Barry Allen (Flash)

Bartholomew Henry Allen, also known as Barry Allen and The Flash, is one of the major characters from the DC comics.

Having discovered his mother murdered and his father blamed for the act, forensic scientist Barry Allen sought to clear his father's name and find the real killer. After being doused in chemicals and struck by lightning, Barry was granted the gift of super-speed. Now he protects his hometown of Central City as The Flash, the fastest man alive and founding member of the Justice League.

Appearance
Flash has short blond hair and green eyes. His superhero costume is a full-body suit that is all red, but has two small yellow lightning bolts across the waist and wrists. Like Kid Flash, he also has the yellow lightning bolt logo on his chest and boots. As for normal clothing, he wears an olive green shirt with a red sweater vest and a black tie with khaki pants and black shoes.

Personality
Although not much has been revealed about Barry Allen, he has so far demonstrated to be one of the more approachable members of the Justice League. Laid back and witty, he takes every possible moment to talk. He has a habit of being late to important events, which often annoys Kid Flash to no end. He is kindhearted and well-mannered, something Wally's parents wish would rub off on their son as well.

Superhuman Speed
Barry's primary super power is super speed, which he gets from tapping into the Speed Force. When Barry runs, he generates the Speed Force so he is the engine. Everything around him (as seen in comics) slows down, but he can still make out crimes/people and is even seen talking while moving in super speed.

His current prowess with the Speed Force allows him to run faster than the Speed of Light, but it is possible that he is capable of moving beyond even that. He does not usually exceed Mach 10, as doing such a thing would pose a danger to his surrounding environment.

Barry keeps his usual running speed to subsonic, to limit the destruction he might cause to people and structures. He is capable of running across water and up the sides of buildings. Barry has used his super speed to quickly rebuild damages that he might have caused, and he can also take apart objects in mid air within a blink of an eye. He's also able to outrun instant transmission (teleportation). The Flash is one of the most powerful metahumans. Barry Allen is the fastest Flash. Barry said in Flash rebirth that whenever he ran he saw the light (the Speed Force) on the horizon so when runs he is skating on the edge of the Speed Force.

Speed Force Generator
Barry generates the Speed Force whenever he runs, unlike others, he doesn't just tap into it. Every time Barry runs someone in time can access the Speed Force. So when Barry died and Wally West became The Flash, the Speed Force didn't grow. Barry, being the engine of the Speed Force, runs the fastest and can run into the Speed Force pre 52. In New 52, Barry can run into the Speed Force or teleport in with his mind, and he can bring others with him. Barry can't be cut off from the Force; if he is, the second he moves he will generate energy and have his speed again.

Phasing/Making Objects Explode
Barry Allen can control his body at the molecular level, allowing him to vibrate his body through solid objects. While in this intangible state, he is able to breathe and is immune to any airborne viruses. He is also able to vibrate so fast that light doesn't reflect off of him, rendering him invisible to the human eye. He retains sight even in this state. Barry can also extend this ability to solid objects and phase them through other matter. Though the larger the object the more tired he becomes. He has shown to even phase an entire airplane and its passengers for a limited time.

As of the New 52/Rebirth, Barry can cause objects to explode while phasing through them.

Superhuman Agility
Barry's bodily coordination, balance, and dexterity are heightened to levels far beyond that of a normal human, granting him superhuman agility.

Superhuman Stamina
The Flash has nearly infinite endurance. He can run for very long periods of time. He has raced Superman around the world. In theory, he could run forever.

Superhuman Reflexes
Barry's reflexes are far superior to those of any normal human, allowing him to instantly react to any danger.

Air Vortexes
Related to his super speed, Barry Allen is able to run in a circle and create a vortex. This vortex can be used for numerous purposes, such as pulling air out of the center to suffocate an enemy, levitating whatever is in the center, send a person in the center to another dimension, funnel toxic gases, and create a barrier, among other uses. He is also able to create tornado-like winds by spinning his arms quickly, and can use these to various effects, usually offensive.

Afterimage
If Barry moves fast enough he can create afterimages or a "speed mirage" as Harrison Wells called it in The Flash TV show.

Regenerative Healing
Barry possesses a highly accelerated healing factor that allows him to quickly regenerate from most severe injuries.

Speed Force Aura
A required secondary power tied to his speed, Barry Allen's body is surrounded by what he refers to as the "Speed Force aura," which can absorb kinetic energy. This aura protects him and anyone he is carrying from the effects of the speed, especially the effects of friction and airborne particulate matter. It also grants Barry superhuman durability, preventing him from sustaining injury from high-speed impacts and gives him a higher resistance to injury.

Lightning Generation
Barry generates great amounts of electrical Speed Force energy from his body. This causes metal to react strange around him, as it conducts the metal. Barry's lightning creates a thermal expansion that allows his suit to fit in his ring, and he was also able to forcefully discharge a burst of electricity from his entire body to stun Professor Zoom. Barry has also projected bolts of electricity from his hands, and generated lightning from his hands to warm freezing civilians.

In The Flash TV show, if Barry generates enough lightning he can charge it in to a burst and throw it. Barry has used this to turn Sand Demon into glass. Barry can use this to stun enemies. He can also create a strong shock from his hands to revive a person.

Enhanced Intelligence
Barry Allen's brain moves as fast as he does, meaning he is able to think extremely quickly. He is able to read a book at super speed, and retains this information in his short term memory just long enough to implement whatever he has learned (example is with the rebuilding of an apartment which was destroyed when he was battling the Renegades). He is also a skilled forensic scientist. He is proven to be very knowledgeable in criminology and chemistry. He is able to alter his perceptions in such a way that time appears to pass differently for him. In the span of a second he may have experienced years, and been able to alter elements of his environment while the time was passing, such as replacing a falling object or disarming an opponents weapon within a blink of an eye and also faster. He has also been shown to be able to mentally tap into the Speed Force to give him a sense of pre-cognition, where he can anticipate certain chain-reaction events. Using this sort of "super brain" ability, he is able to calculate multiple consequences of his actions, and act on it in a mere second.

Invisibility
Barry can tap into the Speed Force and use it as a powerful tool to turn invisible. Just like how he is able to vibrate through solid objects, Barry Allen can move his body fast enough to appear invisible. In the New 52, Barry himself has stated that the ability to become invisible is very limited.

Speed Force Travel
Barry can go into the Speed Force and control it. People can gain Speed Force based powers if they go into the Speed Force. For example, Iris West got super speed (not everyone will get super speed). Barry can teleport himself and others into the Speed Force at will. If Barry runs too fast, he could make a worm hole leading to another time or place in time and space. In the New 52, the Speed Force is made up of rocks, images of Barry's past, and things pulled from time and space (tanks, old planes, etc). Pre 52, the Speed Force, is just orange and yellow lightning.

Time/Dimensional Travel
At times, Barry Allen was able to travel through time (which he did in Flashpoint). He has shown the ability to vibrate into other dimensions. Barry can make wormholes to pull things from different times.

Decelerated Aging
Barry ages slower because of the Speed Force, and so do people close to him, such as his wife Iris.

Telepathic Immunity
Barry thinks at light speed, making him capable of defending vs mind control.

Infinite Mass Punch and Punching Much Faster Than Light
If Flash runs fast enough (near speed of light) he gains the relative mass of a white dwarf star, letting him punch hard enough to knock a Martian from Mount Rushmore to Africa with one punch. Flash's durability is automatically controlled by the Speed Force so he doesn't hurt his hand. Barry can punch much faster than light as well.

Time Manipulation
Barry Allen learnt he can speed up time in the new 52.

Superhuman Durability
Barry Allen, thanks to the speed force's protection, has superhuman durability being able to withstand much faster than light punches, attacks from Darkseid, and a wave of antimatter that was going to destroy the universe.

Hand to Hand Combatant (Advanced)
Thanks to his superhuman powers and speed Barry can make a full use out of his powers to overwhelm his opponents. After joining The Justice League Barry had sparring match sessions with Batman and took some tips from him, he also attended self-defense classed and trained by Wildcat in Boxing. Now with his newly gained skills and long-time experience Barry is a far more proficient and dangerous combatant than before.

Investigation
Barry is a master detective second only to Batman.

Trivia

 * To protect their secret identities, Wally West has recalled that Barry insisted they be late for everything. He mentions not having seen the beginning of a movie for ten years.
 * On the 1976 DC Comics Calendar, his birthday was listed as March 19. In The Life Story of the Flash(1997), it was made May 13.
 * As a hobby, Barry liked to research trivia and would occasionally recite them to other people; dubbing them "Flash Facts".
 * Among all of the detectives in the super hero community, Batman appreciated Barry Allen's optimistic outlook; a man who saw his work as protecting the innocent, instead of damning the guilty.
 * Barry Allen supports the death penalty.