Barry Allen

New multiverse

* Leader of Team Flash (in secret)
* Forensic scientist at the Central City Police Department
* Owner of S.T.A.R. Labs
* Vigilante (in secret)
* Founder and leader of the Crisis team
* Founding member and leader of the Rogue Squadron (currently)

*Arrow:* 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

*Supergirl*: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

*Vixen:* 1, 2

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: 2, 3, 5

Batwoman: 1

**Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen** is the deuteragonist of the Arrowverse, debuting as is supporting character in the CW's *Arrow*. He later starred as the titular main protagonist of the CW's The Flash. He has also appeared in *Arrow*, *Supergirl*, and *DC's Legends of Tomorrow*. When the particle collider broke during a thunderstorm at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry was struck by lightning through the Speed Force. After being inspired by his mentor and close friend, Oliver Queen, Barry decided to use his powers to help other people and become the superhero **The Flash**, after being named so by his wife Iris West-Allen.

## History

### *Arrow*

Further information: Arrow (TV series)

Crime-scene investigator Barry Allen was introduced in the second season of *Arrow*, in which he arrives in Starling City to personally investigate a superhuman-related crime. He is a fan of the Arrow's exploits and learns Oliver Queen is the vigilante; they become friends. Sometime after Barry returns to Central City, he is struck in his laboratory by lightning which was affected by dark matter from the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator.

### *The Flash*

Further information: The Flash (2014 TV series)

In *The Flash*, Barry awakens from a nine-month coma at S.T.A.R Labs and finds himself with superhuman amount speed. He uses his new powers to fight crime and hunt other metahumans in Central City as the Flash, a masked superhero, with the assistance of Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow and Harrison Wells, while Barry tries to identify his mother's murderer. When he was a child, his mother Nora Allen was murdered and his father Henry Allen was incorrectly sentenced for the crime. Barry was fostered by detective Joe West, the father of his friend and childhood crush Iris West.

In season one, Barry discovers that "Wells" is the futuristic speedster Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash in disguise. Eobard killed Nora after the plan to travel back in time to kill Barry as a child was foiled by the Flash of the future and left stranded in the present day. After capturing Eobard with the assistance of his allies, Barry is given the opportunity to rescue his mother by helping Eobard return to the future. He initially decides to go through with Eobard's offer, but Barry decides not to at the last minute as he is warned by his older self not to interfere and instead returns to the present and fights with Eobard, stopping his nemesis from returning to the future. Barry is almost killed, but police detective Eddie Thawne sacrifices himself to destroy Eobard.

In season two, after a singularity event occurs, the Flash is recognized as Central City's hero. However, the event brings the interdimensional speedster Hunter Zolomon / Zoom from a parallel earth who seeks to eliminate all speedsters throughout the multiverse. Barry discovers a recording of Eobard's confession of Nora's murder that clears his father of all charges, with Barry inheriting Wells's fortune and resources from Eobard. Though rich, Barry chooses to continue working for the Central City Police Department while using Wells's money to fund his and his allies's activities. After Zoom kills Henry, Barry defeats Zoom and travels back in time to save his mother's life.

In season three, by changing his past, Barry alters the timeline, resulting in the alternate timeline "Flashpoint". Though he is somewhat able to restore the timeline, this creates new threats, including the emergence of the god-like speedster Savitar who has a grudge against Barry. When Barry accidentally travels to the future and sees Iris killed by Savitar, he becomes desperate to change the future to prevent that from happening. He learns the identity of Savitar is a future clone of himself. After saving Iris and defeating Savitar, Barry takes his place in the Speed Force in order to repent for his creation of Flashpoint.

In season four, after being stranded in the Speed Force for six months, Barry is freed by Team Flash. The team later encounters Clifford DeVoe / The Thinker, an adversary with the fastest mind alive, who has orchestrated Barry's return from the Speed Force as well as the creation of the bus metas. However, DeVoe frames Barry for murder shortly afterwards; not wanting to risk compromising his loved ones and allies by revealing his secrets, Barry allows himself to be sentenced to life imprisonment. A month later, private detective Ralph Dibny, who joins the Flash's team, uses new shapeshifting power to impersonate DeVoe and help clear Barry of all charges. Following the Thinker's defeat, the team is approached by Nora West-Allen, Barry and Iris's daughter from the future.

In season five, Nora arrives from the future, wanting to change the events that lead to Barry's disappearance in the future. However, Nora's presence has altered the timeline and unleashed Cicada, a serial killer bent on killing metahumans. Furthermore, the team eventually learn of Nora's allegiance with Eobard who orchestrated Nora's arrival and Cicada. Barry and Nora succeed in subduing Eobard, but are forced to let his nemesis go and Nora is erased from the timeline.

In season six, Barry and Iris learn that the date of the crisis in which Barry disappears has moved up from April 2024 to December 2019, and that in order to save billions, the Flash must die. Meanwhile, Ramsey Rosso has discovered a way to cure people through dark matter, only to turn himself into a metahuman with a violent bloodthirst. Following Rosso's defeat, Barry surviving the crisis, and the multiverse's destruction and rebirth, Team Flash try to navigate the world post-crisis all while the secret organization Black Hole, and quantum engineer Eva McCulloch move forward with their mysterious plans. Barry later discovers that Oliver enhancing his speed during the crisis has damaged the Speed Force. As a result, the Speed Force dies and all speedsters will permanently lose their speed. Barry gets the idea to create an artificial Speed Force to save his speed.

The seventh season sees Barry continue to develop an artificial Speed Force and finish his fight with Eva before dealing with the emergence of several new Forces, the Strength, Still and Sage forces, that were born by Barry and Iris recreating the Speed Force. Trouble soon ensues when the manifestation of the new Speed Force goes mad and begins to threaten the city but Barry is able to tame it. Soon after, the new speedster Godspeed arrives from the future to threaten Barry but he is joined by his future children, Nora and Bart West-Allen, to take the villain down.

The eighth season sees Barry dealing with the psychic alien Despero, the reemergence of Eobard, the malevolent entity Deathstorm who feeds on people's grief, and the rise of the Negative forces with Eobard as an avatar.

The ninth and final season sees Barry dealing with the speedster Red Death, the return of Rosso, and the Negative Speed Force with Eddie resurrected as the speedster Cobalt Blue.

In the season one episode "Worlds Finest" of *Supergirl*, Barry accidentally enters the universe of Kara Danvers / Supergirl and Clark Kent / Superman after passing through an extradimensional breach while testing a tachyon accelerator. He teams up with Kara in order to take down Livewire and Silver Banshee, after which Kara assists him in returning to his universe.

In the crossover "Crisis on Earth-X", Barry and Iris's friends come to Central City for their wedding, only to be interrupted when villains from Earth-X disrupt the proceedings. After defeating the invaders from Earth-X, Barry and Iris are married by John Diggle.

In the crossover "Elseworlds", Arkham Asylum doctor John Deegan rewrites reality, which results in Barry and Oliver swapping lives. In the new reality, they are the only ones that know that they are in the wrong lives and have each other's powers, which results in them going to Gotham City with Kara to confront Deegan.

In the crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the Monitor recruits Barry, Oliver, Kara, Kate Kane / Batwoman, Sara Lance / White Canary, Ray Palmer / Atom, and several others from throughout the multiverse to stop the Anti-Monitor from destroying reality. Barry's fate during the crisis is altered by the intervention of Earth-90's Flash who sacrifices himself in Barry's place. Following Oliver's sacrifice and the Anti-Monitor's defeat, Barry leads a new group of heroes who agree to work together to protect their new world, dubbed Earth-Prime, in memory of Oliver.

In the season four episode "Dude, Where's My Gar?" of *Titans*, when Garfield "Gar" Logan / Beast Boy from Earth-9 travels the multiverse for the first time via the Red, he encounters a yellow flash zipping by. A portal opens, revealing Barry running through the Speed Force. Barry's lightning accidentally hits Gar and knocks him into Earth-2, where he briefly encounters Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl.

## Powers and Abilities

**Speed Force connection**

* Accelerated healing factor
	+ Superhuman immunity
	+ Superhuman longevity
* Astral projection
* Electrogenesis/Electrokinesis
	+ Speed Force aura
	+ Speed Force sharing
	+ Speed Force energy cancellation
* Speed-Force awareness
* Superhuman durability
* Superhuman mental process
	+ Superhuman perceptions
	+ Superhuman reflexes
* Superhuman speed
	+ Aerokinesis
	+ Inter-dimensional travel
	+ Speed mirages
	+ Superhuman agility
	+ Superhuman momentum
		- Bodily Vibration
		- Intangibility
		- Invisibility
		- Seismokinesis
	+ Time travel
		- Temporal awareness
		- Temporal dilution
		- Temporal regression
		- Time remnent construct
	+ Superhuman Stamina

## Weaknesses

* Negative Tachyons
* Cold Temperature

 Etymology

* **Bartholomew:** Bartholomew is an English or Jewish (generally also Christian) given name that derives from the Aramaic name meaning "son of Talmai". Bar is Aramaic for "son", and marks patronyms. In the comics' "Prime Earth" continuity, Barry was named in honor of his paternal grandfather.
* **Henry:** Henry is a very common French name for boys. It's believed to be derived from the French name Henri, which in turn is thought to be derived from the name Heimeric, an old German name that means “house ruler.” The name is made up of two parts: “Heim,” which means home and “Ric,” which means ruler. Fittingly enough, Barry is the patriarch of the West-Allen family and the leader of Team Flash. In the comics, Barry's middle name comes from his late father, Henry Allen
* **Allen:** The name "Allen" is a Scottish derivitive of the name Alan. It is unknown what the etymology behind Barry's last name is. It may have originally meant "Deer" in another language. Additionally, the Irish form of the name is said to be a diminutive of a word meaning "rock" or "noble." The latter meaning is ironic, considering that Barry is a noble hero and his dad was once a doctor.

 Trivia