Wally West | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | As Kid Flash: The Flash #110 (December 1959) As Flash: Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986) |
Created by | John Broome (writer) Carmine Infantino (artist) |
In-story information | |
Full name | Wallace Rudolph West |
Species | Metahuman |
Team affiliations | Teen Titans Young Justice Justice League Justice League Europe Justice League Elite White Lantern Corps Justice League Task Force |
Partnerships | Speedster partners: Barry Allen (uncle/mentor) Jay Garrick Bart Allen Irey West (daughter) Wallace West (cousin) Other hero partners: Wonder Woman Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) Green Lantern (John Stewart) Dick Grayson Donna Troy Raven |
Notable aliases | Kid Flash Flash |
Abilities |
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Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash.[1] His power consists mainly of superhuman speed. The nephew of Iris West, he first appeared in Flash #110 (1959), which depicted his transformation into Kid Flash. Under the mantle of Kid Flash, Wally was depicted as a teenage sidekick to his uncle-by-marriage, Barry Allen, and a founding member of the Teen Titans. After Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, Wally took on the role of the Flash in 1986, and was the main Flash in DC's lineup until Barry returned in The Flash: Rebirth in 2009. He would later return as the main Flash in 2021, as part of the Infinite Frontier relaunch.
In his debut as the Flash, Wally wears a distinct red and gold costume which, like his uncle, he traditionally stores compressed inside a ring. He later creates a costume directly out of Speed Force energy. Following his return in 2016, Wally is able to easily generate white lightning, which means his connection to the Speed Force is stronger than ever. During the first stage of his return, he temporarily wore an alternate red and silver costume when he wasn't the main Flash.
Generally portrayed as a white man with red hair and green eyes, Wally was reinterpreted biracial for DC's 2011 New 52 relaunch. A desire from fans to see the original interpretation of the character restored, however, led to Wally returning in 2016's DC Rebirth, while his New 52 reinterpretation was made into a separate character to avoid confusion.
Wally West has appeared in many other forms of media and was featured as the incarnation of the Flash in the Cartoon Network series Justice League, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, and the 2010 film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Josh Keaton. As Kid Flash, he appeared in Cartoon Network's Teen Titans series voiced again by Michael Rosenbaum and subsequently in the Young Justice series, voiced by Jason Spisak.