Superspeed is one of the most popular and powerful superpowers in comic book history. It can be the deciding factor in being just in time or a second too late. One of the most iconic speedsters in comics is the Flash, which belongs to DC Comics. For over fifty years, the Flash saved the day, ended the world, and started it anew with millions of high-speed stories of perilous situations that could spell the end of the entire DC universe.
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However, the Flash is only one pillar of the DC universe's speed force. There are many more speedsters who race off into the world for justice and some for the opposite. Speedsters can be among the brightest beacons of hope or some of the most dangerous beings on the planet. The Flash, no matter who has worn the mantle, has encountered some of the fastest speedsters who are true forces of nature. Here are some of the best speedsters in DC Comics.
9 Jessie Quick
Second Generation Speedster
- First Appearance: Justice Society Of America #1
Jessie Quick first appeared in Justice Society of America #1. She is a character with a thorough history in DC Comics and the superhero world as a whole. She is a second-generation hero, the daughter of speedster Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle, and took up her own mantle when she learned to access the speed force.
Jessie has faced off against some intense danger as a hero and ran face-first into multiple disasters to honor her father and mother as heroes.
8 Menos & Mas
Twin Speedsters
- First Appearance: Teen Titans #38
Menos and Mos are two of the most unique speedsters in DC Comics. Unlike most speedsters on the list, Mas and Menos originated in the fan-favorite Teen Titans cartoon on Cartoon Network as members of Titans East.
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However, the brothers have made their comic book debut in a short series promotion about the Teen Titans Go! Series. Menos and Mas share their connection to the speed force and cannot perform without the other. Their charismatic personas are what have made them a rising favorite among comic readers.
7 Jay Garrick
The Original Speedster
- First Appearance: Flash Comics #1
Jay Garrick is the original speedster of DC Comics, debuting early on in the silver age of comics. As the original Flash before the creation of the speedforce, Garrick served as the fastest man alive while being a member of the Justice Society.
Garrick continues to be an influential character by shaping the speedsters of tomorrow and putting on his tin hat one more time when he's needed. Jay Garrick embodies the founding virtues that birthed a generation of superheroes and is highly honored among all capes, cowls, and masks.
6 Zoom
Able To Grant Super Speed To Others
- First Appearance: The Flash #197
The Flash is no stranger to adversaries and has one of the most extensive rogues galleries in comics. Among the ranks of those who wish the scarlet speedster harm, Hunter Zolomon is one of the most dangerous and the arch enemy when Wally West dawned the red suit.
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Zoom is one of the most twisted speedsters, but also one of the fastest. After obtaining his powers, he becomes the Flash's arch-enemy in hopes of making him a better hero. Zoom's ability to manipulate the speed force makes him one of the top-tier speedsters, only under a select few.
5 Godspeed
Able To Siphon Speed To Increase His Own
- First Appearance: The Flash -Rebirth #1
Godspeed is one of the newest additions to the DC universe's speedsters and one of the freshest villains to belong to the Flash's rogues gallery. However, what makes Godspeed one of the best speedsters is how fast he's able to go by siphoning the connection that most speedsters have to the speed force.
Godspeed first appeared in The Flash Rebirth #1 as a close friend of Barry Allen until he wandered down the wrong path of revenge.
4 Bart Allen
Youngest Speedster To Time Travel
- First Appearance: The Flash #91
Bart Allen is a speedster from centuries in the future and the grandson of Barry Allen and Iris West. He is perhaps one of the youngest speedsters on the list but shown to have exceptional talent. At first, Bart's powers caused dire circumstances, but he learned to master them with the help of Wally West.
Having earned the moniker Impulse, he served on multiple teams, such as Young Justice and the Teen Titans, and even took up the mantle of the Flash for a time.
3 Eobard Thawne
Can Travel Through Time Effortlessly
- First Appearance: The Flash $139
Eobard Thawne is the most sinister speedster in history. Thawne's villainous origin was created by a single spark of jealousy that began a rivalry that lasted eons. Eobard Thawne obtained his speed through science and, after a slight, became the Flash's worst enemy.
Thawnes' ability to manipulate the Speed Force rivals that of the first Flash and allows him to travel through time at will and even outpace the original Scarlet Speedster himself.
2 Wally West
Can Travel Through Time And Space
- First Appearance: The Flash $110
Wally West is the shining beacon of hope in the speedster world and one of the fastest in the entire DC universe. Starting off as the sidekick to the Flash as the original Kid Flash, Wally rapidly grew into a master speedster in full control of his powers and fully tapped into the speedforce.
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Wally would serve as the third Flash for the first time after Barry Allen gave his life protecting the universe and again in DC's recent revamp Rebirth. Upon sitting on the Mobius chair, Wally attained a new level of speed that set him aside from all speedsters present and future.
1 Barry Allen
Birthed The Speed Force
- First Appearance: DC Comics Showcase #4
Barry Allen is the pinnacle of speed in DC Comics and is the most powerful speedster who has even outrun death among the countless trials in his stories. Barry Allen was struck by lightning and obtained immeasurable speed that he used to become one of the greatest heroes in the world and the fastest man alive.
Barry has a steadfast moral compass and is responsible for preventing catastrophic events that the entire universe had no idea even existed. One of the defining factors that place Barry Allen at the pinnacle of speed, is him being the creator of the speedforce multiple times in DC continuity.
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