Over the years, the Flash and numerous members of the Flash family of heroes have gone by a number of monikers. Most will know about Barry Allen and Wally West as The Flash proper, but there's plenty more where they come from in the vast halls of the DC Comics multiverse. In the main reality, heroes like Bart Allen and Wallace West run like hell and take down rogues with the heavy hitters. These heroic speedsters have graced each corner of the DC Universe, becoming members of superteams like the Justice League, Justice Society of America, Teen Titans and Young Justice. But the heroes aren't the only ones with access to the Speed Force.
Longtime enemies of The Flash have tried to take the power for themselves, whether that be Zoom, Grodd or Reverse-Flash. On the flip side, Barry Allen is no stranger to making unlikely enemies out of his former friends, like Godspeed or Negative Flash. With all these speedsters running around, it becomes harder to remember that the Speed Force is a living energy in and of itself, spawning representatives of its power and the concept of death itself. And that extends past the main comics reality, with different Flashes existing in everything from the DC Animated Universe to the Earths involved in 2014's Multiversity. But with all of those Flashes out there, it begs the question: Who's the fastest man or woman alive? Well, let's find out as we break down every Flash ever, ranked by their speed.
25 BLITZEN
There's not much to know about Blitzen other than the fact that she's an evil version of the Flash from an alternate reality. So when you consider that most of the other heroes on this list have access to the Speed Force -- and by extension -- superhuman speed and durability, then being aligned with an evil empire knocks her down a few pegs on the hero ladder.
Thankfully, this Flash is from an alternate reality and not the main continuity of DC Comics.
24 MARY MAXWELL
Though her costume is a bit of a far cry from other members of the Flash family, Mary Maxwell is similar to other speedsters in her use of superhuman speed. But Mary Maxwell isn't imbued with the Speed Force -- she's actually imbued with a vile of hummingbird DNA.
A bit of suspension of disbelief and a glass of "some time later" and Mary scored superpowers that rival that of other DC Comics speedsters, becoming the Flash of the "Just Imagine" line of books.
23 TANAKA REI
Tanaka Rei is another alternate reality version of the Flash, this time a Japanese man who is a member of his world's Justice Alliance of America. His powers are predicted to be comparable to the main Flash, or at least Barry Allen around the time of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" when Tanaka actually met up with Barry Allen and the two take down Tanaka's rogue the Mirror Master.
If there's one thing to know about comics, it's that alternate reality versions of the same hero love to team up and take down baddies together. Weird, but also totally cool.
22 DANICA WILLIAMS
Danica Williams is to Barry Allen as Terry McGinnis is to Bruce Wayne. Debuting in the DC Animated Universe, Danica Williams became the Flash of the 2040s, racing around in the weird sort of dystopian future that the denizens of the animated Earth created for themselves.
And while Batman Beyond has a futuristic design, Danica's suit is a welcome callback while blazing her own trail as the future's resident speedster. Should the DCAU ever make a return, we'd love to see Danica running around with the Batman Beyond crew again.
21 LIA NELSON
In her own right, Lia Nelson is an incredibly powerful hero and member of the Secret Six. And while she does have a bit of superhuman speed as part of her power repertoire, Lia Nelson isn't actually a traditional scarlet speedster.
She's known as a Light Being, and can transform, fly and project energy, all in addition to that superspeed mentioned earlier. She's fast, sure, but her time is better spent being a versatile hero, not to mention an incredibly successful actor.
20 WALTER WEST
With a name like Dark Flash, you'd think Walter West would turn out to be a pretty bad guy. Well, that's only sort of correct. In his own reality, he lived a life similar to that of the Wally West we know, but Linda Park perishes in his timeline and he sets off on a quest to replace the Wally of our reality and live out his life.
Yeah... so he's not "bad" per say, but he's awfully creepy. Oh, and then there's that part where he savagely wounds any and all criminals in an attempt to cope with his tragic life.
19 JOHN FOX
Like many others on this list, John Fox is a Flash of the future. And while he's not nearly as fast as the likes of Bart Allen, John Fox definitely put up his own fight when he took on the identity of Flash.
Believe it or not, he's a direct descendent of both Wally West and Green Lantern, and his costume might be the coolest, most retro looking futuristic suit of all of the Flash family because, hey, blue just looks really good with all of that Speed Force lightning.
18 LADY FLASH
On her Earth, Lady Flash is the protector of the Speed Force. Now, that might not sound super special, and it doesn't exactly enhance her speed powers from an actual speed point of view, but it does give her the added boost of magical qualities to many of her powers.
In addition to her superspeed, Lady Flash throws lightning bolts and can essentially siphon the Speed Force from others. Sounds... awfully dark, doesn't it? Though, that latter power is how the Speed Force can work for most any speedster, the heroes just choose to not do that.
17 MERCURY MAN
Mercury Man is one of many alternate reality versions of the Flash floating around out there in the vast multiverse of DC Comics. He's the speedy, always quick-on-his-feet member of his world's resident super team, the Super-Americans.
And while the name is nothing special, Mercury Man is very much an analog of the Flash -- oh, and a total throwback to Alan Moore's Doc Rocket of Awesome Comics fame. Like many other alternate versions of DC's heroes, Mercury Man debuted in the pages of Multiversity.
16 JESSE QUICK
Though her powers are linked to the Speed Force, and in turn give her abilities similar to that of other members of the Flash family, Jesse Quick can also fly.
She's often seen teaming up with Wally West, though she later spins off on her own under the name Liberty Belle, utilizing her super strength, speed and healing in addition to her flying. She's lucky, as both of her parents had metahuman abilities, though her father unlocked his through use of a "mantra."
15 RED RACER
Red Racer, known by many as simply "Ray," is a sort of alternate reality version of the Flash. Red Racer exists on Earth 36 and made his first appearance in the pages of 2014's The Multiversity.
In addition to all of the hijinks that come with being a conduit of the Speed Force and its enhancements, Ray is also a huge comic book nerd, making for some humorous quips and one-offs when the speedster meets an alternate reality version of Superman.
14 TERI MAGNUS
If someone told you that there was a team called Justice League 3000, it's a safe best assume there's a Flash on the squad, right? Of course. But the story behind Teri Magnus as the Flash is a bit crazy, and a whole mess of tragic.
She's one half of the 31st Century's Wonder Twins, but her brother goes mad with power and ends her. In typical, traditional comic book fashion, Teri is brought back to life using the DNA of the Flash, and you can probably guess how the rest shakes out.
13 SELA ALLEN
This version of the Flash is, you guessed it, a Flash of the future. But the Speed Force manifests in kind of a different way for Sela Allen, as it becomes a sort of energy surrounding her whole body, blurring the lines between the Speed Force and her costume.
That's because she actually becomes a physical representation of the Speed Force itself, a living, breathing humanoid version of what gives the speedsters their powers. And that's pretty fast all things considered.
12 BLACK FLASH
As the personification of the end within the Speed Force, Black Flash is said to be seen at or around the demise of a speedster. As far as speed goes, well, the end seems to catch up with all of us, and Black Flash proves that the same is true for the Flashes.
He's incredibly spooky looking, but just about what you'd expect from a skeleton-adjacent cosmic being capable of wielding the Speed Force. Black Flash is also known for taking those close to the Flash into the Speed Force, and sometimes the Flash himself.
11 AVERY HO
Her powers may have shown up relatively recently, but Avery Ho has been doing work as the Flash of China. Not only is she an integral part of the country's Justice League of China team, along with Super-Man, Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman, but she's a major player when Barry Allen or Wally West need an assist.
She's fast, furious and easily has one of the coolest costumes for a member of the Flash family. In the aftermath of the "Flash War", we're curious to see how Avery plays into the future of the Speed Force.
10 MEENA DHAWEN
While Barry Allen himself was the original Negative Flash, fellow speedster (previously presumed gone) Meena Dhawen has now assumed the role, and her motives are a bit more cloudy than when she was training a new generation of Speed Force storm speedsters.
The powers of Negative Flash are reckless, nigh uncontrollable, and in a lot of ways similar to the Dark Side of the Force in Star Wars. The rage, the need for power, all of that makes Negative Flash more powerful.
9 HUNTER ZOLOMON
As Wally West's all-time archenemy, Hunter Zolomon, known more commonly as Zoom, has made the third Flash's life a living hell, and honestly continues to. His origin is tragic, sure, as with most superheroes and villains, but the dedication of Zoom to his vengeance on the Flash is something unique to him.
He's easily one of the strongest in the Flash repertoire of villainy, and most recently made it so no other Flashes can travel through time. Yeah, we think he's planning something pretty devious for the future.
8 WALLACE WEST
While this Wally West started as a bit of an analog to the original Wally West after the launch of DC Comics' New 52 initiative, he quickly came into his own. Now going by Wallace (as to not be compared to the other Wally), he's now a fan-favorite speedster running around on the daily with Damian Wayne's Teen Titans.
When the Flashes come calling for help, Wallace is quick to answer -- and keep up with his Speed Force colleagues. If there's a future where Wallace takes on the full mantle of the Flash, we'll be there day one.
7 BRUCE WAYNE
Surprised? OK, so if you've been keeping up with recent DC Comics, you won't be too surprised. This version of the Flash, known succinctly as the Red Death, is an alternate reality version of Bruce Wayne, imbued with the powers of his world's Barry Allen.
His origin is tragic and violent, much like how Bruce becomes as his world starts to disintegrate. But above all else, the Red Death sure is a speedster to reckon with when it comes to pure energy and speed. Plus, his design is all kinds of metal.
6 JAY GARRICK
Can you really beat the classics? Jay Garrick may have made his debut in 1940, but he hasn't slowed down much since. OK, so he's retired a few times and it's been a while since we've seen him, but this Justice Society of America member helped to start it all, and is more than fast in his own right.
Plus, he really makes wearing a metal pan on your head something north of fashionable. We'll always be here for the stylings of Jay Garrick.