Barry Allen

Barry Allen is the fastest man alive, and the second speedster to be called the Flash. Using his superspeed powers, he taps into the Speed Force and becomes a costumed crime-fighter. He is a founding member of the Justice League.When Barry was a boy, his parents' relationship wasn't going well, and while he prepared to participate in a spelling bee at school, his mother Nora was struggling to encourage him despite working double shifts and trying to get a divorce from his father Henry. He received the divorce papers on the day of the spelling bee, and because Nora had to work, he seethed and took Barry to school. When Nora returned from work, she was happy to see that her son had won the competition, but she was obligated to speak to Henry about their relationship, and so Barry was sent to the bookstore in the meantime. By the time Barry returned, however, his mother had been murdered, and his father had been placed under arrest, though he professed his innocence.When Barry was a boy, his parents' relationship wasn't going well, and while he prepared to participate in a spelling bee at school, his mother Nora was struggling to encourage him despite working double shifts and trying to get a divorce from his father Henry. He received the divorce papers on the day of the spelling bee, and because Nora had to work, he seethed and took Barry to school. When Nora returned from work, she was happy to see that her son had won the competition, but she was obligated to speak to Henry about their relationship, and so Barry was sent to the bookstore in the meantime. By the time Barry returned, however, his mother had been murdered, and his father had been placed under arrest, though he professed his innocence.Fortunately, Darryl Frye, who had secretly been involved romantically with Nora, pulled some strings and was able to take Barry in. 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 innocence. As an adult, Barry's life of searching for answers about his mother lead him to becoming a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department. Because the years in prison had worn on him, Henry gave up hope, broke down in tears, and admitted to his son that he had committed the crime. The shock of realizing that all of his efforts had been for nothing depressed Barry. On the night of a storm, Barry angrily tore his lab apart. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed through his lab's window and struck him in the chest, causing him to drop the chemical vials he was carrying and douse himself.

On the night that Barry Allen would be struck by lightning, Iris offered Barry a meet-up, an offer Barry's friend, August Heart advised him to take. Barry would ultimately be unable to attend as a result of the lightning strike sending him into a months-long coma.[2]

Early Career After four long months in a coma after the accident, Barry was stunned to regain consciousness only to discover he'd gained super-speed abilities. Struggling to gain control over his new powers, he first stumbled from the hospital to his apartment, and then from his apartment to his old CSI lab, where he quickly clothed himself and was confronted by August Heart, who thought somebody was in the lab who wasn't allowed only to discover his best friend's presence, to his elation. August offered to inform Director Singh that Barry had returned, but Barry turned him down, telling him that he had a person case he wanted to investigate first.[3]

Over the next month, he began experimenting with his newfound powers, testing the limits of his capabilities; in the process, he quickly discovered that regular shoes and clothing didn't stand up to his super-speed very well. In order to combat this problem, he special created friction-resistant boots using material salvaged from fireproof jackets Wayne Enterprises had donated to the Central City Fire Department. With his new equipment, he made an attempt to discover his top speed, an attempt that resulted in Barry inadverdently being thrown into the future, where he encountered a future version of himself in a version of Central City ruled with an iron fist by The Turtle