Barry Allen (Mercury)

Barry Allen as The Flash (left) and, later, Mercury (right)

### Relatives

Henry and Nora Allen (parents, deceased), Malcolm Thawne (brother), Iris Allen (wife), Don and Dawn Allen (children), Bart Allen (grandson) and Jenni Ognats (granddaughter), Wally West (nephew), Wallace West (nephew), etc.

### Affiliation

Justice League, Flash Family · formerly Blue Lantern Corps, White Lantern Corps

## **History**

Barry Allen is **Mercury**, formerly known as **The Flash,** the fastest man alive. While he used to tap into *and* generate the Speed Force with every stride he took, the events following *The Flash: Time Dilation* have left him with a new set of powers; the ability to slow down time around him at his whim. Prior to adopting the Mercury persona Barry was the first character from Prime Earth to use the moniker The Flash and the title has since been passed onto his first protégé Wally Rudolph West. Barry is a founding member of the Justice League as well.

### **Origin**

Barry Allen and his twin brother were born to Henry and Nora Allen in Fallville, Iowa. While his twin was pronounced dead by the family's doctor, Dr. Gilmore, the truth was the baby had actually been born quite healthy and had been given away to another family - the Thawnes. Barry grew up reading the comics and particularly enjoyed the comics centered around speedster hero Jay Garrick aka The Flash, someone who he would eventually learn was not only a real person (merely from a different Earth) but much more intertwined with Barry's own future than he ever could have imagined.

As a child Barry's mother was killed and his father went to prison for her murder, a set of acts that would drive Barry to seek justice for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, Darryl Frye, who had secretly been involved romantically Barry's mother, Nora, pulled some strings, and was able to take Barry in. Having learned from Darryl that the search for evidence, in that case, would inevitably lead to the truth, as well as having a fondness for chemistry and crime, eventually drove Barry to become a forensic analyst.

After beginning his job at the CCPD Barry met and began dating CCPN (Central City Picture News) reports Iris West, whom he'd met whilst on his first case. Upon their first meeting commented how Barry seemed to have "honest eyes", something he never forgot and took into account when later crafting his Flash costume.

For years, Barry visited his father in prison, promising to look over all of the evidence of his mother's murder case until he found a way to prove his father's innocence. After years of coming back, and failing to find any proof, Henry broke down and admitted that he had committed the crime - a lie he told merely to help his son move forward. The shock of realizing that all of his efforts had been for nothing depressed Barry. That same day, the night became stormy as Barry angrily tore his lab apart. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning - later revealed to be a future version of Barry himself - streaked through a window, shattered a chemical cabinet and covered Barry in the electrified chemicals. Dazed, he decided to return home in a taxi. However, the taxi started to pull away without noticing him. Barry sprinted after it, only to run straight past it as if it had been standing still. He decided to sit down and recollect his thoughts at a diner. A passing waitress accidentally spilled the items of her tray onto Barry, who amazingly caught them all in mid-air and returns them to the tray. The next day, Barry saved Iris from a stray bullet. There was no question about it: the freak accident had somehow given Barry superhuman speed!

### **The Flash**

Deciding to use his powers to help humanity, Barry began to experiment with his powers, soon realizing that he tapped into a similar force as the character he had read about as a kid, Jay Garrick, he realized he tapped into a Speed Force. Taking cues from the comics he had read as a child Barry concentrated his efforts into manifesting a suit made of the energies that bestowed his speed upon him and, after several attempts, successfully did so - crafting a suit made out of pure Speed Force energy. Calling himself the Flash, a tribute to his childhood idol, Barry briefly considered reshaping his costume that would show his face, like Jay had, but opted to merely show his "honest eyes" instead - believing that showing his eyes would convey a trust to the citizens of Central City. The first villain he faced was the butt Man.

### **Justice League**

As the Flash, Barry later became a founding member of the Justice League of America, where he befriended Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, and later Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, both of whom he had many adventures both with and without the Justice League. Later still, he discovered that Jay Garrick was real, and became friends with him as well after traveling to Earth-2 and meeting their version of the Justice League, the JSA (Justice Society of America).

### **Kid Flash I (Wally West)**

During one summer, Iris's nephew Wally came to visit her in Central City. He was an *incredible* Flash fan, and he knew his aunt's boyfriend was a "friend" of the Flash, so a meeting was arranged. The Flash offered to answer all of Wally's questions, so Wally asked how the Flash had gained his powers of super-speed. The Flash explained the events of what had happened, causing Wally to wish out loud that something like that would happen to him. It just so happened that Barry had set up the chemical cabinet in his lab just as it had been during that fateful night, and there was a thunderstorm on the afternoon of Wally's visit. All of a sudden, almost in answer to Wally's wish, the freak accident that gave Barry his powers repeated itself, this time covering Wally in electrically-charged chemicals. Now possessing the same powers as the Flash, Wally at first donned a smaller-sized copy of Barry Allen's Flash costume, albeit with silver highlights rather than gold - after learning how to craft a suit made of Speed Force energy from Barry - with the *CCPN* dubbing the young crimefighter 'Kid Flash' in a headline. Wally's original costume was later modified into a slightly duller and silver-highlighted version of The Flash's suit. As Kid Flash, Wally wore this moniker for many years until he outgrew his teenage appellation and became Velocity, lending his old codename to his troubled and equally Speed Force infused cousin, Wallace West - the second Kid Flash.

### **Kid Flash II (Wallace West)**

After losing Wally to the first iteration of the Teen Titans Barry delved into finding someone else who could potentially bear the power of the lightning and be infused with Speed Force abilities; while Barry had learned to lend speed, he realized there were certain humans who were capable of accessing the Speed Force for more than a finite amount of time, all they needed was a jumpstart. Realizing Iris had another nephew, the estranged son of her damaged brother Daniel, Barry sought out to find the troubled child - Wallace - and try to change his life for the best; something granting of Speed Force abilities did. As Kid Flash Wally donned a suit similar to his predecessors with bronze highlights (denoted by his lightning) and a slightly darker red motif. Wallace remained Kid Flash until he was 'called up' to don the Velocity codename after Barry's apparent death in *Crisis on Infinite Earth's*.

### **Marriage**

Eventually, Barry proposed to Iris on a Ferris wheel at the fair. She accepted, and they were married, in spite of the efforts of Professor Zoom, who attempted to foil the ceremony. Barry hid his identity from Iris for a year, although she had known the entire time because he had spoken in his sleep on their honeymoon. He was worried that the accident had made him less human and that they would not be able to have children. However, after performing many tests that first year, he determined that they still could, and he revealed his secret.

However, it was not long before Professor Zoom took Iris's life at a masquerade party. Barry chased him into the timestream and left him there.

### **Trial of the Flash**

Months after the death of his true love - Iris - Barry met and began to date another woman, Fiona Webb, whom he grew to love but never truly had feelings that rivaled those he had for Iris. Eventually moving forward, Barry met and began to date a fellow employee of the CCPD - Patty Spivot. However, on the day they were supposed to be married, Professor Zoom showed up again, claiming that he would once again kill the wife of the Flash. Barry chased him across the world, and failed to show up for his own wedding. In the end, Zoom was about to kill Patty, but Barry unwittingly killed him. The Flash was charged with manslaughter and had to face a long trial.

Barry's face was disfigured severely in a battle with Big Sir. He went to Gorilla City to have his face repaired. Since Barry Allen had supposedly been missing, he decided to have it reconstructed into a completely new face, so that he could keep his secret identity dead.

### **Retirement**

Later, Barry was brought to the 30th century, where Iris was from and had been reborn. For about a month, they lived in happiness and thanks to great advances in reconstructive surgery that had been made in this era, Barry's original features were restored. Iris would later have twins, Don and Dawn Allen.

Barry made a stop in time during his trip to the future and met up with Wally West in a battle against Professor Zoom. At this point in time Wally (as The Flash) was doing battle with both Barry's nemesis - Professor Zoom - as well as his own Hunter Zolomon aka Speed Demon. In the fight Barry fared much better than Wally, and sent his Professor Zoom through the timestream; while It is unclear what happened to him, but he does end up in the 30th century.

### **Death of the Flash:** ***Crisis on Infinite Earths***

The *Crisis on Infinite Earths* brought Barry out of retirement. The 30th Century was beginning to fall apart: natural disasters were occurring despite the technology that had been created to stop them, and reality itself was fraying. Flash returned to the 20th century to warn his fellow heroes. Just as he started to warn Batman, he was pulled into the Antimatter Universe by the Anti-Monitor, where he was mentally tortured by the Psycho-Pirate. Finally, he used the Psycho-Pirate to turn all of the Anti-Monitor's servants, the Thunderers, against him. This gave him enough time to destroy the Anti-Monitor's anti-matter cannon by running around it and destroying the outer casing. He ran so incredibly fast that he entered the Speed Force, seemingly, forever.

### **Afterlife**

Whilst 'forever' trapped in the Speed Force Barry was illustrated as having been transformed into pure Speed Force electricity as he goes back in time, eventually becoming the lightning bolt that struck both Wally West (the original Kid Flash) and himself; giving the pair their powers. These 'trips' through time and subsequent immense uses of his speed slowly drained Barry of any and all Speed Force energy, leaving him less and less trapped within a Speed Force he was barely linked too.

### **Rebirth**

Shortly after the nearly completed draining of his powers Barry is 'dropped' out of the Speed Force and his powers are expended with one final burst. Barry arrives back on Earth in Guatemala, where two boys Javier and Juan Garcia find the ex. speedster and do their best to bring him back to health. The two boys, being in such close proximity to Barry upon his return from the Speed Force, are granted speed powers similar to Barry's - although to a lesser degree of strength - and after months of training with Barry, who only recalled his name was 'something like Buried Alien' - the two donned the monikers Más y Menos.

As time passed Barry eventually began to regain his memories and he returned to Central City where Iris, Wally, Wallace, and the newly arrived Bart Allen (Impulse) were more than elated by his return. Barry attempts to live a normal life from then on out, no speed, no Speed Force, just he and Iris.

### **Hot Pursuit and The Birth of Mercury - The Flash: *Time Dilation***

Unfortunately Barry's happy, normal, life is short lived as the return of his nemesis Professor Zoom, severe speed withdrawal, and the arrival of an other worldly bike-riding speedster, Hot Pursuit, all leave Barry missing "the good ol' days".

It is eventually revealed, as he lay dying by the hands of Professor Zoom, that Hot Pursuit is the Barry Allen of another universe; a universe in which Barry was not given the Speed Force abilities he once had but rather Barry used his technically genius to create a bike capable of time dilation. Rather than moving at super speed - as all Speed Force users do - the bike allowed for the alteration of time around this version of Barry. Therefore allowing the rider to go faster or slower relative to everyone around him.

As Hot Pursuit Barry lay dying he relay to powerless Barry Allen that Zoom had severely damaged Hot Pursuits bike in their final fight and the bike was set to explode. Unaware until the last second both the dying Barry Allen and the powerless Barry Allen were caught in the ensuing explosion. While many initially believed [powerless] Barry dead, it was quickly revealed that not only had he survived the blast, but he had been bestowed with *new* speed powers. No longer was he Barry Allen, Speed Force user and superhero known as The Flash, he was now Barry Allen, speedster capable of time dilation and superhero known simply as, *Mercury*.

### **Blackest Night**

A few months later, at the grave of Bruce Wayne in Gotham City, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen reflect on Batman's death and how the hero community is avoiding linking Wayne and Batman.

This reflection turns to the pair looking at their own deaths, comparing the sadness that Barry's death engendered in others while Hal's death produced anger. Hal sums it up by telling Barry, "I died a sinner. *You* died a saint." The conversation moves on to the world becoming "more dangerous" after Barry's death and observing that the deaths of Arthur Curry and Martian Manhunter cost the Justice League its "heart and soul". As they leave the cemetery, Barry expresses hope that their dead comrades will be returned to them. He specifically cites Batman noting, "If there's an escape, you can bet Batman's already planning it."

Barry also appears alongside Hal in the July issues of *Green Lantern* tying into the event. In a fight with Black Lantern J'onn J'onzz, he found a mysterious black residue at Bruce Wayne's grave-a black form coagulating much like blood that started corrupting him by partly decaying his skin and muscle during the fight against his former friend, who is intent on killing both Hal and Barry, seeing how they both died, and in the eyes of the Black Lanterns, must return to that state to keep the universe in balance.

After fighting off the undead Martian and the subsequent Black Lanterns with Hal and the arriving Atom, Mera, Firestorm, and two of the Indigo Tribe members, Barry, along with Wally, Wallace, and Bart, races across the globe to warn every superhero community across the planet. His message also inadvertently warns the Rogues, who are all realize that their deceased members would come after them and decide to strike first at Iron Heights Penitentiary, unaware that Sam Scudder, the original Mirror Master, who is now a Black Lantern, is watching them. While doing so, Barry meets a Black Lantern version of Professor Zoom for a brief battle. Barry decides to go to Gorilla City to seek aid from its ruler Solovar, unaware the gorilla leader had been killed years before. Finding the city attacked, Barry assumed Grodd had struck only to be horrified to learn Solovar was now a Black Lantern. Their fight was shortened by Barry racing to Coast City.

After he stops at the city's memorial, where he witnesses the arrival of the Black Lanterns' demonic lord, Nekron, and his disciples Scar and Black Hand. The Justice League, the Titans, Wally, Wallace, and Bart arrive to aid Barry to take a stand against Nekron. However, Nekron reveals however that all the resurrected heroes are tied to him, because he allowed them to rise again. And as such they belong to him. Nekron then used a series of black rings to turn Superman, Green Arrow, Bart and several other resurrected heroes into Black Lanterns.

#### Mercury: The Blue Lantern

Barry himself soon finds himself being targeted by a black ring and is forced to flee or risk joining the others as Black Lanterns. When it was decided to deputize an individual for each Lantern Corps for 24 hours, Mercury (Barry) was chosen as the deputy for the Blue Lantern Corps. During the battle, Barry is forced to fight his own grandson, who his ring detects is still alive but would eventually die if not free from the black ring soon. Barry is shown to be skilled with his ring in creating energy constructs based on his imagination (possibly because of the understanding with his friend Hal Jordan's ring), as he is able to create images of Bart as Impulse and Kid Flash against him in order to make him feel again. Barry's plan almost works as Bart reacts to the images of his past and the constructs begin to attempt to take the black ring from him, but later is interrupted by the Black Lantern Professor Zoom and Solovar. Wallace and Walker later join Barry to fight against them.

### **The Rise and Fall**

Afterwards, Barry and Hal begin searching the country for Prometheus, who had escaped after destroying Star City during *Justice League: Cry for Justice*. The pair go to the Shade, who then reveals that he helped Ollie track down Prometheus, and that he killed the villain in cold blood. After confronting Ollie with this knowledge, he flees through use of a transportation key that Prometheus had used to escape during a previous encounter with the JLA. Barry then vows that he and the League have to track down Ollie before he kills again.

With Hal and Dinah by his side, Barry searches the city for Green Arrow, and at some point tells Ollie's son Connor Hawke about his father's crime. After eventually tracking down Ollie, the trio confront him, with Barry telling his old teammate that he hates him more and more every time he sees him. Barry makes the foolish mistake of trying to grab Ollie, and is electrocuted after touching the archer's booby-trapped quiver.

### **Dastardly Death of the Rogues**

#### The Renegades

Barry reintegrates himself into life in Central City. Under the cover of having been in witness protection, Allen returns to the CCPD's crime lab and returns to the streets as Mercury. While readjusting to life as Mercury, a man appears out of thin air in the costume of Flash rogue the Mirror Master, and promptly dies on the street.

When Barry arrives on the scene to investigate, he sees the man is neither original Mirror Master Sam Scudder, or the current Rogue, Evan McCulloch. Hearing of another portal appearing, Barry transforms into Mercury and runs to investigate. When he arrives, a group of people in costumes similar to the Rogues, called *The Renegades* appear and tell Barry that they are from the 25th century, and that he is under arrest for murdering the "Mirror Monarch." Barry tells the crew that he hasn't killed anyone, to which their leader, "Commander Cold," tells him, "Not yet. But you will."

After a brief struggle, the Renegades retreat but accidentally destroy an apartment building in their jump back to the 25th century. Barry saves everyone in the building, even rebuilding the building in minutes, and goes on to search for the true killer of Mirror Monarch. He is attacked again by the Renegades, but only before Captain Boomerang shows up, now wielding explosive energy boomerangs. Boomerang fights both Mercury and the Renegades, and a confused Top (one of the Renegades from the 25th century) questions his teammates on whether or not Barry Allen is the man they are looking for, pointing out that in their timeline, Boomerang never showed up.

The Renegades finally corner Captain Boomerang when the Rogues arrive with a giant mirror left by the previous Mirror Master that says "In Case Mercury Returns Break Glass." An all out brawl ensues as the Rogues battle the Renegades. Meanwhile Mercury is confronted by Top who warns him that the reason he will eventually kill Mirror Monarch is because of Iris's death, which he claims will be caused when the giant mirror breaks, releasing the Mirror Lords. Top tells Barry that one of the Mirror Lords will possess Iris and take her away from him. Barry races to stop the mirror from breaking, with Top at his side. However, when the White Lantern entity reaches out to Captain Boomerang, telling him to "Throw the Boomerang", Boomerang responds by throwing dozens of boomerangs in every direction. One of them hits the glass and it begins to break. Top tells Mercury to stop the Mirror Lords, while he goes and protects Iris. Barry questions, "This doesn't make any sense," but Top throws him into the mirror and flees.

In the mirror, Mercury is exposed to strange visions of his mother. Outside, the Rogue Mirror Master tells the others that the mirror is actually a slow acting poison and they flee. Barry escapes the mirror confused and asks, "Where are the Mirror Lords?" He is then arrested by the Renegades, who realize that this was all a setup by Top to frame the Mercury for his own personal gains. Barry is transported to a 25th century court, while Top confronts Iris.

Barry escapes the 25th century court and goes after Top. Top reveals that the reason for all of his crimes is because Barry reopened a previously closed case. Barry felt that the person convicted was actually innocent. The person who is actually guilty of the crime is one of Top's ancestors. Top reveals that they do not allow anyone in the Renegades who has any ancestors with a criminal record. Mercury is able to beat Top, and convict the right man for murder, letting go the innocent man who was sent to prison. Afterward, the 25th century court and the Renegades go over the facts, realizing that Mercury was right and that their entire record of history is wrong.

### **Flashpoint**

Waking up suddenly at his desk, Barry Allen has only a few seconds to puzzle out the fact that something in his work environment has changed before he hears that a Rogue named Miss Alchemy is engaging in a felony. Barry starts running to get there, only to fall down a nearby flight of stairs. This alone is a puzzle to him, but then he is greeted by an even bigger shock Nora Allen, still alive in the present day and coming to visit him.

After some investigation he is struggling to find any heroes to help as Superman is missing and Wonder Woman and Aquaman leading their respective nations in a war, his wife Iris is unmarried and himself currently powerless. Barry seeks Batman who might help, and he drives to Gotham City and enters a run-down Wayne Manor and explores a small Batcave until he is attacked by Batman. Barry tries to explain who he is by saying he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne, although then he realizes that Batman is Thomas Wayne.

While Barry is being beaten up by Batman, he explains about his secret identities, his time as The Flash and Mercury - given the events leading up to Barry becoming Mercury the two decide it best to attempt to restore Barry's connection to the Speed Force - making him The Flash again. Barry's memories spontaneously change and learn that the world of Flashpoint is not an alternate dimension, but his own. Barry explains that both he and Professor Zoom have the ability to alter time, leading Batman to ask him about how Bruce was to have lived in his place and if he can really change the world, Barry needs his speed first. Later, Barry and Batman create an electric chair-like device to try and recreate the accident that gave him his speed, however the first attempt met with failure, leaving Barry severely burned

Barry awakes on an operating table in the Batcave and is covered in bandages and third degree burns. Despite Thomas' advice, Barry sits back down in the electric chair device. When lightning strikes grants Barry's super-speed to return and he then saves the Batman from being impaled on a fence, Barry's injuries are healing rapidly the speed-enhanced regeneration and he recreates a costume showcasing both his current and previous identities; a *new* Flash costume. As The Flash, Barry researches the incarnations of heroes of the DC timeline, believing that Professor Zoom deliberately changed their lives to prevent Barry from creating a Justice League and learns of a rocket that crashed into Metropolis which carried the infant Superman, who instead of being raised in Kansas was taken in by the government. They then contact Cyborg for his help in sneaking into the government bunker of "Project: Superman" that is 'raising' Superman after his rocket destroyed Metropolis upon its arrival, only to be disappointed at Superman's frail appearance. They head towards Project: Superman's underground base via the sewer. The group comes across a giant vault door bearing the Superman logo. After they open the door, the three see a pale, weakened form of Superman. Despite his appearance, Barry says that no matter what, Superman will always be a good person. When the arrival of guards forces them to escape, Superman gets his powers that begin to manifest and he flies off leaving them at the hands of the guards.

While they fend off the guards, they are rescued by Element Woman. Barry's memories begin to change much more drastically, altering his past and states that he is running out of time and soon he will not be able to restore the timeline to normal. After Barry is recovering, he asks the heroes to stop the Atlantean/Amazon war from creating more casualty, although the heroes are not willing to unless Batman wants to join them. Cyborg explains to him that they believe Batman was invincible. However, Barry convinces him that no one is invincible; the Marvel Family are agreeing to join him which Batman is agreeing too as well. The heroes arrive at New Themyscira to stop the Atlantean/Amazon war, and appear to be winning until Enchantress reveals herself as the Amazon spy and uses her magic to separate the Marvel Family and restore them to their mortal forms. Penthesileia kills Billy Batson just as Professor Zoom reveals himself to Barry.

Professor Zoom reveals to him that the *Flashpoint* universe was actually created by Barry himself, after he traveled back in time to stop Professor Zoom from killing his mother. He continues to taunt Barry with this knowledge, but he was stabbed in the back by an Amazonian sword and killed by Batman. Before Barry returns the timeline to normal, Batman thanks him for all he's done and gives him a letter addressed to his son. After this, Barry bids a farewell to his mother, knowing he must travel back in time to stop his younger self from altering time. Barry merges with his past counterpart in an attempt to stop him, restoring his powers as Mercury and severing his connection to the Speed Force once again. After Barry restores the timeline, he visits the original Bruce Wayne and gives him a letter from his alternate father. Bruce is grateful to Barry of informing him of the events of the *Flashpoint* before the timeline was apparently returned to normal.

### **Gorilla Warfare**

Shortly after restoring the timeline, a gorilla army led by Grodd attacks Central City. Knowing the danger Grodd represents, Mercury agrees to a temporary alliance with the Rogues. As the Rogues fight the gorilla army, Mercury chases after Grodd himself.

Unfortunately, Mercury has supercharged himself with Speed Force energy, giving him an edge over Mercury. As the two clash, Grodd maintains the upper hand and shatters Barry's mask. Just as Grodd is about to impale him with a metal sign pole, Solovar, another gorilla, sacrifices his life to save Flash.
Barry collapses from exhaustion, and Patty Spivot (who has discovered his identity) takes him back to his home - where he lives with Iris. As he sleeps, Barry's mind watches every possible outcome his battle with Grodd could cause. Each outcome ends with a loved one dead or seriously injured. Realizing that he cares too much about the safety of others and the people of his city to let that happen, Barry decides to surrender himself to Grodd.

As he wakes up, Barry explains his plan to both Patty and Iris and Barry and Iris spend a final moment together. As Mercury faces Grodd, he uses his cunning to trick Grodd into drawing the two of them into the Speed Force to end their conflict once and for all. Suddenly, a tank crashes next to them and Flash finds Iris in the cockpit.

To protect Iris from Grodd, Mercury summons a wooly mammoth to tackle Grodd, hurling him into the farthest reaches of the Speed Force. Mercury takes Iris and other people trapped inside the Speed Force back to Central City. Meanwhile, the CCPD has already caused the gorillas to retreat, ending the invasion. Later, Barry meets up with Iris and realizes she has lost her memories of the Speed Force.

### **Reverse**

With the battle with Grodd over, Barry begins noticing that all the people trapped within the Speed Force have acquired speed powers after their release. Later, Patty tells Barry two of the Speed Force escapees have been murdered by a mysterious assailant. Flash goes to investigate Floyd Gomez, another escapee, believing that he might know something about the murders. However, Gomez refuses to cooperate and causes a train to derail, forcing Mercury to let him go and save the train. Examining one of the victim's corpse, Barry finds evidence that the killer might be a speedster himself - Flash, Velocity, or Kid Flash; a lead he pursues only to find the three are innocent.

Later, Barry creates a suit for Iris to wear, knowing that she has also inherited powers from the Speed Force. The suit is designed to protect her from the Speed Force killer. Investigating Albert Lim's murder scene together, they ask Patty to examine the evidence they found. Remembering about the stolen monorail, Barry leaves Iris with Patty to question Dr. Elias, the monorail's creator, about his involvement. As soon as he arrives at Dr. Elias's lab, he finds the Speed Force killer attacking him.

Flash and the killer fight each other and the killer reveals his plans to take the Speed Force for himself and alter time. Iris intervenes in the struggle and gets hurt and the killer attempts to drain Mercury of his Speed Force energy - not understanding that Barry has no connection to the Speed Force, revealing himself to be Daniel, Iris' brother, and Wallace's long-thought-dead father.

As Daniel travels to the past, he attempts to kill his father when he and Iris were kids. Barry, thinking quickly, recruits Velocity (Wallace West) to drain Daniel of his Speed Force energy and take Daniel back to the present, where he is arrested for the murders he committed.

### **Out of Time**

Ten years into *a potential* future, Barry Allen arrives at the scene of a car crash. Iris West is being rolled away on a stretcher, and there's a dead boy who Barry seems to recognize. 20 years in the future, a speedster resembling Professor Zoom sports a yellow costume surrounded by red lightning and is talking about how much he's missed. A newspaper clipping on his wall reveals that the boy killed in the car accident is Jace Allen, Barry Allen and Iris West's son from the present.

Barry is sent to talk to a criminal called Mogul about a murder that happened using his weapon. He looks into the murder further and discovers that many Central City villains' gadgets and weapons were stolen from the evidence locker during the Crime Syndicate's reign. Mercury eventually finds the identity of the Mashup killer, Detective Seaborne, and gets him arrested.

20 years in the future, the mysterious speedster executes Gorilla Grodd and then starts his journey back in time to prevent the incident. As he travels back, he sits with Captain Cold when he dies of cancer, and stops all of the other Rogues from ruining their lives.

The mysterious speedster - revealed to be Barry, at last, arrives at his last stop, 5 years in the future, on the day his son, Jace, dies. While he saves Jace and Iris he realizes that the timeline he has traveled back into is not his own, and that he would have been able to save Jace and Iris regardless - as it is revealed that this Barry exists in a timeline in which he never regained his speed after being reborn. Furthermore, it is revealed that Barry, after many failed attempts to return to the Speed Force, decided it best to tap into the Negative Speed Force *and* to kill the likes of Wally, Wallace, and any other speedster who refused to help him change his past.

After battling with the version of himself - Mercury - from the existing timeline evil-Barry reveals that his connection to the Negative Speed Force has brought about his timely death and, in an explosion of lightning, Negative Speed Force energy is dispersed throughout time and space.

### **Darkseid War**

When daughter of Darkseid Grail summoned the Anti-Monitor to fight against her father. During the battle between Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, Darkseid summoned the Black Racer to destroy his enemy, but the Antimonitor stripped the Racer of Darkseid's grasp and merged it with Barry. After being bound to the Black Racer Barry was then unwillingly used the weapon to deliver a deathly blow against the Dark God, finally killing the despot of Apokolips.

The Racer was quick to seize control of his new host's mind, but his efforts were almost negated by the Flash's will to resist his corrupting ideals, instigating a conflict among the two.

The Black Racer was separated from Mercury by the powers of the child of Superwoman and Alexander Luthor who possessed the same ability to absorb the super powers of others as his father however the Racer could not be absorbed and instead was only separated from it's host, still needing to claim a life before it could disappear it struck Power Ring however Jessica Cruz was spared and instead the life of Volthoom was claimed and his ring destroyed The Racer then vanished.

### **Lightning Strikes Twice**

While investigating a criminal group called the Black Hole, Barry was working with his *new* partner Detective August Heart - who served as a replacement for Patty Spivot McGee who had moved to Keystone City. The group was responsible for the theft of a van that contained equipment from S.T.A.R. Lab's, when August spot's one of the members of Black Hole spray painting the group's insignia on the former spot of his brother's murder. When the August tried to confront one of the criminals shot him. Before even Barry can even try to save him and before the bullet could hit him. Barry witnesses August being struck by lightning that created from the Speed Force. Barry then witnesses as August is able to stop the shooter using superhuman speed. After seeing him Barry reveals himself to be the original Flash and current hero Mercury, August creates his own costume and becomes Barry's partner. After they defeat the Black Hole group members, they soon witness more speedsters being born as a another Speed Force storm strikes more citizens.

While rounding and encountering more speedsters Barry learns about a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist named Meena Dhawan who was also super speed from the storm has created a Speed Force training center to help the new speedsters control their powers training the speedsters at S.T.A.R. Labs. When Barry and Meena return after recruiting more speedsters, they find an injured August who tells them that a new speedster called 'Godspeed' killed the speedster criminals and took their speed. While Barry and Meena decided to take a 'day off', Godspeed arrives at the training center where he is confronted by Meena. One of the speedster recruits named Avery Ho, escapes to get Mercury, Godspeed kills Meena and two of the recruits and takes their speed.

When Godspeed kills Billy Parks, the main suspect in August's brother's murder, Barry realizes that August is Godspeed. Barry confronts him and August reveals that he is indeed Godspeed and has become a murderous vigilante. Furthermore, August reveals his connection to not only the Negative Speed Force, but also his newfound connection to the Positive Speed Force. August reveals that when he was near the speedster criminals, he could feel the Speed Force within them connecting with him. He decided to take their powers from them, resulting in their deaths and August being injured. With his increased speed, August reveals to Barry that he can create a double or himself and be at two places at once, a feat that is limited and takes a physical toll on him.

Barry uses this to his advantage and escapes. August proceeds to interrogate the other Black Hole members about his brother's death but kills them all when he receives no information. Barry, taping into the time stream and pushing himself further than he ever had chases after Godspeed who reveals that he'll head to Iron Heights and do the one thing Barry couldn't, kill his enemies. However, Kid Flash (Iris Allen West II) intervenes and helps the Flash in taking down Godspeed, who is later incarcerated in Iron Heights.

## **Romantic Relationships**

* **Daphne Dean**
* **Iris West:** Easily one of Barry's greatest love interests, due to their marriage prior to the time alteration by Flashpoint. Their marriage proved beneficial to Barry, giving him his first sidekick and nephew through marriage, Wally West, the first Kid Flash. They loved each other greatly. They started dating and eventually married. When Professor Zoom killed Iris, Barry's carefulness due to his anger, leading him to kill Professor Zoom. Following these events he exiled himself to the 30th century, and started a peaceful life together with Iris, having twins.
* **Fiona Webb**
* **Patty Spivot:** The only other woman able to truly enamor Barry, Patty is the one Barry almost marries prior to killing Professor Zoom and reuniting with Iris. While the aforementioned events were followed by Barry's own subsequent death and rebirth (a process which took roughly 5 years) Patty remained in the same position at CCPD, married, and was pleasantly surprised upon Barry's return.

## **Powers and Abilities**

### **Powers**

#### As The Flash

* **Speed Force Generator**: Barry Allen is the very source and creator of the Speed Force, and generates it with every step he takes. For this very reason, he is unaffected if any other speedster tries to steal or drain his speed. Barry has shown that he cannot be stopped by any force if he absorbs the Speed Force. Barry Allen has the potential to be the fastest of the Flashes, and is arguably one of the fastest beings in all of existence. He is currently fast enough to easily break any dimensional barrier and even enter the Speed Force itself, and is one of the few people to have ever escaped from it. He can reach any speed he can imagine and more.

* **Speed Force Conduit**: People who, for whatever reason, are connected to the Speed Force are sometimes called Speed Force Conduits. This means that they are connected to the Speed Force and are tethered to it.
	+ **Superhuman Speed**: The main effect of the connection is to allow a speedster to move at vast superhuman speeds.
	+ **Superhuman Agility**: Barry's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are heightened to levels greater than any human being. He is able to easily maneuver on falling debris and objects, while moving at super-speed.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**: The Flash possesses vast superhuman endurance that is nearly inexhaustible. He was able to run non-stop for over 10 days straight without tiring against Krakkl (Who was stealing the speed of his entire race and adding it to his own. A race where every single individual could achieve the speed of light.), through time and space across existence (Everywhere from the fourth dimension to the Big Bang was their track field.) at speeds so far beyond light and so unimaginable, he was constantly breaking through all the barriers and even brushed the true Speed Force itself directly.
	+ **Superhuman Reflexes**: Barry's reaction time is enhanced to levels far greater than any normal human being. He is able to easily perceive the movements of other speedsters, and react to danger and events.
	+ **Superhuman Strength**: The Speed Force enhances Barry's physical strength to levels superior than the average human being. He is strong enough to lift 800lbs with no sign of physical strain, even while running with it.
	+ **Aerokinesis**: By running in a circle at a certain speed, Flash is able to create a vortex with a variety of effects. One effect is pulling the air away from the center in order to suffocate an enemy. Another effect is levitating whoever and whatever was in the center. Also, able to send anyone or anything into another dimension when running around them. Some other effects are acting as barriers to movement or funnels for toxic gases. The Flash also can spin his arms to create directed funnels of hurricane speed air that can knock down barriers or reduce the speed of a falling object. When putting out forest fires, what the Flash does when he runs around the perimeter is create a pocket tornado. The updraft lowers the temperature inside the funnel and raises the fire off the ground which takes away its fuel source.
	+ **Decelerated Aging**: Along with every speedster that draws from the Speed Force, the loved ones of the speedsters will gain eternal youth like Jay's wife and Wally's wife ages have shown.
	+ **Dimensional Travel**: Using the Speed Force speedsters can easily traverse to different dimensions by adujusting their own body's vibrational frequency whilst traveling within the Speed Force itself.
	+ **Electrokinesis**: As a conduit of the Speed Force, Barry's body generates large amounts of electricity. This Speed Force lightning emanates off of him, especially when he moves at super speed.
	+ **Energy Construct Creation**: Barry quickly discovered if he concentrated, the Speed Force could be used to create solid constructs which he used to compose his costume, as it did in the "comics" he read as a kid.
	+ **Enhanced Mental Process**: The Flash's mental abilities are also increased in speed, simple computations can be done at lightning speeds, and his ability to perform normal feats at increased speeds has allowed him to build hundreds of force field generators in a matter of minutes, move sandbags to cover a beach or search an entire area for something as small as a paper clip.
	+ **Flight**: By spinning like a helicopter, he can even perform a limited kind of flight. Since his power is a quantum/molecular phenomenon, the Flash has been able to fly just as other metas are able to (and there have been other flying speedsters in the past, such as the deceased Johnny Quick) because he can control his absolute molecular energy and direction and force it in the direction he wished to move without running. Though he rarely makes use of this ability as he enjoys running. The Speed Force also allows him to run in frictionless environments, as he was able to run in space itself, as casually as he was running on the ground without any outside assistance.
	+ **Increased Perceptions**: The Flash possesses enhanced senses that allow him to percieve normally at super-speed, and the ability to alter his perceptions so that falling objects can appear to be standing still. His ability to alter his own perception of time is so great, that if he wishes, the tick between a second can pass for millions of years. He can even push this ability to the point, that to him, it is as if the Universe is standing still. It does not truly stand still, it is his own perception of time that seems to stand still, and his body automatically adjusts to his perception, hence, the slower he views the world, the faster his body moves through time/space to adjust to his perception.
	+ **Infinite Mass Punch**: Traveling near the speed of light acquired the relativistic mass of such speed to impart blows which could hit with a force greater than that of "a white dwarf star", Flash's own durability regulated by the Speed Force in such cases. Relativistic effects take over as a body approaches light-speed (His control over his powers and the Speed Force is so great, that he can choose to ignore these relativistic effects if he wishes to). Visual input will begin to blueshift and his body's mass will increase towards infinity. With this ability, Wally West was able to knock out a martian as durable as Superman from Mount Rushmore to the plains of Africa, all with one devastating punch.
	+ **Intangibility**: Barry can vibrate his molecules to achieve an intangible state. If he chooses, Barry can excite the molecules of whatever substance he vibrates through to critical mass causing it to explode. While in an intangible state, the Flash is immune to any airborne viruses and can breathe regularly. He can also vibrate so fast that light does not reflect off him, rendering him invisible.
		- **Phasing**: The Flash has always possessed the ability to control his speed and angular momentum at the molecular level, and control his molecular interactions to allow his body to pass through any substance.
		- **Enhanced Vision**: By shifting his vibrational frequency, Wally West was capable of seeing through the highly advanced cloaking technology of Gorilla City and so it's likely Barry Allen could do the same.
	+ **Regeneration**: Accelerating his healing factor while using the Speed Force to sustain him, he could heal from any injury instantly.
	+ **Self-Sustenance**: He has shown that he can survive in harsh environments such as space without any hindrance and has shown that he can gain all the energy he needs from the Speed Force's infinite storage of energy.
	+ **Sharing the Force**: "Lending" velocity to objects or people already in motion. Since his interaction with the Speed Force, he may also lend his speed and angular momentum to another object or person. This may allow others to run alongside with the Flash.
	+ **Speed Force Aura**: The Flash's body is surrounded by what he calls his "Speed Force aura". This aura protects him and anyone who is running with him or carried by him, from the effects of using his speed. This includes friction and airborne particulate matter. With this aura, he is able to absorb kinetic energy. Wally can sync his aura with his children, giving him the ability to pull either of them to him with a thought.[66]
		- **Superhuman Durability**: Due to his body being surrounded by his protective "Speed Force aura", Barry's durability is heightened to immense levels. It protects him from injury from high speed impacts such as punches he delivers and receives from his opponents.
	+ **Speed Force Empathy**: Barry can sense when another Speed Force conduit is troubled, and can be drawn to the location of that speedster.
	+ **Steal Speed**: He is able to "steal" speed and/or momentum from anyone or anything, including beings such as Superman or Inertia effectively turning them into living statues. Also can steal speed from bullets and other fast moving objects thrown at him or at others. This ability is so great, that he once took the speed from the entire planet, and its population, including the very fast beings such as Superman, Jay Garrick etc. He cannot, however, steal speed from certain speedsters such as Professor Zoom, who creates his own Negative Speed Force and is able to corrupt/negate the [Positive] Speed Force. Unlike others Barry is unable to get his speed stolen because he is the generator of the Speed Force.
	+ **Time Travel**: Barry Allen has shown to be able to traverse time with his own powers; he can traverse along the time-stream to specific points as they become visible, much like watching a movie in fast forward or reverse. In order to time travel to different periods, he must exceed light speed, which he can easily and instantly do.

#### As Mercury

* **Personal Time Manipulation**: As Mercury, Barry Allen has the ability to alter time relative to himself, as opposed to utilizing the Speed Force as he previously did. Barry uses time travel to run fast, he time travels with every step he takes, Barry has the power to control his personal timeline, he speeds up his own timeline to run faster and slows down his own timeline to move slower. The temporal nature of his speed allows him to avoid the usual problems encountered by other Flash-type speedsters (friction, seeing and hearing at such near-light speeds, et al), whose automatic and unconscious use of the Speed Force overcomes those problems. As he is moving at a normal velocity, and the rest of the world is "slow", those hindrances simply do not affect him.
	+ **Superhuman Reflexes**: Due to his slow perception of time, Barry is capable of easily reacting to danger and events. He was able to effortlessly block multiple punches thrown by the Flash at super-speed.
	+ **Superhuman Durability**: Barry is far more durable than any normal human. He is able to withstand punches from speedsters moving at incredible speeds, and sustain no serious injuries.
	+ **Intangibility**: Barry has learned that he can now travel further into time to which things in his immediate area are gone or destroyed and then return to a place just in front of it, because of this, he can become intangible and has passed through speedsters like Bart and objects like walls and buildings.
	+ **Shock Waves**: Barry also possess the ability to create very powerful sonic booms and shock waves with just the snap of his fingers.
	+ **Power Distribution**: Barry has demonstrated the ability to grant a form of "super-speed" to other beings by giving them the ability to control their relative time, through Barry himself.
	+ **Time Travel**: Given the new nature and relationship between his powers and time, Barry is able to not only travel himself through time with relative ease, but other objects as well.

### **Abilities**

* **Chemistry**
* **Criminology**
* **Hope**

## **Notes and Trivia**

* While Wally West has a greater mastery over the many abilities that the Speed Force bestows upon those who have access to it, Barry is and always will be the *fastest* Flash as he and he alone generates the Speed Force through both time and space
* 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.
* 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. Batman has gone as far as to say that Barry Allen is the man he would have liked to have been had his parents not been killed.
* Barry Allen supports the death penalty
* Barry was named after his grandfather and Barry's grandson after him.
* The name "Mercury" brings The Flash Family of Prime Earth 'full circle'; with Max Mercury being the first speedster to use the name and Barry being the last.