Introduction
Trying to discuss The Flash, everyone will instantly imagine the character that represents the role to a whole generation: Wally West. Wally is not another speedster; he is the hero who taught us what it is really to become a legacy, and rise above the shadow of his predecessor and emerge as a perhaps the most powerful, and surely the most grounded, carrier of the scarlet speedster legacy.
From Sidekick To Successor
Wally West began his heroic career as not the Flash, but as Kid Flash. Wally, the nephew of the second Flash, Barry Allen, acquired his powers in a very similar accident as a bolt of lightning hit chemical-covered equipment. This instantly created his special relationship with the lineage.
Later on as Kid Flash, he was a charter member of Teen Titans. Nevertheless, the universe had a hero who was required when Crisis on Infinite Earths struck and Barry Allen was the one who sacrificed his life and vanished into the Speed Force. This tragedy immediately catapulted a young and frequently insecure Wally to the position of The Flash. He began with difficulties, inflicted with a psychosomatic block which slowed him down and combating the crippling weight of the Barry legacy. It is in this quest, the struggle to show that he was worthy, that fans attach themselves to him so much.
The Master of the Speed Force
When it comes to mastering the speed, it is Wally West who mastered the extra-dimensional energy source, described as Speed Force, that Barry Allen only discovered. His linkage is perhaps the closest of all Flash.
What is so special is the fact that Wally does not simply run fast, but communicates with the Speed Force. We found him build power which none of the other Flashes could be as able to sustain, which included:
Lending and Stealing Speed: He is able to lend or take speed away or give it away at will to objects and people, a very useful fighting tactic that causes those being fought to stand still in their tracks.
Creating Infinite Mass Punch: This is the ability to strike with the impact of a white dwarf star by moving nearly at the speed of light, which is a demonstration of pure and focused kinetic energy.
It is usually a foregone conclusion in fan chat and comics lore that the time Wally West really opens the throttle is when he is, in actuality, Fastest Man Alive.
The Anchor: Family and Legacy
What makes Wally be distinct among most of other heroes is that he is a man of great humanity and he takes his own life seriously. Although he is always going to the verge of reality, his family is his real anchor.
Wally has a relationship that goes back several decades with journalist Linda Park which is a pillar to his character. The fact that they get married and have twins was a reason that Wally continued to fight and that he was somewhat relatable to readers. He shows that it does not make him The Flash to lose the simple, deep happiness of leading a normal life, that it is what he struggles to hold on.
He has left a legacy that goes way beyond the comics. Wally West is The Flash to millions of viewers, as the beloved image of the wise-cracking, yet brave hero of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. His personality made an impression on the role of a whole generation of DC fans and ensured him a status of an all-time great.
