Characters / DCAU: The Flash

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Main Characters (Superman) | Allies (The Flash) | Earth Antagonists (Lex Luthor) | Apokolips | Alien Antagonists

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(Founding Members [Superman, Batman, The Flash]) | Allies & Friends of the Justice League | Project Cadmus | The Secret Society (Lex Luthor) | Other Villains

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The Flash (Wally West)

Abilities: Super Speed, Super Reflexes, Phasing, Tornado Creation

Voiced by: Charlie Schlatter (Superman: The Animated Series) Michael Rosenbaum (Justice League/Justice League Unlimited)

Appearances: Superman: The Animated Series | Justice League | Static Shock

"Dude, the bad guys went down, and nobody got hurt. You know what I call that? A really good day."

The Flash is a young and popular superhero from Central City as well as a founding member of the Justice League. Apart from his vast speed powers, Wally's most significant qualities were his approachability and his down-to-earth, quintessentially human nature—qualities that many said made him the "heart of the Justice League". He made his first appearance in the DCAU via the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Speed Demons." He was initially portrayed as a show-boater and skirt-chaser and often ran ahead of the others and got into trouble about as fast as he could run. Eventually, his importance was expanded on within the series (starting with "A Better World").

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A-H

• Adaptational Early Appearance: While Wally was around during the League's formation in the comics, he was Kid Flash, and thus not actually a member until the Justice League International days. Here, he's a founding member.
• Adaptational Intelligence: Wally is by no means an idiot in the comics, but he's also not a scientist. This version, due to being a Composite Character with Barry, takes Barry's role as a forensic scienist.
• Adaptational Job Change: This version of Wally isn't a mechanic for the Keystone City Police Department, but takes Barry's role as a CSI tech for the Central City PD.
• Adaptational Wimp: Played with. The writers deliberately did this to him since his super speed makes it that logically he can end most confrontations before they ever begin. However, just like with Superman, Flash gets a chance to show off how powerful he is and what he's really capable of when he finally takes out the merged Luthor and Brainiac singlehandedly. As demonstrated by Luthor while he was trapped in Flash's body in "The Great Brain Robbery", Flash is capable of using his powers lethally but refrains from doing so.
• Alliterative Name: His real name is Wally West.
• All-Loving Hero: In "The Ties That Bind", he helps two New Gods rescue their loved one via breaking into an inescapable prison on Apokolips. "Flash and Substance" explores this further. Flash talks a supervillain named The Trickster into turning himself in rather than resorting to violence, as he understands his situation. In the end, despite the Flash museum sustaining heavy damage, Flash shrugs it off, stating that what matters most to him is that no one was hurt and the good guys won in the end.
• Anti-Climactic Unmasking: In "The Great Brain Robbery", as Lex (in Flash's body) is being chased through the Watchtower by the rest of the League, he stops in a bathroom and muses that at the very least, he has the opportunity to learn Flash's secret identity.
  Lex Luthor: (in The Flash's body) If nothing else, I can at least learn the Flash's secret identity. [removes mask, looks in a mirror] ...I have no idea who this is.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence:
  • Subverted. In “Divided We Fall”, he nearly vanished after using the Speed Force, but was pulled back into reality by the Justice League.
  • Sadly, this is played straight in the Justice League Beyond comic (depending on whether or not you see it as canon), where it turns out he, Jay Garrick, and Bart Allen disappeared into the Speed Force at some point between Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond.
• The Baby of the Bunch: He's the youngest, most inexperienced, and without a doubt most immature member of the Justice League.
• Badass Boast: In "The Ties That Bind", while speeding around Barda.
  Barda: Unless you got an S on your chest, you're useless.
  Flash: Hey I might not be as strong as Superman...
  [takes rod from her hand]
  Flash: ...but I'm just as fast...
  [speeds around her]
  Flash: ...maybe faster...
  [reappears with a flower with the rod]
  Flash: ...friends?
• Bad Liar: "The Great Brain Robbery" plays it for hilarity, he tells a bunch of Blatant Lies and has Refuge in Audacity with his claims while in Lex's body, which the other members attribute to him acting out due to stress.
• Bash Brothers: With Green Lantern.
• Beneath the Mask:
  • Perhaps best revealed in "Hereafter", after Superman's supposed death.
  Flash: [dejectedly] I used to be able to goof around because I always knew (Superman) would have my back. Now all I've got is his example. And that's gonna have to be enough.
  • Despite Wally's cassanova tendencies to flirt with just about any woman who happens to be in the vincinity, he's actually a lot more mindful of them than he comes off. In fact, when he's not being a Casanova Wannabe, he's shown to be awkward and shy, unable to make an actual move regardless of the far from subtle hints given.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • In "Maid Of Honor", after Flash's near-suffocation, he responds to Green Lantern's assurance "You'll be all right" with a harsh (especially for him) reply: "Wish I could say the same for them..."; after which he zips throughout the station, taking the enemy mooks down.
  • In "Secret Society", after the League breaks up, Flash spends a whole night unsuccessfully trying to find Shade. It ends with him dangling one of Shade's goons out of a skyscraper window, and by this time Flash has gotten fed up.
  Thug: [unafraid] Who do you think you are—Batman?
  Flash: It's been a long night. Just tell me where Shade is, okay?
  Thug: Look, buddy, I know Batman. I once ratted out a counterfeiter to Batman. And believe me, you are no Bat— [Flash suddenly drops him] —maaaAAAAAAHHHHHH!
• Beware the Silly Ones: He's often regarded as an ineffectual manchild and little more than comic relief, but there is a very good reason why he's one of the founding members of the League. Case in point, his singlehanded dismantlement of Lexiac.
• Big Eater: Due to Required Secondary Powers ^note this does not nearly account for how much energy he uses, but hey, it's comic book physics, we're used to it. He considers a literal armful of hot dogs to be a "little snack".
• Blow You Away: The Flash can create miniature cyclones by rapidly spinning his arms in front of himself.
• Book Dumb: While the Flash is not stupid, he is characterized as this to downplay his abilities becoming too overpowered and also being the inexperienced of the group.
• Butt-Monkey: If we can believe him, even by the time of the Unlimited season, he's still treated as a kid despite being a founding member of the League.
• But Now I Must Go: Defied when the other Leaguers pull him out of the Speed Force.
• The Cameo: In Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, a statue of him appears in the superhero museum in the 31st century.
• Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: In "Flash and Substance", he's too focused on anticipating an attack from his rogues that he doesn't realize that Linda Park (his main love interest in the comics) is trying to flirt with him, even quickly signing over a slip of paper she wrote her number on while signing autographs. After his rogues are defeated, she flirts with him again. He realizes this and sheepishly recovers.
  • It also happens in "I Am Legion", if only because Hawkgirl was trying to set him up with Fire. She was visibly interested, but he was very flustered by her advances.
• Captain Obvious: Flash after seeing the stuffed T-Rex in the Batcave in “Starcrossed”:
  Flash: That's a giant dinosaur!
  Alfred: And I thought Batman was the detective.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Played for Laughs in the Justice League Unlimited episode, The Great Brain Robbery. During his time whilst inhabiting Lex Luthor's body, he's asked by Polaris if he's going to wash his hands. Wally's response...
  Flash-as-Lex: No! [Beat] Cause I'm evil.
• Casanova Wannabe: He is flirtatious around women and would annoy Hawkgirl, but if truly taken with a woman as he was with Fire, he could be bashful, awkward and even shy.
  • In "Secret Origins", after first meeting Diana:
  Flash: Dibs on the Amazon!
  • In "The Balance", Flash plays himself off as this after the disastrous lunch with Diana and Shayera.
  Flash: I had dinner with two women at the same time! 'Cause I'm a stud! (smooshes his hand in his mashed potatoes)
• Character Development: Flash starts off inexperienced and lacking responsibility as a hero. Over the series’ duration, he’s managed to befriend every member of the team on some level; from his Oscar-and-Felix friendship with Green Lantern to the sarcastic remarks that he regularly trades with Hawkgirl. Through these relationships the Flash becomes a window with which we can get to know the other characters. On the other hand, in exchange for these benefits, the Flash is unconsciously forced to become a better hero by his association with the others. There is also the evolution of his character’s abilities: In the first season, the Flash was frequently seen being taken down by debris or by a slower target or simply doing something that undermined his status as a hero (one of the worst being his inability to pilot the Javelin in "In Blackest Night"). By the time of the second season, he appears to have improved in his performance through piloting the Javelin successfully in "Maid of Honor" and using his speed-related abilities in new ways (such as tricking the Justice Lords’ Batman into believing his heart had stopped in "A Better World"). Overall, he becomes The Heart of the League (as it was alluded to in "A Better World"), as his presence causes the other members to become better heroes.
  • In the first season, Flash comes across as a Leisure Suit Larry, obnoxiously flirting with every woman he sees. As the series progresses, this cools down considerably to where he’s given potential romantic encounters with no less than four women in the last season (Fire, Linda Park, Tala, and Giganta) and takes it all in stride.
• Chick Magnet: Two random women are seen drooling over him, reporter Linda Park (his wife in the comic) clearly has a crush on him, as does Fire, and Giganta takes time from her "Five Minute" head start to kiss him before fleeing the league. Also, when brain-switched with Lex Luthor, it's revealed by Tala that for all the jokes about his...prowess, he's actually a gentle, attentive, and in her words enthusiastic lover, leading to her being disappointed when they switch back.
• Chivalrous Pervert: He hits on Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl constantly, is thrilled at the prospect of visiting Themyscira, and is not above using his cred as a superhero to chat up the ladies. He's also, well, The Flash, a genuine hero and as gentlemanly as Superman when it comes down to it. Though, remember, "Because I'm a Stud!"
  • This is played for laughs in "The Brave And The Bold", where two girls are seriously turned off when he flirts with them. Then, a car crashes through the diner they're in and he has to move them to safety before they're crushed and then rushed after the driver. Then, one of them gets angry at the other for telling her to ignore him.
  • When he developed a crush on Fire, he becomes shy and nervous around her.
  • In "Flash and Substance", he was completely oblivious to Linda Park's advances until the end. Possibly justified at the time since he was busy prepping for a possible attack from his rogue gallery. Tie-in material from earlier on in the series reveals that he was already attracted to Linda and dated her at least once in his civilian identity.
• Clothing Damage: He gets this on a couple of occasions, most especially during "Divided We Fall" and "Flash and Substance". As the latter episode reveals, he's got a drawer full of costume-rings for spare uniforms due to this trope.
• Commuting on a Bus: He was largely absent during the first season of Justice League Unlimited through making only three voiceless cameos.
• Composite Character: This version of the Flash is Wally West with Barry Allen's superhero origin, day job as a forensic scientist, role as a co-founder of the Justice League, hometown/base of operations, Rogues Gallery, and Flash Ring. ^note In the comics, Wally was a police mechanic and operated in Keystone City
  • However, Barry did exist in the DCAU, but was only shown briefly in a flashback in a tie-in comic and "Flash and Substance".
• The Conscience: For the Justice League and especially for his fellow members of the Original Seven, as "A Better World" reveals. He tries to invoke this with Lord Superman when the other man has Flash at his mercy, but it doesn't work.
  • Also in "Hereafter", he's the one who stops Wonder Woman from killing Toyman just after Superman is apparently killed, reminding her that it's not what Superman would do.
  • When Green Arrow begins to doubt the League's mission after Luthor hijacks the Binary Fusion Generator, it’s Flash who points out the mission is to help people.
• Corporate-Sponsored Superhero: For Lightspeed Energy Bars in "Eclipsed". The last standee he has gets destroyed by Orion in "Flash and Substance".
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Okay, so he is touted as the Plucky Comic Relief of the founding members, he's a Big Eater who stuffs his face often due to Required Secondary Powers, he's a Chivalrous Pervert who rarely (if ever) has any luck with the ladies, frequently says the wrong thing at just the wrong time, and is capable of being taken down in one hit. Digested all that? Well, here's what this same guy is capable of doing when he quits fooling around: rewiring Grodd's Mind Control helmet so it'll fry the ape's brain (though he got better), holding his own against Lord Superman and throwing him hard and fast enough to momentarily stun him on impact, tricking Lord Batman into releasing him from his restraints, taking out an entire space-station of armed mooks when sufficiently aggravated, leading a successful infiltration of Apokolips, and curb-stomping Brainiac!Luthor all by himself...and this is all without taking his day-job into consideration.
  • In "Eclipsed", he took on the rest of the mind controlled Big Seven by himself. At this point, it only seems fair because he was trying not to hurt them and they were working without, well, him.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique
  • In "Divided We Fall", Flash took on Braniac/Luthor alone. In desperation, he pushed his powers to their limit, running as fast as he could around the world numerous times and tapping into the Speed Force in order to separate and defeat the two villains. As a result, Flash was very nearly pulled into the Speed Force, but was rescued by the teamwork of his teammates. The incident left Flash with the disturbing possibility that traveling that fast again might mean he would never come back.
  • In "The Great Brain Robbery", Luthor-as-Flash displays several abilities deriving from speed that Flash had never used. Among them: Threatening to use his fingers as a gun to vibrate them through someone's head, using vibrations to set up an unstable resonance in a bay door, causing it to explode, and using his fists to create an uncomfortable ringing in Dr. Fate's helmet. These abilities are not often exhibited for several reasons. As remarked by Green Lantern, setting up the resonance in the door was very dangerous, hence why Flash never performed it (the implication here is that Flash and the League have hypothesized or even tested these abilities before). Threatening to scramble someone's brains with your fingers is simply not superhero-esque and overall, Flash seems to prefer non-violent methods of disabling his enemies as opposed to hitting them really, really fast. It's also a Mythology Gag, where in the comics he'd cause things to explode by vibrating through them.
• Deadpan Snarker: Flash frequently treats the gravest threats with a flippant remark, often underestimating the true danger of the situation.
• Demoted to Extra: He had no lines in the first season of Justice League Unlimited because of voice actor Michael Rosenbaum's commitments on Smallville (though you may not notice simply on the basis that the cast is frickin' huge). He came roaring back for the second and third seasons though and even complained to a fellow Leaguer about not getting any respect despite being one of the original seven.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In "The Ties That Bind", he notes that he's treated like a kid sidekick despite being "one of the original seven."
  • It's subverted to some extent, since while Batman would formerly belittle him in the earlier episodes, he's considerably more respectful in "Flash and Substance", silently rebuking Orion's condescending tone. More importantly he accepts an invitation to visit the Flash museum in the hometown. As well, when he has the chance to flirt with Fire, whom he's expressed a romantic interest in, Fire misinterprets his shyness as him being "devoted to the mission" and expresses a lot of admiration for that mindset.
• Eagle-Eye Detection: "Flash and Substance" proves he's capable of this in his day job.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: His debut in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Speed Demons" depicts him with the outline of the circle on his chest insignia being colored black rather than yellow, the yellow ornaments on his temples being shaped more like wings than lightning bolts and his chin being less narrow.
• Fastest Thing Alive: He is self proclaimed and proven to be this trope, as always.
• Fiery Redhead: "Starcrossed" reveals that Flash has bright red hair to match his personality.
• First-Name Basis: He apparently knows every single person in Central City, happily greeting multiple people in "Flash and Substance" and discussing specific details about their personal lives. He's just that friendly.
• Foil: To the other Justice League members in season one. He is portrayed as still learning the full range of his abilities and being inexperienced in terms of sacrifice (his bewilderment over Wonder Woman’s banishment in "Paradise Lost" and inability to comprehend leaving a teammate behind in "The Savage Time" or in "Hearts and Minds"). Flash provides an interesting contrast when compared to his more seasoned teammates, who have been doing the job for years (and, in some cases, for centuries).
• The Fool: Although he does have superpowers and is far from incompetent, he's by far the most lackadaisical of the founding members of the Justice League. He certainly fits the characteristic of living on the edge all the while having a cheerful (and seemingly naive) attitude no matter how bad the situation gets.
• For the Evulz: Played for Laughs in "The Great Brain Robbery" when Flash is in Lex Luthor's body.
  Dr. Polaris: Are you gonna wash your hands?
  Flash-in-Lex: No...'Cause I'm evil.
• Fragile Speedster: Most of the time. He sometimes leans towards combining it with Glass Cannon, or even becoming a full-on Lightning Bruiser depending on how serious he's getting and how well his Required Secondary Powers are working this week. Especially early on, though, he's often taken out of the fight with one lucky hit.
• Freak Lab Accident: His hallucinations in "The Brave and the Bold" show the iconic chemical-bath-via-lightning-bolt-through-lab-window origin.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: In "The Great Brain Robbery", Dr. Fate proposes that he try to locate Grodd by tracing the psychic resonance left when Flash was under Grodd's mind control. While at the same time, Luthor is extracting info from Grodd's mind. The two processes are started at the same time, and Luthor and Flash's brains are accidentally switched.
• Friendly Enemy: With the Trickster.
• Friend to All Children: As shown in "Comfort and Joy", where he seeks to bring a special toy to the children at an orphanage. Mirror Master later exploits this to trap him in "Flash and Substance", but it fails.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: As always, Flash is very sanguine.
• Fun Personified: He mostly takes this role, even in his serious moments.
• The Gloves Come Off: Similar to Superman, Flash actively holds his powers back. Part of it is due to the outright destructive potential of his powers and other part is his own fear of his powers. The Brainiac/Luthor fight shows the full effects of this; Flash runs so fast that not only does he almost end his own life, but he causes massive destruction in his path.
  • When Lex takes over his body later, it’s shown just how dangerous the Flash can be. John notes that Flash is well aware of this and takes great care not to do anything that will be so destructive.
• Good Is Not Dumb: Despite telling bad jokes and being a lecher, he is able to talk the Trickster into happily turning himself over without a single punch thrown and defeat Grodd by outsmarting him.
• Handsome Lech: He's a skirt chaser, but he's also shown to be fairly successful at seducing women. See his Chick Magnet section for more details.
• The Heart: As outlined in "A Better World", his death in the Justice Lords' universe was the trigger for their turning into Knights Templar. But it's better defined in this exchange from "Hereafter", just after everyone thinks Superman's been killed:
  Toyman: [as Wonder Woman holds him by the collar] Wh-what are you going to do to me?!
  Wonder Woman: [enraged] I'm going to punch a hole in your head!
  Flash: [restrains her free arm] We don't do that to our enemies.
  Wonder Woman: Speak for yourself!
  Flash: I'm trying to speak for Superman.
  [Wonder Woman's anger turns to sorrow, as she realizes what Flash is telling her and then dropping Toyman to the ground]
  • When the Justice League votes on whether Hawkgirl can stay in the League, the only two obvious votes are Wonder Woman (no) and Flash (yes). When she decides to quit before the vote is revealed, Flash gives her a genuine hug.
  • Also worth noting that while the rest of the founders try to tiptoe around the remaining tension between Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, Flash is the only one willing to try and get them to break the ice.
  • In "The Savage Times" he chews out Hawkgirl for leaving Green Lantern behind.
• Hero Does Public Service: Flash's friendliness went beyond simply heroism. Utilizing his super-speed, he donated a significant portion of his time to helping individual townsfolk and is on a first-name basis with many of the Central City's residents, offering to help paint one’s fence over the weekend. He also did charitable work for the city's underprivileged.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Defied in "Divided We Fall".
  Android Flash: Slacker! Child! Clown! We have no place among the world's greatest heroes.
  Flash: Says you. I've got a seat at the big conference table. I'm gonna paint my logo on it!
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Green Lantern.

I-N

• I Am Not Left-Handed: As with the below trope, he almost never uses his true power, as most of it is incredibly lethal. Phasing-induced Tele-Frag killing, mach punches, and the like aren't really skills befitting someone invoking the Kid-Appeal Character.
• Ideal Hero: He stands above all the other members of the Justice League being the hero that stays morally just; never wavering against villains, always rescuing lives of his teammates and innocents foremost, and never being corrupted against the world.
• The Idealist: He was in many ways the League's most idealistic member and his friendliness and compassion were the "glue" that held the disparate team of heroes together. These qualities were best illustrated by events in the alternate universe of the Justice Lords, in which Flash's murder transformed the League from heroes to tyrants.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The creators could see Superman potentially turning into a Knight Templar, but not Flash.
• Kid-Appeal Character: He also serves the role as this trope for younger viewers. Although, he is also quite popular with the older fanbase.
• Lame Comeback: He's responsible for several. Hey, they can't all be winners.
  Gorilla Grodd: You're a bigger fool than I thought.
  Flash: Yeah? Well, you're...naked!
  • In "Only A Dream", "Take that, you cur!"
  • In "Flash and Substance":
  Flash: Mirror Master!
  Mirror Master: You're quick as ever.
  Flash: Yeah? Well you're...you're not really all there!
  Mirror Master: Oh, nice try. If you had another minute you'd probably think of a decent comeback.
• Leeroy Jenkins: In "The Ties That Bind", breaking into an inescapable prison on Apokolips.
  Flash: Who needs plans? I've always been a spontaneous kind of guy.
• Legacy Character: "Flash and Substance" suggests he's not the first Flash since his old Kid Flash costume is seen in the Flash Museum, along with Jay Garrick's helmet). Later tie-in comics have Jay and Bart Allen make appearances and go back and forth on whether Barry actually existed, although the recent (and definitely canon) Justice League Beyond implies that there is no Barry.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: If things get really, really bad, he abandons his good-natured playfulness with devastating results.
• Like Brother and Sister: Has this type of relationship with Shayera. She even tries to help set him up with Fire in "I Am Legion".
  Flash: She loves me. She's like the big sister I never had. Only, you know...short.
• Loved by All: As shown on Flash Appreciation Day in "Flash and Substance", the citizens of Central City love him, and it's easy to see why. He greets several citizens by name, and is familiar enough with some of them to be concerned about relatively minor issues in their personal lives. On top of that, his secret identity seems to have a good relationship with his co-workers and even his Rogues Gallery is respectful of him. He even manages to convince Batman to attend the opening of a museum in his honor.
• Loves My Alter Ego: Tie-in material for Justice League reveals that Linda Park, his love interest in most adaptations, dated him as Wally West, but broke up with him after being frustrated with his seeming lack of focus. On the other hand, as "Flash and Substance" shows, she oozes over for the Flash.
• Magnetic Hero: In Central City, pretty much everyone who isn't a supervillain loves Flash. ^note  And even the rogues of his home town respect him. Superman used to have almost as much of a rapport with his home city, but even he wasn't on a first-name basis with the citizens.
• The McCoy: In "The Ties That Bind", he debates helping Mister Miracle and Big Barda rescue someone over The Needs of the Many side of the arguement coming from J'onn. He gets involved anyway, and J'onn himself agrees to Flash's viewpoint in the end.
• Morality Chain: If anything were to happen to him, the Justice League may become Knights Templar.
• Most Definitely Not a Villain: In "The Great Brain Robbery", Flash is terrible at trying to act like Lex Luthor using every known villain cliche in the book.
  Flash-as-Lex: My fellow bad guys. I, Lex Luthor, your leader, will speak now about my, Lex Luthor's, plan. My villainous, villainous plan. Question the plan at your peril! Uh...any questions?
• Mythology Gag:
  • In "Flash and Substance", Wally's employer at his Forensics job looks like Barry Allen, and Flash later mentions that his uncle is flying in to visit for the celebration.
  • In Issue #9 of the Justice League Adventures tie-in comic, Wally dates a blonde girl named Jessica. This might be a reference to Jesse Chambers, the civilian identity of Jesse Quick and the second Liberty Belle. She was partners with Wally West's Flash and had a brief romantic relationship with him.
  • In Issue #11, while time-traveling with the Atom on the Cosmic Treadmill, the Atom assures the Flash that it's unlikely that they'll get into some sort of quantum disruption, adding that it's more likely that you'd be hit by lightning...which Flash has been through, in fact being his origin story. Then the Atom changes it to being more likely to win the lottery, which Flash has also been through at one point in the source material.
• Nice Guy: Flash has a very kind personality, which is why the residents of Central City love him.
  Orion: [about Flash] Central City builds statues to this...fool. Who makes bad jokes! Who concerns himself with pitiful men like the Trickster! I don't understand.
  Batman: No...you don't.
  • To expand: Beyond the regular super-heroics, Flash knows the names and hobbies of almost everyone in town, greeting them personally as he runs around town. He also uses his powers for more mundane help, like painting an old lady's fence. He plays minigolf with some of them and also does various charity work.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In "Secret Society", Grodd is revealed to have developed innate telepathic abilities as a result of Flash "crossing a few wires" in his helmet.
• Not Afraid to Die: It's never focused on, but when Shayera pulls Wally out of the Speed Force after pleading with him to take his hand, it's shown she grabbed his wrist instead. This, plus the fact he seemed content upon being found, heavily hints he has no problem dying via a Heroic Sacrifice.
• Not Quite Flight: Flash once kept himself from falling to his death by using his cyclone arm trick to hold himself up in the air.
• No One Gets Left Behind: In "The Savage Time", he chews Hawkgirl out for leaving Green Lantern behind on the battlefield. This is one of the first instances of his Hidden Depths of caring for his teammates.
• Noodle Incident: Sometime between the events of Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond, Flash, Jay Garrick, and Bart Allen got stuck in the Speed Force.

O-Z

• Obfuscating Stupidity: As Orion declares, "You play the fool to hide a warrior's pain".
  • Flash responded with the character quote at the top of this section and observant readers may note he's not actually confirming or denying what Orion said. He is a scientist in his day job and has shown that he has deep fears about what his powers could do to him, but he really is that happy when things go well.
  • He also deliberately played up his foolishness in his first battle with Gorilla Grodd by daring him to fight him fairly. He took off the headband shielding his mind from Grodd's control if Grodd would take off his mind control helmet. Grodd called him an idiot and tried to brainwash him again, only for the helmet to fry his brain. Flash had crossed some wires in it earlier and was goading him into using it again.
• Oblivious to Love: For a guy who's known for hitting on the ladies at every chance, Flash is amazingly oblivious to Linda Park's not-so-subtle crush on him in "Flash and Substance". When she finally gets to outline it to him, he's a bit embarrassed and covers with a joke.
  • In “I Am Legion”, Flash demonstrates a crush on Fire, prompting Hawkgirl to put them on a mission together. During the flight to Blackhawk Island, Fire drops some not-so-subtle hints that she’s actively interested in him. It takes Hawkgirl faking turbulence and getting Fire on his lap before he snaps out of his awkward shyness.
• Odd Friendship: He and Kilowog immediately hit it off and are shown as good friends throughout "Hearts and Minds" despite their differences.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: While this applies to the other members of the Original Seven on various levels, he's the one that gets it most significantly. Whenever he's not cracking a joke or chasing a skirt, you know the situation is bad. "Divided We Fall" provides perhaps the best example of this trope in action.
  Flash: Shayera, it's so beautiful here! There's a force...a Speed Force...it's calling me home. I have to go now.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: In the DCAU, Flash's status as "The Fastest Man Alive" is always appended by saying Superman and Supergirl are close and can do much more. Flash does however show more control over his speed than Superman ever does. He's a great deal more versatile in his application of super-speed, as well. "Eclipsed" and "Divided We Fall" suggest he is indeed faster by far.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Hawkgirl.
• Plucky Comic Relief: He usually provides the Lampshade Hanging in situations.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: He rains down who knows how many punches thrown at Super-Speed on the downed Luther/Brainiac fusion near the end of “Divided We Fall”.
  • In order to build up enough of a head start, he repeatedly ran around the world at super speed.
• Red Is Heroic: He wears a superhero costume that has the primary color of red.
• Sad Clown: A Defied Trope. Orion assumes he's this (see Obfuscating Stupidity), but Flash really doesn't care about a destroyed Flash Museum so long as no one got hurt.
• Science Hero: This is shown in "Flash and Substance", Wally West is actually a forensic science technician for the Central City crime lab.
• Secret Identity: Wally West. When Luthor swaps bodies with the Flash, he unmasks himself to find he has no idea who the Flash is.
• Sex God: If Tala's subtext-laden dialogue in "The Great Brain Robbery" is to be believed.
• Smug Super: Flash is often boastful of his accomplishments while trying to woo women. They are usually less than impressed.
  • This falls away as the series goes on as Flash becomes more genuinely confident and has to overcompensate less. By the last season, no less than four women actively want to get romantic with him while he takes it humbly.
• Speed Blitz: When he isn't playing around.
• Super-Reflexes: He's the only member of the League who successfully dodges the pieces of the Eclipso gem when Hawkgirl smashes it with her mace. However, during the first season, his presentations of power were limited by having him get tripped by obvious items. A lot.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: He is the Wise Guy to Green Lantern's Straight Man.
• Strong as They Need to Be: The Flash's speed is heavily inconsistent throughout the series considering he is often dealt with by Villains who shouldn't be able to handle his speed. Depending on the requirements of the plot, his fastest feats of speed include:
  • In "Legends", following an explosion, Flash creates a whirlwind to prevent a giant robot from falling over his teammates. However, he reaches a high speed that transports himself and his teammates to an alternate Earth that resembles an idyllic 1950's town.
  • In "Eclipsed", he and Green Lantern with the latter's ring create a wormhole, running towards the sun to swallow a generator bomb that endangered the earth.
  • In "Secret Society", Sinestro claims that his beams move as fast as Flash does, the speed of light, but Flash states Sinestro doesn't think at the speed of light.
  • In "Wild Cards", with exactly one second left, Flash grabs a bomb and disappears. A video replay shows him managing to run it out of the city, drop it, and get away as it is exploding.
  • In "Divided We Fall", Flash invokes the Speed Force against Luthor/Brainiac running at a speed so fast that he circles the globe in only a few seconds and continues to do so several times becoming faster each time, hitting Luthor/Brainiac several times with enough force to tear away a chunk of "their" android armor. Then, Flash stops and his body starts crackling with the speed energy he's tapped into, applies his vibrating hands to Luthor's Brainiac armor (tearing it completely away), leaving Luthor naked and helpless at the bottom of a crater.
• Super-Speed: As always, it is his main ability.
• Super-Strength: Because of the sheer speed and momentum his body generated, Flash possessed enhanced strength. Since his body was naturally protected from most of the effects of his speed, the ultra-fast punches and movements of Wally's limbs could produce devastating impacts that could stun or injure otherwise stronger or more powerful beings such as Superman or Brainiac. He could also throw objects at extremely high speeds, as he was able to hold off the likes of Lord Superman by throwing rocks.
• Thememobile: The Flashmobile, which is actually just a pimped-out van he bought with endorsement money he made appearing in commercials. As Green Lantern points out, it's completely ridiculous. Somewhat justified, though, considering its real purpose isn't getting around...at least not in that sense.
  Green Lantern: Why do you need a van...wait, don't answer that. I don't wanna know.
• Too Fast to Stop: Deconstructed. In "Only A Dream", Flash's greatest fear is being trapped in a world where he's moving so quickly that everything and everyone around him appears practically motionless.
• Took a Level in Badass: Played with. Flash always remains down to earth and cheerful, but he can pull off something unexpected and powerful when the occasion calls for it, in a way that truly changes the game for the entire league. The rest of the team, which tended to condescend to him for his clown-like behavior nature, quickly pick up on this and as such (even Batman) shows respect to him in the later episodes.
  • Two occasions stand out. The first one is when he outsmarts an Alternate Universe Batman by pulling a Batman Gambit on him by making creative use of his powers that neither him nor main-universe Batman was aware of. This earns him praise from the master himself.
  • The other is his defeat of Brainiac/Luthor, which is regarded in-universe and among his fans as his Crowning Moment of Awesome.
• Tornado Move: Flash found many applications for his super-speed. One was the ability to generate whirlwinds by rotating his arms at an incredible rate or by running in circles. These whirlwinds could be used to buffet opponents, or perhaps to cushion the impact of falling people or objects. Flash could even use such a whirlwind to briefly propel himself through the air.
  • Lex tries this on the Watchtower in Flash’s body to propel him towards the teleport pad in zero gravity. Mr. Terrific then turns the gravity back on and Flash!Lex then knocks himself out from the impact.
• Time Stands Still: "Only a Dream" reveals that this to be Flash's greatest nightmare; specifically, that he'll one day go so fast he'll never be able to slow down again while everything about him appears frozen in place, and thus living out his entire life-span in the time it'll take a little girl to tie her shoelace.
• Trademark Favorite Food:
  • He seems to have a thing for iced mochas.
  • He is frequently seen eating large quantities of hamburgers.
• Tranquil Fury: He is rarely ever shown to be angry, or even aggravated. However, as "Secret Society" shows...
  (Flash is dangling a thug over a rooftop by his legs)
  Thug: (not intimidated) Who do you think you are—Batman?
  Flash: It's been a long night. Just tell me where Shade is, okay?
  Thug: Look, buddy, I know Batman. I once ratted out a counterfeiter to Batman.
  (Flash's face is totally without emotion)
  Thug: And believe me, you are no Batm— (Flash drops him) —aaAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
  • There's also the moment in "Maid of Honor" after he's rescued from being Thrown Out the Airlock:
    Green Lantern: You're going to be okay.
    Flash: Yeah? Wish I could say the same for them.
    (He zips through the station one-punching each of the enemy mooks)
• The Trickster: Both himself and one of his enemies, The Trickster.
• Unconventional Courtroom Tactics: In "In Blackest Night", Flash stalls for time by offering to be John's lawyer with predictable results.
• Vibration Manipulation:
  • Like in the comics, Wally can use his super speed for vibration effects. This includes vibrating his molecules to phase through ice (as he did in an episode of Superman: The Animated Series). When fighting off his robot replica created by Luthor and Braniac, he destroyed it by shoving his hand through it and vibrating intensely; Flash avoids using this ability as much as possible because of how destructive the unstable resonance created by these vibrations could be.
  • In "The Great Brain Robbery", Luthor accidentally switches bodies with the Flash and shows how dangerous the latter's vibration powers can be when used without regard for other lives. At one point, he threatens to vibrate his hand through a person's head if they don't comply with his wishes.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Batman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl.
• Weaksauce Weakness: The sheer number of times he's tripped on involve things that he should've seen coming. Although, this may be him limiting his own power, as when he actually tries, he's arguably one of the most dangerous of the original seven.
• Willfully Weak: His powers are difficult to use safely. In "Divided We Fall", he finally stops holding back and just running down the road tears it apart and sends cars flying. Using his vibration abilities will make things explode, something he's not comfortable doing to people. Even if he was amoral enough to be comfortable causing that kind of damage, he simply can't go at his top speed or he could kill himself...kinda.
• Worf Had the Flu: Writers intentionally held Flash back in the series in order to keep him from being overpowered. This lead to the above trope where Flash would find himself struggling with mooks sometimes. The second season of Unlimited showed that when Flash fully stops holding back, he's arguably one of the most powerful members of the group.
• Xanatos Gambit: In "The Brave And The Bold", Flash proposes a fair fight, and takes off his headband, inviting Grodd to take off his own helmet. Grodd, of course, does no such thing. Smiling, he activates his helmet – and screams as it feeds back on itself, due to some subtle sabotage by Flash when he patted it down over Grodd's eyes.

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