Wallace "Wally" West is a
superhero appearing in
American comic books 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 ...
. Originally introduced as a new interpretation of
Wally West
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 (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...
, as part of 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 ...
relaunch, the comic ''
DC Rebirth
DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC ...
'' #1
later established that he is, in fact, a new character of the same name, being Wally's cousin, both named after their great-grandfather. To avoid confusion, the character was renamed in later comics as Wallace West.
The character was inspired by a desire to feature an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
iteration of Wally West in the
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...
series ''
The Flash'' following the similarly
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
Jesse L. Martin's and
Candice Patton
Candice Kristina Patton is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Iris West-Allen in the television series ''The Flash'' (2014–2023), which earned her a Saturn Award from four nominations.
Early life
Patton was raised in Pl ...
's respective castings as
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
and
Iris West
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 ...
; ultimately,
Keiynan Lonsdale
Keiynan Lonsdale (; born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series ''Dance Academy'' (2012–2013), Wally West/ Kid Flash in the CW series ''The Flash' ...
was cast as
the character, depicted as West's long-lost brother, and additionally reprising the role in ''
Legends of Tomorrow
''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American time travel superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, who are also executive producers a ...
'' and ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
''.
Publication history
The "reintroduction" of this character to DC Comics following its 2011
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 ...
reboot, which removed Wally West from continuity, was first announced in January 2014. Originally conceived of as a
biracial reinterpretation of the classic Wally West character. Wallace is stated in his introductory comics and creators as being the son of
Iris West
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 ...
's brother Rudy, as in pre-New 52 stories. However, the original interpretation of Wally West, having been the starring character in the Flash for many years, was still missed by DC's fans, and so the company decided to bring the original Wally back into continuity in
Geoff Johns' ''
DC Rebirth
DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC ...
'' #1 (2016). ''Rebirth''
retroactively established that Wallace's father was not Rudy, as previously stated; he was the son of Iris's other brother, the then-recently introduced
Daniel West, also the latest incarnation of
Reverse Flash
The Reverse-Flash is a name used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Each iteration of the character serves as a foil and an enemy of the Flash.
Characters Edward Clariss
Edward Clariss (also kn ...
, who had redeemed and sacrificed himself as a member of the
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
.
Fictional character biography
Wallace first appears in ''The Flash'' (vol. 4) Annual #3 (June 2014) in a story set twenty years in the future, when a jaded, older Flash (Barry Allen) reads about Wallace's funeral and vows to change history. Tying in with the ongoing story ''
The New 52: Futures End'', the story ''The Flash: Futures End'' #1 depicts an encounter between Barry of five years in the future (when Wallace is supposed to die) and the Barry of 20 years in the future, who is out to prevent it. In the course of the story, Wallace ends up learning that Barry is the Flash and absorbs part of the
Speed Force
A Speedster is a character, primarily in superhero comics, whose powers primarily relate to superhuman speed (also known as superspeed). Primary abilities shared by all speedsters include running at speeds far in excess of human capability (to var ...
— the source of the Flash's abilities — during the battle between Barry and his future counterpart. He becomes a speedster but his hero career is short-lived; he sacrifices himself to fix a wound in the speed force. Due to the effects of time travel, however, this has implications for Wallace earlier in his history. Around the same time, in the present-day narrative of ''The Flash'', Barry meets Wallace for the first time through Iris. He is struck by lightning and acquires super-speed abilities; an apparition of his future explains that, as a consequence of how his future-self had died repairing the Speed Force, all the power within him was able to travel back in time and use Wallace's lightning accident as a catalyst. Wallace's first act as a speedster is to use his powers to protect a classmate from a bully, using the same artistic elements as
Professor Zoom
Eobard Thawne, otherwise known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and first appeared in ''The Flas ...
's powers.
''DC Rebirth'' #1, part of a company-wide event of the same name, marked DC's attempts to restore much of what it lost in the New 52 reboot, both in tone and in the stories of its characters. It features
Wally West
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 (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...
watching his younger cousin, Wallace, from outside of time, proud and amazed that he too has become a speedster, and reflecting on how they are both named for the same grandfather. Wally is brought back to reality by Barry, who remembers him for the first time since the events of ''Flashpoint''. ''Teen Titans Rebirth'' #1, shows Wallace joining 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 ...
superhero team as
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, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the c ...
.
Wallace, as Kid Flash, meets Wally West, as the Flash, when assisting Barry in dealing with a bridge accident, although Wally doesn't explicitly introduce himself to his cousin, simply identifying himself as an ally of Barry, although Wallace accepts him after they work together to save Barry from a temporary infusion of Speed Force energy.
He later discovers that he has been created after Barry created
Flashpoint timeline.
Alternate versions
"Futures End"
In ''The Flash: Futures End'' #1, the Flash from 20 years in the future is able to prevent Wallace's death by killing Daniel West. After the Future Flash cripples his younger self in their fight and disappears into the past, Barry finds that Wallace has been imbued with the Speed Force. He makes Wallace promise to stop his future self and Wallace dons a silver and red Flash suit, becoming the new Flash, and trains for years to travel back and stop the Future Flash.
In ''The Flash'' (vol. 4) #35, Wallace arrives to see the Future Flash fight the present Flash. Wallace is badly injured when he shields the younger Flash from high-speed rocks that the Future Flash flung. Wallace absorbs the excess Speed Force energy that is tearing apart the present Flash and tells him to not give up and that he only learned to be a hero because of him. Wallace dies and releases a blast of Speed Force energy that closes the rupture but unintentionally traps the present Flash in the Speed Force.
In other media
Television
A version of
Wally West
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 (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...
was introduced in ''
The Flash'', portrayed by
Keiynan Lonsdale
Keiynan Lonsdale (; born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series ''Dance Academy'' (2012–2013), Wally West/ Kid Flash in the CW series ''The Flash' ...
, around the same time that DC reintroduced Wally West in the New 52 – the character that would later be redesignated
Wallace West. In ''The Flash''
season three
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Wally becomes
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, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the c ...
when he gains identical powers to Barry from an accident. In this version, he is Iris West's younger brother instead of nephew. In
season four, he leaves the team to forge his own identity and eventually joins the Legends of fellow
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...
series ''
Legends of Tomorrow
''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American time travel superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, who are also executive producers a ...
'' as a series regular in
season three
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
.
* This version of the character portrayed by Lonsdale also appears in an episode of ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
'' during the crossover event "
Crisis on Earth-X
"Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of the live-action television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash ...
."
Films
* The Wallace West incarnation of Kid Flash appears briefly in ''
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'', as one of the Titans killed by the Paradooms.
Video games
* Wallace West as Kid Flash briefly appeared in
The Flash's single-player ending in ''
Injustice 2
''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's '' Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed by NetherRealm Studios and publishe ...
''.
* Wallace West as Kid Flash made his video game debut as a 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 ...
'', voiced by Jason Linere White.
">@jasonofangeles shared a photo on Instagram: “I am so excited and honored to finally be able to share with everyone, that I play/voice the "Kid Flash" aka, Wally West in Warne...
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Wally II
Comics characters introduced in 2014
DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
DC Comics characters with accelerated healing
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics superheroes
DC Comics sidekicks
DC Comics child superheroes
African-American superheroes
Fictional characters from Nebraska
Flash (comics) characters
Fictional characters who can turn intangible
Fictional characters who can manipulate light
Fictional characters with air or wind abilities
Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities
Fictional characters who can manipulate sound
Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
Fictional characters with dimensional travel abilities
Fictional characters with superhuman senses
Fictional characters with anti-magic or power negation abilities
Fictional characters who can manipulate time
Fictional characters with density control abilities
Time travelers