They Wasted The Flash’s Best Story and I’m Still Mad About It

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The Flash is a truly iconic and significant superhero. Throughout the history of the DC Universe, he’s consistently been a key player during major events. Barry Allen’s debut marked the beginning of the Silver Age of comics, the Flash famously saved the entire multiverse from the Anti-Monitor, and the *Flashpoint* storyline led to a major reboot of the DC Universe. While Barry, Wally West, and Jay Garrick are all incredibly popular and important versions of the character, Bart Allen doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves.

Bart Allen briefly became the Flash when both Wally West and Barry Allen were presumed lost, and he had the potential to be an amazing hero. His story of taking on the Flash mantle was really compelling, but unfortunately, DC cancelled that direction and brought Wally West back instead, losing a chance at a truly iconic Flash comic.

Ready, Set, Off to the Races

As a Flash fan, I always felt Bart Allen’s time as the Flash was incredibly compelling. It felt earned, building on years of story development that just *couldn’t* have happened any other time. When Wally West was the Flash, we got this awesome extended Flash family with tons of speedsters, but everything changed with *Infinite Crisis*. The Speed Force, the source of their powers, vanished! Wally seemingly sacrificed himself to contain Superboy-Prime, and Bart came back… different. He’d aged four years and spent what felt like a lifetime in another dimension, and he was the *only* one who could actually reconnect to the Speed Force. Old man Jay Garrick was still fast thanks to his original experiments, but he was significantly slower without that Speed Force link, and everyone assumed it was gone for good. Then, a year later, it came out that Bart was still connected, but it was a dangerous situation. He was the sole conduit for the entire Speed Force, meaning every time he ran, he risked tearing himself apart. It was a really high-stakes run for Bart, and I was completely hooked!

Unlike previous Flashes who had family connections, Bart Allen was the sole link to the Speedforce, though he drew guidance from past heroes. He was incredibly fast, and his unique inheritance of the Speedforce allowed for a new exploration of its power. The story promised a compelling look at legacy, overcoming fear and guilt, and embracing heroic responsibility – all the elements that make the Flash so beloved, combined with Bart’s personal struggles and the mysteries of this evolved Speedforce. Unfortunately, the series was cut short after only thirteen issues, preventing it from reaching its full potential.

Gone in a Flash

Bart Allen never truly got the opportunity to prove himself as the Flash. His life was cut short in a fight with the Rogues and his clone, Inertia, largely due to fan preference for Wally West as the Flash. This sudden death was a disservice to Bart’s character and the concept of the Flash legacy, but the consequences were even more problematic. The storyline accidentally made Wally partially responsible for Bart’s death, as a disruption in the Speed Force occurred right when Bart was fatally wounded and should have been able to heal. Though Bart was resurrected a year later, he was reverted to a younger age and remained Kid Flash. A year after that, Barry Allen returned, and both he and Wally served as the Flash simultaneously, effectively negating the need to have killed Bart off in the first place, as it proved multiple Flashes could exist at once.

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2025-09-24 15:31