Wally West isn’t the first person to bear the Flash moniker, but he’s undoubtedly one of the most popular Scarlet Speedsters ever. From his days as Kid Flash to his wildest adventures as the Fastest Man Alive, West has had a lot of amazing looks.

Wally has had one of the most fascinating journeys in the DC Universe. From stepping up to replace his mentor in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths to triumphantly returning during the DC Rebirth era, Wally has had numerous cool outfits. Read on to discover 10 of Wally West’s best Flash costumes in DC Comics history.

10

Kid Lantern Gave Wally the Green Light

First appearance: Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #2 (1999)

As amazing as it sounds, Wally West was once a deputized Green Lantern. Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #2 saw Barry and Hal’s respective nemeses Mirror Master and Black Hand team up to steal Flash’s incredible speed. Unfortunately, it’s Wally who’s powers are stolen instead. Green Lantern takes pity on the young hero and shares his power with West. Wally is enveloped by the Emerald Light of Will and becomes Kid Lantern.

Wally West’s Kid Lantern outfit is pretty much a variant of his traditional Kid Flash uniform. Instead of Barry’s red and yellow, it features Hal’s traditional green and black color scheme with white gloves and replaces Kid Flash’s lightning bolt symbol with the Green Lantern Corps insignia. It’s a simple outfit, but it also serves as a fascinating look at what a Green Lantern sidekick could have looked like. West’s time as Kid Lantern was short, but his outfit left a pretty decent impression.

9

Flash’s Speed Force Outfit Changed the Game

First appearance: The Flash #131 (1997)

One of the coolest things about Wally West is that he always pushed himself to see what his powers and the Speed Force were capable of. Beyond running fast, Wally showed that his powers could actually materialize custom armor and clothing. In The Flash #131, Wally broke both of his legs and was forced to sit out from his usual duties. Never one to sit on the sidelines, the Flash recites Jesse Quick’s speed formula over and over again until he makes contact with the Speed Force and creates a new costume.

Rather than red, the Flash’s Speed Force costume was a resplendent, glowing yellow. It had an open cowl similar to his Kid Flash outfit with built-in goggles and a large lightning bolt running across his chest. This costume wasn’t a permanent addition to the Flash’s clothing line, but it was a cool moment that led Flash to create other costumes just the Speed Force.

8

Dark Flash Was a Disturbing Alternate Wally West

First appearance: The Flash #150 (1999)

Not all of the Flash’s costumes represent a high point in the Scarlet Speedster’s life. The Flash #150 introduced a variant of Wally West from a diverging timeline, one where Wally’s life had gone off the rails and his love Linda Park’s life. This Wally went down a dark path and began brutalizing criminals until he attempted to take over the Prime Wally’s life.

This version of Flash (known as Dark Flash) wears a dark burgundy costume with silver gauntlets and a matching belt. He’s got a cowl that covers his nose and a silver lightning bolt that runs from his left shoulder to his chest. It’s a striking suit, but one that’s connected to one of the most haunting potential lives Wally could have lived. Though the Prime Flash never went down this route, this costume is a glimpse at the darkness that could have taken him.

7

Kingdom Come Presented a God-Like Flash

First appearance: Kingdom Come #1 (1996)

There are a lot of Flash variants in the DC Universe, but few are as radically different as the one that lives on Earth-22, the setting for the iconic story Kingdom Come. This story is set several decades in the future when the Justice League’s heroes have largely moved on and been replaced by younger heroes. However, the Flash was still active and took on a wildly different form.

Flash became a being of living speed and as such, appears as a human-shaped blur. He’s completely engulfed in red, leaving only speed trails and lighting behind him wherever he goes. The only discernible part of this Flash’s costume is his Hermes-inspired helmet, much like the one worn by Jay Garrick. Though not a look the Prime Wally West has ever had, it’s certainly one of his coolest looks in any continuity.

6

Wally’s Improved Flash Costume Made the Outfit His Own

First appearance: The Flash #50 (1991)

When Wally took over as the Flash after Barry Allen sacrificed himself in the Crisis, West wore his uncle’s costume to honor his beloved mentor. However, after anchoring his own book for several years, The Flash finally got a costume that was altered to be Wally’s first unique look as the Scarlet Speedster. Wally’s updated Flash costume came courtesy of his allies at STAR Labs, who were eager to overhaul his outfit.

The Flash’s new and improved outfit largely resembled his classic appearance, though it had a shinier, chrome-like appearance. The yellow lighting belt around his midsection was altered to point inwards and his chest had a larger Flash symbol. This was also notably the first costume to give the Flash white eyes on his costume, one of the biggest traits that continues to separate Wally’s outfits from Barry’s.

5

Flash Forward Gave Wally a Doctor Manhattan-Themed Makeover

First appearance: Flash Forward #6 (2020)

While fans were excited to see Wally return in the Rebirth era, it was a pretty harrowing time for him. Not only was his family fractured thanks to Flashpoint, but Wally was also believed to be the perpetrator behind the Sanctuary massacre in Heroes in Crisis. However, in Flash Forward, Wally embarked on a multiversal crusade to find redemption and bring his family back, an event that saw him get a powerful costume upgrade.

During the series, Wally sat in the Mobius Chair which was infused with Dr. Manhattan’s power. It gave Wally’s Rebirth-era costume a makeover, turning it completely blue and adding Manhattan’s infamous symbol on Flash’s forehead. This look only lasted Wally through Dark Nights: Death Metal, but it was an intriguing spin on his costume and it shone in one of the darkest chapters of his life.

4

Flash’s SpectraVerse Costume Was an Awesome Cosmic Armor

First appearance: The Flash 2024 Annual #1 (2024)

Wally West has been dealing with a lot of changes after he developed his new ‘side-stepping’ power. The Fastest Man Alive discovered several hidden layers of reality, a dimension known as the SpectraVerse. As Wally tried to understand the intricacies of the SpectraVerse, he found himself trapped there after a possessed Barry Allen stabbed him and left him to die.

The Flash fashioned a new outfit for himself in The Flash 2024 Annual #1. Made from living math, the construct solidified and became a cosmic explorer version of his usual Flash costume with lightning bolts adorning the panels of his suit. He also made a helmet out of the skull of an Uncoiled, a SpectraVerse monster, to help Flash withstand the harshest dimensions. It’s an odd outfit, but an appropriate one for his current thrilling, bizarre era.

3

Kid Flash Set the Standard for Wally

First appearance: The Flash #135 (1963)

It really is hard to beat a classic. When Barry Allen first became Kid Flash, he simply wore a costume that made him look like a pint-sized version of the Scarlet Speedster. However, Flash helps differentiate the two in The Flash #135 after Barry accidentally changes Wally’s costume to his more iconic look after tinkering with an alien device that altered Barry’s powers.

There isn’t a Flash fan alive that doesn’t know this look of Wally’s. A yellow top with a red lightning bolt, red pants, yellow boots, red gloves and an open cowl to let Wally’s red locks flow free. It’s an excellent costume with an incredibly balanced color scheme. It’s such a great outfit, it would be largely kept the same by future heroes to bear the Kid Flash name like Bart Allen and Wallace ‘Ace’ West.

2

Wally’s Alternate Flash Costume Was the Perfect Companion to Barry’s

First appearance: The Flash: Rebirth #5 (2009)

Though Wally was the DC Universe’s sole Scarlet Speedster, that changed when his uncle Barry came back in Flash: Rebirth. Flash was happy to share the title, but some changes were necessary to make it easier for readers to tell the two heroes apart. While Barry Allen returned to his classic look, Wally West updated his look with his most streamlined version of the Flash outfit yet.

Wally’s costume was a darker red than Barry’s. The junior Flash kept the white eyes and modified the mask so that it covered his nose similar to Batman’s mask. Wally’s Flash symbol was a more zig-zag lighting shape while Barry had his traditional lightning bolt. While the changes were subtle, they were crucial to helping fans tell the two greatest speedsters in the DC Universe apart when they were on the same page.

1

DC’s Rebirth Brought the Coolest Flash Costume Ever

First appearance: Titans: Rebirth #1 (2016)

Wally coming back to the DC Universe during the “Rebirth” era was a moment celebrated by fans. After being rescued from the Speed Force, Wally was ready to get his life back on track, and that included getting a new costume. In Titans: Rebirth #1, Wally debuts his new look, which blends his Kid Flash and Flash costumes perfectly.

Rather than red and yellow, it’s got two different shades of red. He still has a zig-zag lightning bolt symbol, albeit one that’s sliver rather than yellow. He’s also got an open cowl like in his Kid Flash days. It was a fantastic outfit that honored his past and felt like a natural evolution for him. Though it only stuck around until the “Infinite Frontier” era, Wally West’s Rebirth costume remains his coolest costume in years.

Wally West has had a lot of amazing looks as the Flash, but these stand out as the best ones in DC history.