Bartholomew Allen II (Earth-IR)

**Bart Allen**, the grandson of Barry and Iris Allen, is the current **Flash** and a member of the Justice League.

## History

### Early Life

Bart was born in the 30th Century to Meloni Thawne after her husband, Don Allen, had been killed. Meloni's father, who, at the time, was president of Earthgov, kidnapped the boy and had him placed in a virtual reality system, whilst also secretly cloning him (with the addition of Thawne's own DNA). The retired Barry Allen, who was living secretly in the 30th Century with Iris, helped his daughter-in-law by reclaiming her son. Meloni asked Barry to send Bart to the past, something this incarnation of Barry already knew would happen (as he had already experienced it while in the 20th Century).

### The New Kid Flash

Using the Cosmic Treadmill, Barry took the boy to the 20th Century, leaving him in the hands of Jay and Joan Garrick. Bart would grow with Jay as his father figure, but longed to know his family outside of the speedster's care. When Jay had to leave to help Wally West against Zoom, Bart secretly followed and nearly got killed. Frustrated, Jay took Bart home until the situation could be resolved.

Inspired by Wally to become a superhero of his own, Bart would sneak out of the house to fight crime as the second Kid Flash. Jay immediately figured out that Kid Flash and Bart Allen were one in the same. He spoke with Bart, trying to explain the dangers of working as a superhero, but of course Bart didn't understand. In the following month, Jay and Wally had to team up once more to fight the energy being Manfred Mota. As Kid Flash, Bart knew he could help, and nearly managed to defeat Mota. During the battle, however, Jay felt the call of the Speed Force and disappeared, leaving Bart fatherless. As one caught between the Speed Force and reality, Jay could communicate with Bart telepathically, and told him he was proud. Jay, having seen the magnificent potential in the boy, encouraged him to be Wally's sidekick.

### Teen Titans

It wouldn't be long before Bart wore the Kid Flash costume again. Though upset at his mentor's loss, Bart realized the futility in dwelling, and replayed the words Jay told him before he vanished in his head. Bart made a promise to himself: as Kid Flash, he would never let anything happen to those he loved. That included his fellow speedsters.

When Trigon attacked, Bart was one of six young heroes to answer the call, along with Superboy, Raven, Beast Boy, Robin, and Wonder Girl. The team would expand over the next year to include heroes such as Aqualad and Blue Beetle. Bart felt accepted as a member of this new team and made many new friends. Specifically, he and Blue Beetle tended to get along well, which paralleled the relationship between the Flashes and their corresponding Green Lanterns (Barry-Hal; Wally-Kyle).

### Legacy

Wally West eventually retired from life as The Flash. Though his daughter, Irey, still fought crime in Keystone City as Impulse, there weren't any adult speedsters around to fill Wally's boots. The burden fell to Bart, who at last embraced his destiny. However, Bart would not go unchallenged in this new role. An old foe of his, the clone created by President Thawne in the 30th Century, came back in time to haunt Bart as his rival: Professor Zoom. This new Reverse Flash altered the timeline with every step he took, reverting the world to a savage, primitive state. He constructed a giant tower emitting red lightning, which sapped the essence of reality. It would soon be revealed that this was actually the will of the Negative Speed Force, which was consuming the entire multiverse. Through interrogation, Bart discovered that enough positive Speed Force energy could negate the effects of the Negative Speed Force, and used this to his advantage. He, along with Wally and Irey, ran endlessly around the tower, generating yellow lightning which destroyed the tower. However, Wally was absorbed into the Negative Speed Force, severing any connection to the outside world.

As expected, this enraged Bart, who launched a final assault on Zoom. Irey, who matured into the third Kid Flash, tried to kill Thad for murdering her father. Unfortunately, she was taken hostage by Thad and held at Central City's Flash Museum. As Bart searched for her, Zoom made his escape into the future.