Flash Predictions

Jay Garrick was the Golden Age Flash, but was sidelined for years because National Comics (later known as DC) had decided to focus less on superheroics & more on sci-fi adventures. Barry Allen was the Silver Age Flash, inspired by Jay Garrick, whom he believed to be a comic book character. Wally West became the Flash after Crisis on Infinite Earths to carry on the legacy since Barry had sacrificed himself to save the universe. Now Wally is gone, his series has finished, & a relaunch is slated for the summer. Who could this new Flash be?

Most people will assume that Bart Allen is the one to carry on the mantle, since he is the most obvious choice. He took on the costume & name of Wally West's previous identity, Kid Flash, only months before Infinite Crisis started. But one of the things the enriches the Flash history is its future. There have been countless, dizzying tales of future, alternate or otherwise, featuring many different people carrying on the name of the Flash. So let's start w/ some of the less obvious...

01. Barry West
Wally's son. In a possible future timeline, Barry - named after great-uncle Barry Allen, Wally's mentor - is next in-line to become the Flash in Wally's eyes. But Barry shows no interest. Will time in the Speed Force (as seen in IC#4) affect his attitude? The creators of the upcoming relaunch have stated that this Flash will feel more pressure than any other before him to succeed in honoring this legacy. But in this future time-line it is not Barry that cares to take up the mantle it is his sister...

02. Iris West
Wally, being the conservative that he is, feels that superheroics is no business for his daughter (in spite of having worked along side other females like Donna Troy & Jesse Quick), but she doesn't care. In Kingdom Come & The Kingdom we see her dawning the mantle of Kid Flash against her father's wishes. Perhaps if not the Flash, Iris will partner up w/ whoever does take on the name & costume before her.

03. John Fox

Just thrown in for good measure. Fox served on the JLA in Wally's absence for a period & he is the Flash of the future, & he seems like a character that readers liked.

04. Barry Allen

This is the choice that all the most annoying fan boys want. It's not going to happen, but I thought I'd throw it in here. We do see a Flash wearing Barry's costume appear at the end of IC #5, warning of the Speed Force being broken open. & the cover for the upcoming relaunch does feature Barry's signature costume ring.

05. Bart Allen

Ok, we all know this is what's going to happen, just like we knew Wally wouldn't be the Flash after Infinite Crisis.
Flash.
Flash + kid = Kid Flash.
Flash + Crisis = Dead Flash.
Kid Flash * Crisis(Flash)^Dead = New Flash
& so it was foretold. When Mark Waid introduced the character of Impulse, the characters would joke about this 5 year old brain trapped in a 13 year old body going on to carry the legacy after Wally was gone. Geoff Johns was apparently the only who took it seriously, as he matured Bart, under the tutelage of Jay Garrick, the first Flash, in the Flash series as well as among the Titans. Bart even took to wearing Wally's old costume & code name in hopes of lining up a position in the lineage. & he has displayed certain skills that Wally does not have, as well as his grandfather's capacity for intellect. So, yeh. It's probably going to happen, but I have faith that they can do interesting things w/ this character. I for one always liked him & would like to see him as the next Flash.

For more info on the Flash legacy/history, as well as that of all speedsters in the DCU, check out Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning.