The Flash is regarded as one of the greatest heroes in the entire DC Universe and one of the kindest, always happy to stop and help anyone for any reason, but the way Barry Allen got his first sidekick, Wally West, is one of Barry’s darkest secrets.
When Barry Allen first gained his powers of super speed, it was through a complete freak accident. Barry was a forensic scientist and was struck by lightning, which launched him into a cabinet full of chemicals, the result was the ability of super speed. Barry decided to use this power to save people and fight crime, but he kept almost everyone in his life at arm’s length, including his biggest love interest, Iris West. But when Barry met Iris’ nephew Wally, he did something unforgivable that makes it clear his biggest secret other than his identity, is that Barry Allen is actually a huge jerk.
Way back in Mark Waid and Greg LaRocque’s 1992 issue Flash #62, Wally West comes to town to visit his aunt Iris and as it turns out, Wally is an absolutely huge fan of the Flash. After helping Flash take down a band of criminals due to his quick thinking, Iris takes him to meet her friend Barry. Wally is utterly uninterested in Barry, but when Barry promises a visit from the Flash, Wally completely perks up. It’s here that Wally finally gets to spend some time alone with his hero, but it doesn’t turn out as he expects. The visit would end with Wally becoming Barry Allen’s sidekick, entirely due to Barry’s manipulations.
Barry Allen Planned For Wally West to Become the Flash
While Barry Allen is explaining how he got his superpowers to a young Wally West, he is idly rearranging chemicals on his lab shelf. An odd detail is the fact Barry isn’t in the middle of doing any tests, he’s not really doing anything with the chemicals, he’s just rearranging them to be the same as they were when he got his powers. There’s no really no reason for Barry to do this, it’s not like the 10-year-old Wally will be able to understand the chemicals in use, but Barry is still doing it. While Flash loves explaining science, it’s still a bit much for him to be rearranging all of these chemicals just for the sake of a 10-year-old.
When lightning DOES strike and gives Wally the exact same powers as Barry, almost everyone treats it as a miracle, except for Ira West, who states the idea of the event happening twice is near unbelievable. This really only leaves one explanation: Barry rearranged the chemicals, intentionally or not, with the hope of Wally gaining powers. Barry had spent the majority of his life alone at this point, unable to share his powers with anyone, but having a young sidekick would and did fix that.
Barry’s Flash is one of the greatest and kindest heroes of all time, but it still seems that after getting tired of keeping his secret to himself, Barry Allen intentionally manipulated a ten-year-old boy to gain superpowers, all so Wally West could be the Flash‘s sidekick.
