Kid Flash

Did You Know?

• Kid Flash was the first person after Iris West to learn Flash's secret identity, in The Flash #120 (May 1961).
• Wally West's first costume was transferred directly from Barry Allen's mind onto Wally's body by an alien mind over-matter machine.
• Wally West first met Robin and Aqualad in The Brave and the Bold #54 (June–July 1964), which led to the formation of the Teen Titans.
• The Wally West Kid Flash was first adapted for live action in the Arrowverse, portrayed by Keiynan Lonsdale.

Fictional character biographies

Barry Allen trusted Wally West with his secret identity before almost anyone else, making Kid Flash the second person to learn the truth after Iris West. Their first adventure together sent them 25 million years into the past, where they fought a race of golden humanoids. This was just the beginning of many time-traveling missions, including a test run of the Cosmic Treadmill. After meeting Elongated Man, Wally got his own costume. Barry had been working on a new design and, while examining an alien mind over-matter machine, a burst of light transferred the outfit from his thoughts directly onto Wally's body. Because the new suit showed Wally's red hair, Barry added a special instant-dye spray to his costume-storage ring so Wally could quickly change his hair color to brown. Wally first teamed up with Robin and Aqualad in an adventure that led to the formation of the Teen Titans. He remained a loyal member of that team, though it cut into his solo hero work. At eighteen, Wally told his parents Bob and Mary about his double life, chose to attend Taggart University, and told Barry he planned to retire from heroics after graduation to live a normal life. Before retiring, Wally left the Teen Titans because he wanted more time for studying, his new girlfriend Frances Kane, and because his changing metabolism was causing him to lose his powers. He came out of retirement to fight in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Barry's sacrifice to save the multiverse hit him hard. A blast from the Anti-Monitor reduced Wally's top speed to the speed of sound but fixed his metabolism. Wanting to honor his mentor and friend, Wally gave up the Kid Flash identity and took on the name and costume of the Flash. He eventually became faster than Barry and gained new abilities like sharing and stealing speed, as well as accessing the Speed Force for time travel. When Barry was resurrected, Wally created his own version of the Flash costume and fought alongside Barry and Barry's grandson Bart Allen.

In other media

The Wally West version of Kid Flash was voiced by Tommy Cook in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons included a non-speaking Wally West. Jason Spisak voiced Wally West as a playable character in Young Justice: Legacy. The Flash's ending in Injustice 2 included a non-speaking cameo from the Wallace West version.