire rainbow, and one human is chosen to embody the physical manifestation of Hope as a Blue Lantern: Barry Allen.
The Flash is back in blue - although it’s a blue version of his classic suit, not the futuristic electro-metal of an alternate self.The color really makes Barry pop, and the blue electricity worked so well, other Flash creators continued to use it to distinguish other speedsters,such as arguably the fastest Flash, Wally West. The Flash symbol overlays the Blue Lantern insignia, because even though Barry’s part of a new Corps, he’s still the Flash.
Flash Fact! The iconic lightning trailing off different members of the Flash Family has wheeled through its own color palette, from blue to black to red to even white!
3Red Death Has the Scariest Flash Costume Yet
Dark Knights: Metal(2017-2018) by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
Part Barry Allen, part Bruce Wayne, the Red Death from the Dark Multiverse combines the worst parts of Batman and the best powers of the Flash. When the Dark Knight merges his consciousness with Barry Allen’s body, abusing his connection to the Speed Force, this abomination was created - anda fantastically gothic suit was created, too.
While more evil Flashes don the costume in modern continuity, Red Death still outpaces them all in his haunting style.This full-metal nightmare turns every component of the Flash hellish. Even the red electricity pulsing out of his body gives off a threatening air, while the Flash’s usual electrical run-off often looks more accidental. Everything about this costume seems designed to cause harm and instill fear.
2Flash’s New 52 Suit Modernizes a Classic
The Flash(2011) by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
One of the first canonical changes to Barry Allen’s costume was in the New 52 when the timeline was reset to the start of his career. Instead of his well-worn pre-2000s suit,Barry Allen opted for a sleeker look, with streams of pure electricity running across his one-piece bodysuit, which was now pieces of metal attracted to his body by the very static charge he created when he connected to the Speed Force.
This suit accomplished two seemingly disparate things: honoring the past and racing forward into the future.
This suit accomplished two seemingly disparate things: honoring the past and racing forward into the future. With the same colors and style immediately recognizable to the citizens of Central City,the New 52 suit offers a fresh, modern take, and the electrical lines give the feeling of power lines like veins running across his body. In this costume, the Flash isn’t just the Fastest Man Alive - he’s the very embodiment of speed.
1Barry Allen’s Classic Flash Suit Is Forever Iconic
The Flash(1956-2011), created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino
Ask any long-time Flash fan to picture the Flash, and this is the costume that will come to mind. DC agreed for decades and decided there was no point in messing with a classic.For Barry’s original tenure as a superhero, from the Silver Age and until his death, this classic suit was the simple choice of the Flash. It could be easily folded up inside his Flash Ring where it would spring out when needed, and then Barry could enact a quick change that noteven Superman and a phonebooth could beat.
The colors of this costume are more than just Barry Allen’s though, as this Flash costume has become the flag that every other Flash has flown
Even after his return from the dead,Barry Allen kept the same suit until he reset the timeline inFlashpoint. The colors of this costume are more than just Barry Allen’s though, as this Flash costume has become the flag that every other Flash has flown, bigger than any one hero.When there is a bright blur of red and yellow, the Flash is already there to save the day. And he looks good doing it, too.
The Flash
The Flash is the superhero name given to the DC Comics character who utilizes unparalleled speed tied to a dimensional power known as the “speed force” to overwhelm their opposition. Premiering in 1939, the original Flash arrived as Jay Garrick. Still, it would be superseded by Barry Allen in popularity and featured status, but the Flash is one character that has met many of their alternate selves. The character is typically seen as a part of the Justice League in nearly all incarnations.
