Bartholomew Henry "Bart" Allen II is a
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
appearing in
American comic books
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'', ...
published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. A
speedster, he first appeared under the alias Impulse and later became the second
Kid Flash
Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino
Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics ...
and the fourth
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
. Created by
Mark Waid
Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...
and
Mike Wieringo, Bart first made a cameo in ''
The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'' (vol. 2) #91 in 1994 before his full debut in issue #92. He has since been featured as the lead character in ''Impulse'' (1995–2002) and ''
The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive'' (2006–2007). Bart also appears in the series ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' and ''
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
'' as a member of both superhero teams.
In addition to the Teen Titans and Young Justice, Bart was a core character in 10 issues of ''
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' under the mantle of the Flash.
As first conceived by writers, Bart was born in the 30th century to Meloni Thawne and Don Allen, and is part of a complex family tree of superheroes and supervillains. His father, Don, is one of the
Tornado Twins
This is a list of ''Flash'' supporting characters.
In chronological order with name, first appearance and description.
Family tree
Golden Age
Silver Age
Bronze Age
Modern Age
From alternate realities
In ...
and his paternal grandfather is
Barry Allen, the second Flash. His paternal grandmother,
Iris West Allen
Iris West is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The ...
, is also the adoptive aunt of the third Flash,
Wally West (Bart's
first cousin once removed
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
). Additionally, Bart is the first cousin of
XS, a
Legionnaire and daughter of Dawn Allen. On his mother's side, he is a descendant of supervillains
Professor Zoom and
Cobalt Blue
Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminum(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighter ...
as well as the half-brother of
Owen Mercer
Captain Boomerang is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, who respectively serve as enemies to both the Flash (Barry Allen), Barry Allen and Wally West versions of the Flash (DC Comics character) ...
, the second
Captain Boomerang. In addition to these relatives, he had a supervillain clone known as
Inertia.
For most of his superhero career, Bart was the teenage sidekick to the Wally West version of the Flash. After West's apparent death in the ''
Infinite Crisis'' crossover event in 2006, Allen grew up and became the Flash. His tenure as the Flash was brief and concluded with his death in issue 13 of ''The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive''. Allen was subsequently absent for nearly two years after his apparent death, but resurfaced—young again—as Kid Flash, in 2009's ''
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds''. During DC's ''
The New 52
The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
'' era, Bart Allen was reintroduced in ''Teen Titans'' as the alias of an amnesiac revolutionary from the future named Bar Torr; the character was later written out of comics, and his tenure erased from continuity by the subsequent
DC Rebirth initiative. The original Bart Allen was brought back as part of DC Rebirth's ''
Wonder Comics Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' series.
Outside of comics, Bart has been portrayed by
Kyle Gallner in the live-action television series ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
''.
Jason Marsden voiced the character in the animated series ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
''.
Jordan Fisher portrays a variation of the character as the future son of Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen starting in the
seventh
Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven.
Seventh may refer to:
* Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
* A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts
Film and television
*"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...
season of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
Arrowverse television series ''
The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'' as a recurring character.
Fictional character biography
Initial reference
As depicted in a
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
story, Barry Allen's children—the Tornado Twins—were arrested in A.D. 2995 by the government of Earth, which had fallen under the covert control of the
Dominators. Following a one-day trial on trumped-up charges of treason, the Twins were executed. According to a ''
Daily Planet'' news report, Don Allen is survived by his wife Carmen Johnson (whose real name was Meloni Thawne), his mother Iris West Allen, and his two-year-old son: Barry Allen II. This timeline was wiped out by the events of ''
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time'' miniseries.
Impulse
In the new post-''Zero Hour'' timeline, Bart Allen was the son of Don Allen and Meloni Thawne (a descendant of
Eobard Thawne). The Tornado Twins of this timeline were killed in an invasion by the Dominators that took place years before
this timeline's Legion of Super-Heroes was founded, when Bart was a baby. Bart was born with full super-speed; his cousin Jenni Ognats, daughter of Dawn Allen and Jeven Ognats, did not at first display any signs of super-speed. At the sight of seeing her father tortured, her latent super-speed powers activated and would go on to join the Legion under the name XS. Subsequent to the restoration of the DC multiverse, this along with the entire history of the post-''Zero Hour'' Legion was retconned to have taken place on the parallel world of Earth-247, with the Tornado Twins and their families having traveled there from New Earth.
[''Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' #3 (February 2009)]
Suffering from a
hyper-accelerated metabolism, Bart Allen was aging at a faster rate than that of any other human being, thus causing him to appear the age of twelve when he was chronologically only two years old. To prevent him from developing mental health problems, he was raised in a
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
machine which created a simulated world that kept pace with his own scale of time. When it became clear that this method was not helping, his grandmother, Iris Allen, took him back in time to the present where The Flash,
Wally West, tricked Bart into a race around the world. By forcing Bart into an extreme burst of speed, Wally managed to shock his hyper metabolism back to normal. Because he had spent the majority of his childhood in a simulated world, Bart had no concept of danger and was prone to leaping before he looked. The youth proved to be more trouble than Wally could handle, and he was palmed off onto retired superhero speedster
Max Mercury
Max Mercury is a fictional DC Comics superhero similar to Quality Comics' Quicksilver. Initially an obscure speedster, the character was rebooted by Mark Waid in the pages of ''The Flash'' and turned into a mentor for Wally West and Bart Allen.
...
, who moved Bart to
Manchester, Alabama
Manchester is an unincorporated community in Walker County, Alabama, United States. Manchester is located along Alabama State Route 195, north-northeast of Jasper.
History
Manchester was founded as a lumber center. The Manchester Lumber Company ...
. Bart originally created the Impulse codename for himself, though a retcon in ''Impulse'' #50 has
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
codenaming him such as a warning, not a compliment.
Bart joined the
Titans early in his career before going on to become one of the founding members of the superhero team
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
alongside
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
and
Superboy. For a time, Impulse became the owner of a spaceship granted to him by a rich sultan in appreciation for having helped save his castle. The team used this ship to reunite
Doiby Dickles with his queen and restore the rightful rule of Myrg. Impulse stayed with Young Justice for an extensive period of time during which he developed the ability to make speed-force energy duplicates. This allowed him to be in multiple places at once. The newly acquired power proved useful until one of the duplicates was killed during the "
Our Worlds at War
"Our Worlds at War" was a comic book storyline, published by DC Comics in mid-2001. OWAW was a crossover storyline that spanned several different books, including several books starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, a ...
" storyline when half the team was lost on
Apokolips
Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...
. Bart quit Young Justice temporarily as the death of his duplicate led him to come to terms with his own mortality.
Following Max Mercury's disappearance, Bart was taken in by
Jay Garrick
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...
, the first Flash, and his wife Joan. After the breakup of Young Justice, Bart joined some of his former teammates in a new line-up of the Teen Titans.
[''Teen Titans'' (vol. 3) #1 (September 2003)]
Kid Flash
Shortly after Bart joined the Teen Titans, he was shot in the knee by
Deathstroke
Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character debuted in '' The New Teen Titans'' #2 in December 1980 as Deathstroke the ...
(who at the time was possessed by
Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
) and received a prosthetic one. While recovering, Bart read every single book in the
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...
and reinvented himself as the new
Kid Flash
Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino
Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics ...
. Once healed, the artificial knee did not affect his ability to run at speeds approaching that of light, but reminding him that he needs to think first rather than to act impulsively. When Robin reminded him that by becoming Kid Flash, he would be forced to live in the Flash's shadow, Bart said firmly, "No, he'll be living in mine."
In the "
Titans Tomorrow
"Titans Tomorrow" is a storyline of a possible alternate future in the DC Comics Universe, from ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #17-19 (2005), by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. The story arc has been collected as part of the ''Teen Titans: The Future is Now' ...
" storyline, Bart assumed the mantle of the Flash after the current Flash died in a "Crisis". In this alternate future he was able to steal the speed of others, a power he used on his past self. This reality shows a grown Bart posing as a member of the so-called Titans of Tomorrow. However he is really a spy working on the behalf of
Titans East
Titans East is the name of several DC Comics superhero teams. The teams appear in the ''Teen Titans'' comic books and Teen Titans (TV series), animated series. The comic book incarnation of Titans East first appeared in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 3) #1 ...
, a resistance group led by the future
Cyborg. Additionally, the future Bart is romantically involved with
Rose Wilson, The Ravager.
Infinite Crisis
During the ''
Infinite Crisis'',
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent, born Kal-El), also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in ''DC Comics Presents'' #87 (November 198 ...
attacked Conner Kent (
Superboy) and injured or killed several Teen Titans, thus prompting Bart to stop his rampage. He accomplished this by running him at top speed into the
Speed Force with the help of veteran speedsters Wally West and Jay Garrick. The feat took its toll on Garrick, who reached his limit before entering the Speed Force, and West, who turned into energy and vanished, leaving Bart alone in the fight against a vastly more powerful Superboy-Prime. Luckily for the young speedster, Barry Allen,
Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury, all of whom had been previously absorbed into the Speed Force, appeared and aided him.
After Superboy-Prime managed to escape from his prison, Bart follows him, spending four years in an alternate reality's
Keystone City. Returning to his universe with Superboy-Prime, temporarily without his memories of what happened during the crisis and wearing his grandfather's costume, an aged Bart reappeared in Tokyo just in time to fight alongside Superman and many other heroes in the Battle of Metropolis. Getting his memories back, he unleashes his anger against Superboy-Prime for killing Conner Kent and so forcing the villain to retreat from battle. When the battle is over, Bart explains to Jay where he had been, and claimed he had used up the last of his speed, leaving him powerless.
''The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive'' (2006–2009)
Harboring a secret—that the Speed Force was still around, and threatened to overwhelm him—Bart set about creating a normal, mundane life for himself. He got a job as a factory worker at Keystone Motors and tried to leave super-heroics behind him; however, trouble around him eventually led him to don the costume.
When his roommate gained super-powers and became the Griffin, Bart is forced to accept his destiny. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Bart Allen became the Flash. Not long after defeating the Griffin, the latest Flash moved to Los Angeles to start a new chapter in his life. As a civilian, Bart began training at the Los Angeles Police Academy, focusing on forensics.
Soon after donning the Flash identity, Bart was considered for Justice League membership and got particular support from Batman, who felt he was more than ready for the position. Robin contacted Bart and asked him to return to the Teen Titans. However, after fighting
Steppenwolf with the newly reformed Justice League, Bart tried to join the League rather than rejoin the Titans, although he held off on taking an official position until he felt that he was ready.
When Bart confronted
Captain Cold at his apartment while following up on a cold case as part of his forensics class- having determined that the victim's head had been frozen and shattered, with Cold the only villain capable of reaching the necessary temperature who didn't have a clear alibi at the time-
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
appeared and attacked Bart. Zoom was apparently enlisted by Bart's grandmother, Iris, with the goal of immobilizing him before an imminent attack. It was later revealed that Iris only came to the past to warn her grandson about the
Rogues
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software comp ...
(consisting of
Abra Kadabra,
Mirror Master,
Heat Wave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
, the
Pied Piper
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany.
The legend dates back to ...
, the
Trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
,
Weather Wizard, and Captain Cold), led by Inertia, teaming up. Together they were trying to build a machine that would stop time. As their plan began to come to fruition, Bart was arrested for the fight with Steppenwolf, who was a
New God.
Death and legacy
Bart revealed himself as the Flash in order to fight the Rogues. During the battle, it was revealed that the machine built by Inertia actually drains the Speed Force from an individual instead of freezing time. When the Rogues used it on the Flash, Bart's powers were stripped away from him, leaving him surrounded by the Rogues and leading to the appearance of the
Black Flash
The Black Flash is a fictional comic book character from DC Comics. Created by writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, and artist Ron Wagner, the character had cameos in ''The Flash'' vol. 2 #138 (June 1998), before appearing in full in ''The Fl ...
. Inertia's machine proved unstable, however, and would destroy the West Coast if the Speed Force was not safely released from it. Bart fought the Rogues before chasing after Inertia, distracting them while
Valerie Perez
Valerie Perez is a fictional character, a DC Comics supporting character and love interest for Bart Allen when Bart was the Flash.
Fictional character biography
The daughter of one of the enemies of the previous Flashes, Professor Manfred Mota, ...
released the Speed Force. In a panic, Captain Cold, Heatwave, and Weather Wizard kill Bart.
Mourners held a
candlelight vigil at the Flash Museum. Outside
Titans Tower in San Francisco, a memorial statue of Bart in his Kid Flash uniform was placed next to the statue of
Superboy.
As
Wally West's return to New Earth coincided exactly with Bart's death, Inertia alleged that Bart's loss of powers was a direct consequence of Wally absorbing the newly released Speed Force. However, no further blame was put on Wally, who then avenged his protégé by freezing Inertia's body in time but leaving his mind active. Inertia was put on display in a new area of the Flash Museum, dedicated to Bart's life. In ''Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge'', Inertia was unfrozen and continued his rampage trying to kill Bart Allen's family, but was stopped by the Flash's enemy Zoom. Zoom revealed that he wanted Inertia to become the new Kid Flash. Inertia stole Zoom's time manipulation power, leaving Zoom unable to even walk, and renamed himself "Kid Zoom." The Rogues and Kid Zoom battled, and, Kid Zoom was incapacitated by the Pied Piper, at which point the Rogues killed him. The Rogues delivered Inertia's corpse to Keystone City with a message reading "Tell the Flash we're even – The Rogues."
[''All-Flash'' #1 (July 2007)]
Marc Guggenheim, writer of the story arc in which Bart dies, has stated that this was an editorial decision, and that he was instructed that his five-issue run would have to end with Bart's death and the involvement of the Rogues.
Keystone City held a funeral for Bart, in which Jay Garrick, Cyborg, Wonder Girl and Robin gave eulogies. At the end of his own speech, Robin played a video Bart made soon after he had taken on the mantle of Kid Flash. In it Bart relayed to his friends that no matter what happened to him, he would always be proud of having been a part of the Flash legacy, and how happy he was being a member of the Teen Titans.
[''Countdown'' #43] Shortly after the Keystone funeral, a more private funeral was held for Bart at Titans Tower, where they erected a golden statue of Bart as Kid Flash beside the statue of Superboy.
During the
Sinestro Corps
The Sinestro Corps, occasionally known as the Yellow Lantern Corps, is a supervillainous analog to the Green Lantern Corps in the DC Universe. Their power is derived from the emotional electromagnetic spectrum of fear; the corps is led by the ...
invasion of Earth, Superboy-Prime's first act was to visit and defile Bart's grave which was inscribed "Bart Allen: The Flash". Superboy-Prime used his heat vision to cross out "The Fastest Man Alive" and write in its place "stupidest boy dead".
Return: Kid Flash again
In ''
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' mini-series, Bart Allen returns as his teenage self in his Kid Flash attire when
Brainiac 5 enacts phase two of his plan to defeat
Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime (Clark Kent, born Kal-El), also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in ''DC Comics Presents'' #87 (November 198 ...
and the
Legion of Super-Villains. His resurrection is brought about by the activation of the "living lightning rod" first seen in ''
The Lightning Saga
"The Lightning Saga" is a comic book crossover story arc that took place in DC Comics' two flagship team books: ''Justice League of America'' and ''Justice Society of America''. It was written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns, and illustrated by E ...
''.
Brainiac 5 explains that Bart was destined to die one way or another, because his leap from child to adult had jump-started Bart's hyper-accelerated aging again, and that had the Rogues not killed him, he would have been dead of old age within months. Because he is needed for the battle against Superboy-Prime, Brainiac 5 sends the Legion back to the 21st century to use Wally West's lightning bolt to house Bart's childlike Speed Force essence. In the 31st, he then uses the combined power of the Lightning Lads and Lighting Lasses, along with XS running on the
cosmic treadmill
The Flash (comics), Flash (Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Showcase (comics), Showcase'' #4 (October 1956), created by writer Robert Kani ...
, to release Bart from the Speed Force. Bart and XS make mention that they feel a new strength emanating from the Speed Force, suggesting they can feel Barry Allen's return, although Bart believes it to be Max Mercury instead.
[''Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' #4 (April 2009)]
Soon after Bart's resurrection,
Superboy is also resurrected by the Legion. Together the pair aid the Legion in defeating Superboy-Prime by having him destroy himself (literally). Bart tries to convince XS to return to the past with him, but she instead decides to stay in the future, getting to know their new Earth.
Once returned to the present, Superman assembles the Teen Titans as well as the adult Titans together, and re-introduces them to Kid Flash and Superboy.
[''Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds'' #5 (July 2009)]
The Flash: Rebirth
In ''
The Flash: Rebirth'' storyline, Bart quickly discovers that things had changed significantly since he had been away. Barry Allen, his grandfather and legendary speedster who had sacrificed himself against the battle with the Anti-Monitor, had also returned from the grave. At Teen Titans Tower West, where Robin and Wonder Girl have planned a welcome home party for Bart while everyone else is at the parades for Barry, Bart views his grandfather's return with skepticism, admitting a desire for things to "go back to the way it used to be". He wishes that Wally was still the primary Flash and he would still be his sidekick. Bart's bitterness, though, centers on feeling angry that Barry is the only one to escape the Speed Force and his former mentor, Max Mercury had not.
Bart, along with others connected to the Speed Force, are struck with severe pain when Barry accidentally kills the speedster Savitar by merely touching him. When Barry accidentally kills another evil speedster, it is revealed that he is now the new Black Flash. The JLA and JSA work together to contain Barry in a machine that will sever his ties to the Speed Force. Bart rushes to the scene and confronts Barry over the reason why Max has not returned, but his grandfather cannot provide an answer. The Black Flash part of Barry quickly takes over, shattering the machine and attempting to reach out to the speedsters, including Bart, in the area. Barry is rushed away by his friends as Bart, Wally, Iris, and Jay look on.
Superman tells Bart and the others that Barry has decided to run back into the Speed Force to protect them. Wally decides to follow Barry and bring him back, and Bart asks him to bring back Max. Shortly after Wally leaves, Linda contacts Jay and Bart to tell them that
Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash, is at her house attacking Jay and Iris. Bart and Jay rush to the scene, and fight Professor Zoom through the city. During their fight, Professor Zoom criticizes Bart for being a pollutant in the Thawne line due to being a descendant of both an Allen and a Thawne. He bests Bart with ease and is about to stab him with his staff, when Max Mercury suddenly returns from the Speed Force. Bart is shocked and overjoyed by his mentor's return. Wally and Barry return as well and the group of speedsters charge the Reverse-Flash, ready for a fight.
In the aftermath of the battle with the Reverse-Flash, an encounter with
Jesse Chambers
Jesse Chambers is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. She inh ...
causes Wally's daughter
Iris to manifest a connection to the Speed Force. Much to Bart's surprise, Iris decides to don Bart's old costume and become the new Impulse.
Blackest Night
With Bart and Conner Kent's return, both of their statues are removed from the Titans Tower's memorial. However,
Nekron
Nekron is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, specifically those related to Green Lantern. Created by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein and Joe Staton, the character, who exists as an embodiment of Death, first appeared in '' Ta ...
, the "black personification" of
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, seeks to reclaim their lives during the ''
Blackest Night'' crossover. Bart, along with Wally, races across the globe to warn every hero of the
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of deceased fiction ...
' invasion.
[''Blackest Night'' #5 (January 2010)] Bart later arrives at
Coast City
Coast City is a fictional city in the state of California, created by John Broome and Gil Kane, which appears in stories published by DC Comics. It is depicted most often as the home of the Silver Age version of the superhero Green Lantern, Hal ...
with Wally and scatters members of the Justice League and Teen Titans to take a stand against Nekron, who is responsible for the Black Lanterns. Despite being resurrected, Bart's previous status as a deceased still allows one of the undead lord's black rings to transform him into a Black Lantern.
After his grandfather is chosen as a
Blue Lantern Blue Lantern(s) may refer to:
*Uninitiated members of a triad
* ''Blue Lantern'' (short story collection), a 1991 book by Victor Pelevin
** "Blue Lantern" (short story), the title story
*Blue Lantern Corps
The Blue Lantern Corps is a fictional ...
by
Ganthet
Ganthet is a character in the DC Comics universe, who first appeared in 1992 in Larry Niven and John Byrne (comics), John Byrne’s graphic novel ''Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale'' (). He is also the husband of Sayd.
Fictional character biography ...
of the
Guardians of the Universe
The Guardians of the Universe are a race of extraterrestrial superhero characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Green Lantern. They first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #1 (July 19 ...
and leader of the Blue Lantern Corps, Bart immediately engages in battle with him. Barry's blue power ring detects that Bart is still alive, but will die if he is not freed from the black ring soon. Barry nearly releases Bart from the black ring using blue energy constructs crafted in the images of Bart as Impulse and Kid Flash, before interference by Black Lantern versions of Professor Zoom and
Solovar
Solovar is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Solovar is a sapient gorilla and leader of a race of gorillas that first appeared as supporting characters of Flash.
Solovar appears in ''The Fla ...
stops him. Wally and Blue Lantern Saint Walker join Barry to fight against them. Bart attempts to use his speed powers to kill Wally, only to be temporarily returned to normal. Realizing that their mutual connection to the Speed Force can save Bart, Barry uses his powers to break the ring's connection, freeing him.
Return to Titans
Sometime after Blackest Night, Bart and Conner are recruited by Cyborg to help rescue a current Titan by the name of
Static, who had been kidnapped while visiting his hometown of Dakota. The three heroes arrive at the scene of a battle between the Teen Titans and a superhuman gangster named
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, and intervene just as he is about to finish off their comrades. Bart and Conner then comment that it's time for them to come out of "retirement" and rejoin the Teen Titans. Holocaust simply laughs and tells them to bring it, and Bart responds by saying "We were hoping you'd say that". After a lengthy battle, Bart deals the finishing blow to the villain by running around him fast enough to open a vacuum which sucks him into the Earth's
inner core.
At the behest of Tim Drake, Bart travels to
Gotham City and saves
Selina Kyle
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...
from members of the
League of Assassins while she is sleeping in her apartment. After knocking out the would-be killers, Bart remarks to Tim over the radio that Selina is "super-fine", and that this may be the best day of his life.
Shortly after settling back in Titans Tower, Bart reveals to Conner that during his brief stay in the future, he went through a number of records and schematics concerning technology from the era. He also tells Conner that he is losing his memories of this future information due to the time stream being corrected, and that he is writing down everything he can remember.
Flashpoint
When Iris West Allen calls Barry home, she, Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Bart Allen are all troubled by the way that he has been isolating himself from everyone. Bart believes that Barry dislikes him and runs off until he is attacked by
Hot Pursuit. Barry arrives too late, when Hot Pursuit discharges electricity at Bart with his baton and is engulfed in lightning. However, Hot Pursuit mistakenly believes that Bart is not one of the anomalies that are affecting the timeline, known as the ''
Flashpoint''.
The Earth is a changed alternate timeline, where Bart Allen wakes up in the 31st century in
Brainiac
Brainiac is a colloquial adjective used to describe exceptionally intelligent people. It may also refer to:
Culture Fictional entities
* Brainiac (character), a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, and an enemy of Superman
* Brainiac (story arc), ...
's stasis pod chamber in 31st century and has lost his super-speed. After failing to avoid being re-captured by Brainiac, he is confronted by a female Hot Pursuit and with her help, pulls away from Brainiac. This Hot Pursuit reveals herself to be Patty Spivot, Barry Allen's assistant. Bart must find a way to get his super-speed back before being erased from existence. Bart learns that Patty stole Hot Pursuit's motorcycle and has taken his place. Bart allows himself to be recaptured by Brainiac and is placed into a stasis pod, destroying Brainiac's security program from the inside. Patty holds of Brainiac and breaks an energy projector, which returns Bart's super-speed to him. Bart then runs through time to the 21st century, and promises Patty he will return and rescue her. However, Bart's body was transforming into the
Black Flash
The Black Flash is a fictional comic book character from DC Comics. Created by writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, and artist Ron Wagner, the character had cameos in ''The Flash'' vol. 2 #138 (June 1998), before appearing in full in ''The Fl ...
that had been controlled by the Speed Force, taking him to reduce the speedsters Max Mercury, Jay Garrick, and Wally West. Bart reversed from the Black Flash and runs into Barry, when he realizes that the Speed Force is encased for him. Bart is to be absorbed into the living embodiment of the Speed Force's light that gives Barry his power and tells him to save the world.
DC Rebirth
Prior to Bart Allen's reappearance, the ''
Titans Tomorrow
"Titans Tomorrow" is a storyline of a possible alternate future in the DC Comics Universe, from ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #17-19 (2005), by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. The story arc has been collected as part of the ''Teen Titans: The Future is Now' ...
'' alternate-future version of Bart Allen reappears in the 2018 crossover storyline “Super-Sons of Tomorrow”. A shattered figure of Bart Allen wearing his Impulse costume is also seen in the Flash Museum in the 25th Century.
The original Bart Allen returns to the main DC universe after Wally West and Barry Allen break the Force Barrier. Once again wearing the Impulse costume, he emerges from the Speed Force and races through a city street triumphantly declaring that he is back.
Shortly afterward, he reunites with his former Young Justice and Teen Titans teammates Robin (Tim Drake) and Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark). Bart is the main driving force behind the revival of the Young Justice team; after being transported to Gemworld and reunited with Superboy (Kon-El), the team officially re-forms.
Powers and abilities
Bart's primary power is speed, along with abilities that are common to comics speedsters, such as creating whirlwinds, running on water, and vibrating through matter. The latter ability results in "molecular taffy" if Bart does not concentrate; he also possesses an aura, that prevents air friction while running. Bart does possess some abilities that other speedsters do not have. He has the ability to produce "scouts", Speed Force avatars that he can send through the timestream, but has used it infrequently since the death of one avatar put him in a coma during the "
Our Worlds at War
"Our Worlds at War" was a comic book storyline, published by DC Comics in mid-2001. OWAW was a crossover storyline that spanned several different books, including several books starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, a ...
" storyline that crossed over among the ''Impulse'', ''Superboy'', and ''Young Justice'' titles. After being forced to use it during the "World Without Young Justice" crossover event, he was able and willing to use them with ease, up until he became Kid Flash. He has been shown to move faster than light as Impulse, while now he has an artificial knee which limits his speed as Kid Flash. He now can only travel close to the speed of light.
Bart is resistant to the alterations in the time stream. His parents met only in post-''
Zero Hour
Zero Hour may refer to:
* Midnight, or 00:00
* Zero hour (1945), the capitulation of the Nazi government at midnight May 8, 1945
* Zero Hour (military designation), the scheduled time for the start of some event, especially a military operation
...
'' continuity, but he arrived before the event. Bart has the ability to recall everything he has ever read, heard or watched (which includes speed-reading every book in the
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...
), allowing him to spout encyclopedic information concerning the situation at hand as well as quotations from
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, of whose work he is fond.
He has also displayed the ability to create powerful
radio waves by rotating his arms at high speeds and using the resulting vibrations in conjunction with his teammate
Static's
electromagnetic abilities.
After ''
Infinite Crisis'', Bart's connection to the Speed Force is more difficult to control because he now contains the Speed Force and, in essence, is the Speed Force. When he taps into the Speed Force, Bart appears to have electricity crackling around him, and the Speed Force inside him becomes so lethal that he initially wears the Flash suit while running in order to prevent it from killing him. After remembering his experiences on an alternate Earth during a fight with Griffin, he began to gain a measure of control over the Speed Force before it was released from his body just prior to his death.
Flash legacy
Since his first appearance in ''The Flash'' #91, Bart had been trained by several speed-endowed heroes such as
Jay Garrick
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...
,
Johnny Quick, and
Max Mercury
Max Mercury is a fictional DC Comics superhero similar to Quality Comics' Quicksilver. Initially an obscure speedster, the character was rebooted by Mark Waid in the pages of ''The Flash'' and turned into a mentor for Wally West and Bart Allen.
...
. Prior to his reluctance to don the red and yellow, Bart showed a lot of enthusiasm toward his role as the future Flash. However,
Wally West had a number of apprehensions about Bart, as shown by Wally's naming
Jesse Quick
Jesse Chambers is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Chambers, who first used the superhero name Jesse Quick and later Liberty Belle, is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. She inh ...
as his successor and his refusal to deliver to Bart his invitation from
Cyborg to join the latest incarnation of the
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
. Bart took these acts in stride though, and, after
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
claimed that he will always live in the Flash's shadow, Bart even says that "the Flash will be in mine".
Other versions
Numerous versions of Bart have appeared throughout comics.
Bar Torr
After the
DC universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
was
rebooted
''Rebooted'' is the third season of the computer-animated television series '' Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'' (titled ''Ninjago'' from the eleventh season onward). The series was created by Michael Hegner and Tommy Andreasen. The season aired f ...
in 2011, a new incarnation of the character was introduced with a substantially rewritten history. ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 4) #1 opens with an amnesiac Bart six months prior to his first appearance, saving a mansion from a fire. He cannot explain how he is able to move at superhuman speeds, but he is certain that he has a connection to the Flash, and so begins to call himself "Kid Flash". The second issue identifies this Kid Flash as Bart Allen.
Virgil Hawkins
Static is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Milestone Comics founders Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle. Static's first appearance was made in ''Sta ...
, a brilliant intern from S.T.A.R. Labs, performs diagnostic tests on Bart and concludes that Bart is not from the 21st Century, indicating that he may possibly be from the 30th Century. Based on his test, Virgil presents Kid Flash with a new uniform, one that can keep his molecules aligned. This Bart Allen is also hinted to be from the future as his flashes from the future and the Legion Lost team's recollection of him from their history indicate.
In ''
Justice League of America's Vibe'',
Amanda Waller deduces from testing his abilities against Vibe's that Kid Flash draws power from the Speed Force, which Vibe is able to disrupt. When they accidentally touch, Kid Flash's past appears before Vibe's eyes, and he is shown to be a criminal from Earth's future. Kid Flash says he has no recollection of his past, nor why he has been sent back in time. The pair find the spot where he first arrived from Earth's future, which Kid Flash had been dreaming about for some time, but Bart flees the scene because he distrusts the JLA. In ''The Flash'' #21, Kid Flash meets the Flash (Barry Allen). Barry learns Kid Flash is from the future and also senses that his powers do not stem from the Speed Force. Kid Flash claims that Bart Allen is not his real name, and refuses to say who gave it to him. He also denies the Flash the opportunity to share his own secret identity with Bart.
Bart Allen's new origin story is later given in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 4) #25 and 26 (December 2013, January 14). His real name is explained to be Bar Torr, having been sent to the 21st century as part of a
witness protection program ahead of his trial for terrible crimes.
[''Teen Titans'' (vol. 4) #25] A feared reactionary from a
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
alien world Altros Prime in the far future, Bar Torr was the son of a religious couple who were murdered by the Purifiers, agents of the oppressive regime of the Functionary. An orphan, Bar managed to put his sister Shira into the care of a nunnery after many brutal years spent protecting her. Too young to kill any Purifiers himself, he joined their ranks instead. Following a space ship crash while smuggling contraband for the Purifiers, Torr discovered that by unknown means he had acquired healing abilities and incredible super speed, which he later used to get bloody revenge on the Purifiers, sending a message of hope to the oppressed people of his homeworld. He later assembled an army of reactionaries and began a full-scale rebellion against the Functionary which lasted many years, until members of his rebellion seriously injured an older Shira, who grew up on the side of the Functionary. This prompted Bar to turn himself in. Seeking penance, he promised the Functionary he would take down his own rebellion from the inside. While the prosecution assembled its case against Bar, he was sent back to the 21st century with a new personality and new memories, as Bart Allen, and only a lingering feeling that he was pursuing redemption. In the present day, in the wake of an attack on the team by
Johnny Quick of the
Crime Syndicate
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
, the prosecution retrieves Bart and brings him and the team to the future once again, where he awaits trial, and his friends learn of his past atrocities. During his trial, Kid Flash admits being guilty and the rest of his future resistance come and attack. During the fight Bart reunites with his sister and she convinces him to surrender. Bart is sentenced to life on the prison planet Takron-Galtos. Solstice then proclaims her love for him and kills a judge in order to be imprisoned with Bar. After a brief goodbye with Red Robin they are sent away to prison.
Bart returns to the 21st century and is next seen with the Elite alongside Klarion the Witch Boy, Trinity of the Indigo Tribe and the Guardian. He confronts his old teammates, angry because he feels Red Robin abandoned him and Solstice in the future and never came back for him, implying that he has spent centuries waiting. He ultimately rejoins the Teen Titans, but soon afterwards returns to the future, leaving behind a note saying that he intends to rescue Solstice from Takron-Galtos by himself.
Dark Tomorrow
Following the death of Max Mercury and Helen Claiborne, Bart went back to the future to be with his mother, while his girlfriend Carol Bucklen came along. Carol began studying the Speed Force to use it for the benefit of humanity. The corrupt President Thawne, Bart's grandfather, took their research and made the Hyperguard, a group of hyper-fast soldiers. The adult Carol managed to pull her younger self and Bart into the future. Bart ended up preventing Max's and Helen's death, thus preventing this reality from happening. This reality appeared in ''Impulse'' #73–75.
Titans Tomorrow
Bart was a crucial part of the ''
Titans Tomorrow
"Titans Tomorrow" is a storyline of a possible alternate future in the DC Comics Universe, from ''Teen Titans'' vol. 3 #17-19 (2005), by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone. The story arc has been collected as part of the ''Teen Titans: The Future is Now' ...
'' storyline. Here,
Wally West was dead and Bart was the new Flash. The
Teen Titans
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...
were now fanatic superheroes controlling the western United States. However, Bart was really a spy for
Titans East
Titans East is the name of several DC Comics superhero teams. The teams appear in the ''Teen Titans'' comic books and Teen Titans (TV series), animated series. The comic book incarnation of Titans East first appeared in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 3) #1 ...
, a rebel group led by
Cyborg and
Bumblebee
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...
. He seemed to have a romantic relationship with
Rose Wilson.
The Titans Tomorrow group has recently returned, where it was revealed that due to Bart's recent death, the future timeline has been altered so these versions of him and Conner are actually clones of the originals, created by the alternate future version of Tim Drake. However, unlike his previous future self, the cloned Bart is completely on the side of his fascist teammates.
Time and Tempest
Another alternate future is showcased in ''
The Ray
The Ray is the name of four superheroes in the DC Comics Universe. All versions of the character have the superpower of manipulating visible light in some manner.
The first Ray was Langford "Happy" Terrill, a Quality Comics character. When DC ...
'' (vol. 2) #25–26. Here Bart,
Ray Terrill, and
Triumph were "three rich guys with superpowers". Bart was in love with Ray's girlfriend, whom Ray treated like dirt. However, Bart realized that he did not have a chance with her either and ended up knocking Ray out and leaving him, not knowing that hitmen were on their way.
''Injustice: Gods Among Us''
In Superman's dream reality, Kid Flash makes a cameo when Superman's cousin, Supergirl makes a speech at Congress. Bart is Kid Flash in this reality, and he, Superboy, and Beast Boy were heading to an Italian restaurant in Metropolis on the day the Joker's nuclear bomb went off, killing Bart and Beast Boy.
''Legion of Super Heroes'' (TV series)
Impulse appears in the comic-tie in for the ''
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
'' where he teams up with
Brainiac 5,
Triplicate Girl
Triplicate Girl (Luornu Durgo) is a fictional character, a superhero in the 30th and 31st centuries of the and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She has also had the aliases Duo Damsel, Triad, Una, Duplicate Damsel and Duplicate Girl.
Pub ...
and
Bouncing Boy to fight
Tharok
The Fatal Five is a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #352 (1967) as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Fictional team history
Original ...
of the
Fatal Five, who hijacked his virtual reality system.
''Smallville''
In the continuation of the ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' TV show, ''
Smallville Season 11
''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'', Bart reappears in the arc "Haunted" teaming with Superman, and taking down
Psimon
Psimon (Simon Jones) is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Publication history
He first appeared in '' The New Teen Titans'' #3 (January 1981) and was created by George Pérez and Marv Wolfman.
Fictional ...
in the streets of
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
. They get a message from
Watchtower to stop
Monsieur Mallah
Monsieur Mallah is a fictional character, a superintelligent anthropomorphic gorilla supervillain in the . He is the loyal servant of and, in time, the partner to Gorilla Grodd, and the Brain while serving as an enemy of the Doom Patrol and the ...
and
Brain
A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, robbing the
Musée du Louvre, and in the middle of the fight, Bart gets "flashes of a
speed demon" but prevail against the duo. Bart and Clark go on a quest to find
Jay Garrick
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...
, the first speedster for knowledge to stop the demon. Bart sacrifices himself in a final altercation with the demon. In memorial, Jay starts a new career of
managing younger heroes. Bart's appearance here is different: he has shaved blonde hair and has a suit resembling Jay Garrick's original costume. In the following story arc, ''Argo'' while Clark celebrates victory following the defeat of
Doomsday
Doomsday may refer to:
* Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions.
* Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...
with the help of
Kara and the Legion of Super-Heroes, he sees a young Bart to his surprise.
In other media
Television
Animated
* In the original
Kids' WB pitch for the ''Justice League'' animated series,
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
, Impulse, and
a teenage female version of Cyborg were to be seen as junior members of the League. It was later decided to avoid their introduction, so as to avoid making ''
Justice League'' seem like the old ''
Super Friends'' series. The corresponding short animation is available as a bonus on the season one DVD of ''Justice League''.
* Bart Allen appears as Kid Flash in an episode of ''
Mad'', voiced by
Jason Marsden. He joins the other superheroes in a musical number that asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends." His part involved telling them that they would prove their worth if they sit through ''
Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...
'' with him.
* Jason Marsden reprises his role as Bart Allen in the ''
Young Justice
Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes.
The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...
'' episode "Bloodlines". He is first seen in the year 2056 working on a time machine and being wished a farewell from an unknown person in a Belle Reve jumpsuit. He then travels back to the year 2016 and is transported inside Mount Justice where he is confronted by
Nightwing
Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin.
Although ...
,
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
, and
Beast Boy. After trying to escape, he is stopped by Nightwing. He tells the three heroes that he is the grandson of
Barry Allen and
Iris West Allen
Iris West is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The ...
and that he is a time-traveling tourist, but they could call him Impulse. To prove that he is from the future, he reveals the secret identities of all three heroes. Impulse then escapes and heads to Central City to meet his family. When he meets his grandparents, he inadvertently reveals that his grandmother is pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, and also meets the retired Flash,
Jay Garrick
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...
, and the retired Kid Flash,
Wally West (who is Allen's first cousin once removed). The reunion is cut short when a villain calling himself
Neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...
attacks Central City. Impulse joins his grandfather and cousin in fighting the villain. During the battle, it is revealed that he's actually faster than Kid Flash and close to Flash's speed. When it seems that Neutron is going to overload and explode for a second time, Flash attempts to take him to the desert. This attempt fails when Impulse joins him and seems to accidentally trip the both of them. Neutron explodes again, but the two are saved by Kid Flash and Jay Garrick. Impulse then returns to the regenerating Neutron and throws an unknown device at him, which turns him into an ordinary human. When the other heroes ask him what happened, Impulse claims he has no idea how Neutron became human again. Later on back at the Mount Justice, Nightwing confirms through a DNA test that Impulse is who he claims to be. Impulse then enters his time machine intending to return to the future, but the machine was damaged and he claims that he has no idea how to fix it. The episode ends showing a flashback to 2056, just before Allen leaves for the past. The unknown person is revealed to be an older Neutron, who gives Allen the device that can cure him and informs him that he will not be able to return to the future. The flashback also reveals that Allen is going back to the past to save his grandfather's life and save the future. After he leaves Neutron is altered out of his jumpsuit into regular clothes, only to realize that nothing else changed. In the episode "Before the Dawn", it is revealed that his main reason for coming to the past was to stop
Blue Beetle from becoming evil and causing a
Reach
Reach or REACH may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Reach plc, formerly Trinity Mirror, large British newspaper, magazine, and digital publisher
* Reach Canada, an NGO in Canada
* Reach Limited, an Asia Pacific cable network company
* ...
apocalypse. In the second-season finale, "Endgame," Bart becomes the new Kid Flash after the apparent "death" of Wally West. In the ''
Young Justice: Outsiders'' season, he becomes a member of the
Outsiders
Outsider(s) may refer to:
Film
* Outsider (1997 film), ''Outsider'' (1997 film), a 1997 Slovene-language film
* Outsider (2012 film), ''Outsider'' (2012 film), a Malayalam-language Indian film
* Outsiders (1980 film), ''Outsiders'' (1980 film), a ...
.
** Bart Allen has been suggested to be gay by
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman (born September 28, 1963) is an American novelist, writer, producer and voice actor. He is best known as the creator of the animated series '' Gargoyles'', ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' and ''Young Justice''.
Early life and career ...
, creator of the animated series, and he is dating
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
, who was confirmed to be gay by Weisman.
Live action
* An episode of ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' entitled "Run" featured a speedster named Bart Allen, portrayed by
Kyle Gallner. Bart also carried around identification with the names "
Jay Garrick
Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...
", "
Barry Allen", and "
Wally West", the first three Flashes in the main
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
. He was portrayed as a self-centered teenager who used his powers as a thief for personal gain, although he showed signs of changing his ways by the end of the episode when he helped Clark save his father. As a sort of in-joke, he flirted with
Chloe Sullivan and told her that he is from 100 years in the future (he jokingly claimed that they were still in love by that point). At the end of the episode, after Bart said that he will travel the world to find others like him and Clark, maybe starting "a club or a league or something", Clark and Bart had a race; just as Clark seemed to be catching up to him, Bart turned and gave him a slight wave and disappeared into the distance. Gallner reprised his role in the season six episode "Justice", using the codename Impulse and wearing a costume of sorts for the first time on air. He appeared as part of a team led by
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...
. According to Green Arrow, he found Bart one night in
Star City during one of his patrols and saw that he was about to help himself to a "free meal", but, seeing goodness in Bart, he helped give him "direction". Along with
Aquaman and
Cyborg, they formed a team to stop
Lex Luthor and his LuthorCorp 33.1 project, the group rescuing Bart from a lab after he was captured. During missions, he was called "Impulse," a name he did not choose himself, much like in the comics. He was composed as more of a fusion of various Flash traits and personalities. When Clark and Lex disappeared from the arctic in the
Fortress of Solitude, Bart and Victor Stone searched the entire southern hemisphere for them and found nothing. Later, Oliver mentioned that Clark went on a JL mission with Bart in Keystone City and he was seen along with AC, Victor, and
Dinah
In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
on Chloe's computer screens in the Isis Foundation. Kyle Gallner returned once again in the season 8 finale "Doomsday" to help Clark fight his biggest enemy yet. However, he eventually turned his back on Clark in order to save him. He was last seen at Jimmy Olsen's funeral, and Chloe later mentioned to Clark that Bart, along with teammates Oliver and Dinah, disappeared from the face of the Earth and that she feared the worst. Bart's name is mentioned in the season 9 episode "Escape" when Clark tells Chloe that Bart is in town for the weekend. Impulse gets later mentioned (by codename) in the season 9 episode "Checkmate" by Amanda Waller, demanding to know everyone who had ever worked with Watchtower (a.k.a. Clark and Chloe). In the season 10 episode "Icarus", Impulse attends
Carter Hall's funeral but his face is not shown. In the Season 11 comic book continuation of the television series, Bart sacrifices his life, sending the Black Flash into the Speed Force, along with himself. However, Clark later meets a mother and a child when he time travels to the 30th century, and the latter's name is revealed to be "Bartholomew Allen".
* In the ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
''/''
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
'' crossover episode "The Brave and the Bold", Captain Quentin Lance mistakenly calls Barry Allen "Bart Allen", though Barry later corrects Quentin; his first name is actually Bartholomew.
John Wesley Shipp revealed that there are talks about having Bart Allen on ''The Flash''. In ''The Flash'' episode "Cause and Effect", Barry's memory is accidentally erased in a
S.T.A.R. Labs
Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (S.T.A.R. Labs) is a fictional scientific research facility and organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It first appeared in ''Superman'' #246 (December 1 ...
mishap. When he learns his name is Bartholomew Henry Allen from his driver license, the amnesiac Barry insists on being called "Bart", as that name "feels more natural" to him. Once his memories return, he resumes being called Barry.
** Bart Allen/Impulse is an original character created by Eric Wallace and portrayed by
Jordan Fisher. According to Wallace, this version of Bart Allen is not the character from the comics or the Young Justice cartoon. He is much older, funnier, charming but with an edge and is Barry and Iris' future son. He debuted at the end of the episode "P.O.W." in which he appears alongside his older sister
Nora.
Video games
* In ''
Injustice: Gods Among Us'', Bart Allen's name is listed on a hit list during
Deathstroke
Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character debuted in '' The New Teen Titans'' #2 in December 1980 as Deathstroke the ...
's outro.
* Bart Allen as Kid Flash appears as a playable character in
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
* Bart Allen as Impulse from Young Justice appears as non playable character in
Lego DC Super Villains
''Lego DC Super-Villains'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales. The fourth installment in the '' Lego Batman'' series of games, it is a spin-off that focuses entirely on villains of the DC Univers ...
.
Collected editions
Stories featuring Bart Allen from ''The Flash'', ''Impulse'' and ''The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive'' have been collected into
trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to:
* Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book
* Trade paperback (comics)
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
:
References
External links
Bart Allenat the DC Comics Database
*
Bart Allenat the ''Smallville'' Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Bart
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