Wally West


 * This article is about the first Kid Flash, Wally West. For his successor, see Bart Allen.

Kid Flash (real name Wally West, November 11, 1994 —June 20, 2016 ) was a founding member of the Team. He was the nephew and former sidekick of Barry Allen.

Personality
Wally West was the Team's resident class clown and goof-ball. A hyper-active 15-year-old speedster, he was always quick to joke and comment lightly upon any situation that the Team found themselves in. Often extremely impatient and impulsive, Wally possessed an inclination toward recklessness, to the point of jumping into situations without forethought—a trait which often put him in mortal danger.

Wally was also girl-crazy, commonly slipping innuendos and flirtatious remarks toward any attractive woman in his vicinity, regardless of age. His attention was at first directed at Miss Martian, but he has also been known to hit on older women like Selena Gonzalez, Black Canary and Mattie Harcourt.

Despite his goofy nature, Wally was also a science whiz, able to use his knowledge to recognize Speedy's high-density polyurethane foam when he used it against Brick, as well as analyze a complex chemical combination of the Blockbuster formula and Bane's Venom drug (Kobra-Venom). His firm belief in science was so absolute that he adamantly rejected any possibility of real magic, instead attempting to rationalize it as a form of "advanced science". This was cemented by the fact that a Flash rogue named Abra Kadabra once used advanced technology to simulate magic.

Aqualad, a former brief student from Atlantis' Conservatory of Sorcery, claimed that Wally used his understanding of science to control what he could not comprehend, and that to admit the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestiges of that control. After becoming a temporary human host to Nabu and turning into Doctor Fate, However, he was still unwilling to admit the existence of magic.

Five years later, Wally's personality remained relatively the same as before, although he had matured quite a bit. He was not as much of a joker anymore, and took things a bit more seriously. He was adamant on quitting the superhero life for both himself and Artemis.

Physical appearance
When the Team was formed, Wally West was a 15-year-old high-school sophomore. He had spiky red hair, freckles and green eyes. He had a lean yet slightly muscular build.

His costume was yellow with red pants, red gloves, and yellow shoes, with a red lightning bolt within a white circle on his chest. After the creation of the Team, his costume was updated and slightly modified, with shoulder pads and other protectors added. His costume was also modified to include stealth-tech: by pressing the lightning bolt emblem on his costume, the uniform would change color into a black and gray variation that was better suited for stealth missions. He also wore red goggles to protect his eyes, which also allowed him to view different light spectra.

Five years later, Wally had grown noticeably taller and seemed to have outgrown his freckles from his younger days. His costume remained largely the same.

Early life
Wally discovered his uncle Barry Allen was the Flash. Being the Flash's biggest fan, he begged his hero to let him become his sidekick. Barry refused, but that didn't stop Wally. He replicated the experiment that gave Barry his powers in his family's garage. He blew up the garage and ended up in the hospital. Barry felt guilty for leaving notes that Wally could work on.

After he came out of the hospital, Wally manifested the powers he desired. Barry reluctantly agreed to let him become Kid Flash, but only if he did exactly as he said.

July 2010
Kid Flash eagerly expected to become a member of the Justice League, alongside Speedy, Aqualad, and Robin. However, when it became clear that that wasn't happening, he, Aqualad and Robin went to investigate Cadmus Labs. There, they discovered the Genomorph project and Superboy, whom they liberated. The four youths stood up to their mentors and declared they were ready to prove themselves as heroes. While Batman considered their argument, Kid Flash had Superboy stay with him. Together they faced the Terror Twins at Central City Mall. They formed a covert ops team and were given their own headquarters in Mount Justice, and were introduced to Miss Martian.

The next day, Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad set off on an unsanctioned mission to protect CEO Selena Gonzalez from the League of Shadows, but despite their best efforts, Gonzalez still vanished.

Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin asked Speedy to join the Team but were rebuffed. The Team grew restless from the lack of missions, but tried to get to know each other better. They fought Mister Twister, eventually defeating him, which renewed their faith in the Team. The Team later went on a campout where they shared the stories of how they became heroes.

The Team's first official mission was to investigate the stoppage of Venom production in Santa Prisca. Kid Flash and the rest of the Team eventually agreed Aqualad was their natural leader. The Team was then sent to stop a plutonium robbery. They defeated Psycho-Pirate and Atomic Skull, capturing the former.

August 2010
Kid Flash, along with the rest of the Team, began taking training sessions with Black Canary. The Team was assigned to guard shipments of the disassembled Amazo. Professor Ivo was able to retrieve and reassemble the robot, but the Team defeated Amazo and captured Ivo.

Artemis joined the Team, and had a difficult first meeting with Kid Flash, just before they were assigned a mission by Red Arrow: to protect Serling Roquette from the League of Shadows while she worked on a counter-weapon to the Fog she developed. Following the successful mission, he begrudgingly welcomed Artemis to the Team.

The Team took a class in espionage from Captain Atom. When the lecture proved boring, Captain Atom assigned them a cold case mission–to determine whether or not Air Force captain Nathaniel Adams was framed for the murder of his superior during the Vietnam War. The Team was ultimately successful in determining Adams' innocence.

The Team was later sent by Red Tornado to protect the Helmet of Fate following Kent Nelson's disappearance. Despite his insistence that magic did not really exist, Wally briefly became host to Doctor Fate. While the Helmet was kept safe, Kent died defending it. Two days later, Kid Flash and the others attended Kent's funeral.

Later, Batman ordered the Team to track Clayface through Gotham City while he worked on a way to defeat him. The Team engaged Clayface against Batman's orders–the Team was soundly defeated, but saved by Batman at the last moment. That evening, Wally, his parents, aunt and uncle and the Garricks gathered to celebrate Jay Garrick's birthday.

September 2010
Batman sent the Team to Bialya, where they encountered Psimon, who blocked their memories of the prior six months. Miss Martian was able to restore their memories.

Flash and Kid Flash returned escaped animals to Central City Zoo, where they discovered some cobra venom had been stolen. Teaming up with Batman, Robin, Green Arrow and Artemis, they discovered it was taken by the Cult of the Kobra to be used in a ritual to turn Kobra into a god. They successfully undid the ritual, but Kobra evaded capture.

Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad and Miss Martian were captured when the Cave was invaded by Red Torpedo and Red Inferno. They were eventually rescued by Robin and Artemis. Like the rest of the Team, he was rendered unconscious by Red Tornado, who fled with his "siblings". Kid Flash, like the rest of the Team, was furious to discover Aqualad had withheld information about a possible mole on the Team. Batman assigned the Team to investigate reports of gorilla attacks in India. After defeating the Brain and freeing his Kobra-Venom-enhanced animal slaves, Wally was satisfied with Aqualad's reasons for keeping the secret.

The Team was then sent to investigate reports of another Kobra-Venom operation in Bwunda. The Team was ambushed and captured by the Brain's gorillas, but eventually freed themselves and helped the gorillas stage a rebellion against their captors.

October 2010
The Team was sent to destroy the central control system being used by the Injustice League to attack a number of cities worldwide with giant plants. They successfully destroyed the control plant, and the subsequent arrival of the Justice League was enough to force their enemies to surrender. Wally's arm was broken during the fight.

The Team was introduced to Zatanna. They went on an unauthorized mission to find Red Tornado. They discovered the robot had not betrayed them and, together with Red Inferno and Red Torpedo, they were able to destroy Red Volcano and prevent the Yellowstone supervolcano from devastating the planet.

Kid Flash and the rest of the Team took part in a telepathic training simulation run by Martian Manhunter. It went wrong when Artemis's "death" caused Miss Martian to take control, causing them to forget it was not real. Kid Flash reacted very angrily to her death, and "died" with Robin when they destroyed the alien mothership. When the simulation was ended, Wally, like the others, was left devastated. The Team was given therapy by Black Canary. Wally refused to acknowledge his severe reaction to Artemis's "death".

On Halloween, Wally attended a party at Happy Harbor High School with M'gann and Conner. They discovered Marvin was playing a prank on the guests, so came up with a counter-prank.

November 2010
After all the adults in the world disappeared, Kid Flash and the Team worked with Zatanna to find the cause. With help from Captain Marvel they were able to communicate with the adults in their own separate dimension and coordinate an attack on Klarion and his group of sorcerers, merging the dimensions back into one.

Kid Flash celebrated his sixteenth birthday with a "surprise" party at the Cave. He then transported a heart for transplant across country, foiling Count Vertigo's attempt to kill Queen Perdita and take the Vlatavan throne.

Kid Flash joined a mission to Qurac to discover why the nation's leader decided allow Bialya to absorb Qurac. They saved Marie Logan and her son from Bialyan tanks, though Gar was injured during a reprisal attack. The Team went on to the capital, where they successfully defeated Psimon, who was controlling Harjavti.

December 2010
Kid Flash was pleased when Red Arrow decided to join the Team. They, along with Aqualad and Artemis, were assigned to track Sportsmaster in New Orleans. They were unsuccessful in capturing Sportsmaster, the case he carried or discovering the villains' plans.

Kid Flash and the rest of the Team, now including Rocket, responded to an alert that Cheshire had been spotted. They found they had been lured into a trap, but were nonetheless successful in defeating their enemies and capturing the case that had eluded them previously. Realizing the trap meant there must really be a mole, Superboy, Artemis and Miss Martian revealed their secret links to their enemies to the rest of the Team, and found acceptance. The Team ambushed Lex Luthor, Queen Bee and their allies on Santa Prisca and captured several villains, though Luthor and Bee escaped.

Kid Flash and the others returned to the Cave triumphant, but were shocked to find Batman waiting to tell them the mole was Red Arrow. Kid Flash, Robin, Zatanna and Rocket investigated Red Tornado's mysterious shutdown while the others left to find Roy. Upon reactivating Tornado and handling an attack from Black Canary, they abandoned the Cave to rendezvous with the others to compare notes. The team infiltrated the Watchtower and freed the League from the Light's control.

January 2011
At the stroke of New Year, Kid Flash picked up Artemis and they kissed. Both agreed they should have done it sooner.

2011-2015
.

February 2015
Kid Flash and Artemis reported for duty at a Team briefing in the Cave. Wally was eager for action, and his behavior somewhat annoyed Artemis. Nightwing briefed them about the kidnapping of Helena Sandsmark. Wally's further contributions to the briefing led to more annoyance from his teammates.

Kid Flash accompanied Artemis and Nightwing to investigate Sandsmark's last known location, a dig site in Greece. All they found was a lot of Shadows and Cheshire, and Sandsmark's tablet device. They found no trace of Sandsmark herself, but discovered she had found an ancient Babylonian artifact.

The artifact was held in the Museum of Natural History, so Alpha Team went to investigate. They encountered and defeated Sportsmaster, and escaped with John Stewarts help. They recovered the artifact.

Kid Flash returned to the Cave for a debriefing. He consoled Artemis, who felt guilty for allowing her father and sister to escape. She did manage to put a tracer on him though, and found he was in Siberia.

Superboy took a squad to Verhoyansk to investigate, and came back with a second artifact. They discovered the artifacts fit together, and LexCorp was involved. That lead them to a LexCorp operation in Santa Prisca. Wally looked forward to a Caribbean vacation.

Aqualad returned from Santa Prisca with more information. They discovered the artifacts were related to Marduk, Tiamat and their chaoskampf myth. Wally dismissed them as "fuzzy sciences".

The trail led to Gotham City, where Nightwing recovered a third artifact and Doctor Sandsmark. After research, they discovered the third artifact was a fake. Wally at first thought is was a joke. Aquagirl was kidnapped, leading the others to discuss how Marduk stopped Tiamat. Kid Flash connected the recurring earthquakes and tidal waves with the artifacts' locations, and tried to pinpoint an epicenter for the disasters. He could only narrow it down to eight epicenters. Zatanna found the correct one with a locator spell: it was in Bialya.

The mission to Bialya ended in success, but at a price: Aquagirl had to sacrifice herself. The entire Team gathered, and Kid Flash consoled Artemis, who refused to call the mission a success.

Some time later, Wally and Artemis decided to retire from heroics and focus on their studies.

December 2015
Wally and Artemis talked with Dick via video call to congratulate him on his birthday. It was early, but because of their studies, neither had gone to bed yet. Dick was forced to cut off the conversation when his female guest for the night arrived. Wally commented on his social standing as a "dog", and Artemis was shocked to recognize her old classmate Bette Kane.

February 2016
Wally, along with Nightwing, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the former Guardian, tried to talk some sense into Red Arrow. Nightwing and Wally reasoned that they never knew the real Speedy, and that the cloned Roy Harper was the one that the two met and trained alongside. Their appeal was to deaf ears.

After the failed attempt to convince Red Arrow of their friendship, Wally returned home to his house. Artemis greeted him, and tried to console him. Wally remembered that it's Valentine's Day for the first time in five years and Artemis prepared a new stockful of food for their refrigerator as a gift. Wally hugged Artemis, but she could tell he was still worried about Roy.

Nightwing called Wally to tell him about Impulse, his cousin from the future. He hurried back to Barry's house, where he arrived minutes after the time traveler.

As news reached the speedsters that a new menace was threatening downtown, Flash set out to stop it. He told Impulse to stay put, but Wally knew he was going to follow anyway. So he put on his costume too, and ran to the park. While Flash and Impulse battled "Neutron", Kid Flash talked to a police captain about evacuating civilians. Flash and Impluse devised a strategy to create a wind funnel around Neutron to contain him. Kid Flash had trouble keeping up with their fast speech. Their plan worked to an extent: they lifted him up, but Neutron explodes as his containment suit can't control the powers.

Kid Flash used his goggles to observe Neutron from a safe distance and saw that he was about to explode again. Flash attempted to carry Neutron away to explode safely outside the city, but Impulse tripped him. Jay Garrick helped Kid Flash carry both of them out of harm's way, but a large part of the city center was destroyed.

In the Cave, Nightwing revealed that Impulse was indeed the grandson of Barry and Iris, and the time machine was giving off both Zeta and Chronoton radiation, which Kid Flash set aside as a pure theory. Impulse was ready to leave this time period, but the time machine didn't work, and he was stuck in the past.

March 2016
Wally wasn't happy Nightwing had a dangerous mission for Artemis, but didn't argue with his best friend. As he was watching G. Gordon Godfrey's show over breakfast, Artemis told him goodbye for the mission.

The mission involved Artemis going under deep cover with Kaldur'ahm. After her death was staged at Cape Canaveral, Nightwing, Wally, Kaldur and Artemis got together to discuss the next part of their plan. Nightwing gave Artemis a Glamour Charm to hide her appearance. She said goodbye to Wally, and went off with Kaldur. Wally then told Nightwing that the danger was only beginning.

At the Gotham Cemetery, Wally and Paula Crock remembered Artemis. Wally was slightly unsettled when Paula spoke of how hard Artemis's death was for her, and how she was glad he supported her.

After he found out about Aqualad's raid in Mount Justice, Wally went to the Hall of Justice to talk with Nightwing. In the Hall of Justice, Wally was angry at Nightwing, that Aqualad had to take such extremes to give intel on Lagoon Boy's location. Wally told Nightwing that he was worried for Artemis, and cast suspicion on Aqualad being a triple agent, believing that he was playing Nightwing for a fool.

June 2016
Along with Nightwing and Batgirl, Kid Flash shadowed the Light-Reach summit held in an underground cavern. After Aqualad's betrayal was discovered, the Team sprung their trap, and Kid Flash's squad sealed off the entrance used by the Light. He greeted Vandal Savage like an old friend. However, the Light has prepared contingencies, and dozens of League of Shadows agents dropped into the room, intent on killing the Team.

Kid Flash went to work with his super-speed, mischievously pulling the pins off the smoke grenades of a squad of Shadows, and allowing Batgirl to take them down in their confusion. He wove in and out of combat, catching Artemis after she was kicked by a retreating Ubu. He bantered with her, telling her that he didn't know whether to kiss her or to kill her for putting both of them through all this. She coyly told him to hold that thought until they're alone, and the pair separated to fend off the Shadows that surrounded them.

While Kid Flash ran laps around the Brain, who was firing his various armaments at all sides, he was joined by Impulse. The speedsters bantered, and Kid Flash gave his blessing for Impulse to adopt his yellow and red costume to continue the family tradition. The young speedster was elated, and immediately did what Wally told him to do—disarm the Brain.

The battle ended with the heroes victorious, with the capture of the Reach ambassador, Black Manta, the Brain, and Monsieur Mallah. Kid Flash was finally reunited with his lover, and he joined her in congratulating Aqualad for his successful operation. Sensing that Aqualad was still pensive over the escape of Vandal Savage, Klarion, Black Beetle, and the chief Reach scientist, he and Nightwing reassured Aqualad that this was their most successful outing ever since their very first at Project Cadmus.

Kid Flash joined other Team members in an assault on the Reach's flagship. They eventually subdued the crew but then Blue Beetle learned about the Reach's plan to destroy the Earth.

Kid Flash and other heroes gathered for a briefing led by Captain Atom about plans to use Lex Luthor's anti-Reach technology to counter the Magnetic Field Disruptors that the Reach had placed around the Earth. Wally and Artemis were assigned to Omega Squad.

Artemis and Kid Flash ventured to Paris to take out their assigned MFD. Upon succeeding, they shared a celebratory kiss.

Kid Flash, upon hearing that the combined speed trails created by the Flash and Impulse were not enough to halt the "chrysalis" mode of the MFD, joined the duo at the North Pole where he added his kinetic energy to theirs; however, his slower top speed led to the energy being siphoned off the chrysalis striking him rather than their speed trails, causing Wally to become increasingly translucent and intangible with each hit. Wally disappeared entirely as the chrysalis's energy was finally dissipated, much to the grief of his family, friends, and especially Artemis.

Powers

 * Superhuman speed: Because of the low-key manner in which Wally created the original Flash's accident, Kid Flash was considerably slower than his mentor, He also lacked more advanced techniques such as vibrating his molecules through solid objects, and needed to accelerate and decelerate rather than start and stop on the spot. He turned that into a weapon, where he would cannonball into his opponents.
 * Superhuman endurance: Kid Flash was very sturdy against punishment. Though his costume had padding, he still took quite a beating when he cannonballed.
 * Superhuman reflexes: Wally's reflexes were enhanced with his speed. He could dodge and react to attacks easily.
 * Tornado Generation: Wally could spin to generate small tornados, reminiscent of those created by Mister Twister and Red Tornado. He could also help reinforce the larger vortexes generated by Flash and Impulse.
 * Tornado Generation: Wally could spin to generate small tornados, reminiscent of those created by Mister Twister and Red Tornado. He could also help reinforce the larger vortexes generated by Flash and Impulse.

Abilities

 * Gymnastics: Wally seemed to be capable of basic gymnastic skills, including somersaults and front handsprings, also at high speed.
 * High intellect: Wally was a science prodigy with a naturally high IQ.
 * Multilingualism: Kid Flash could speak both English and French

Equipment

 * First costume: Wally wore a reverse-colored variation of Barry Allen's costume. The cowl opened at the top so Wally's hair could stay out.
 * Second costume: A new costume with the same color scheme as the old one, but with distinct shoulder pads. The suit itself was highly resistant to friction as it was capable of being worn and used by him without wearing out for a long period of time. By touching the logo on his chest, he could alter the costume's colors to gray and black.
 * Food supply: Due to his accelerated metabolism, Wally kept a small supply of food in a hidden compartment on his right glove for emergency use (if he must be away from food for more than 24 hours). He referred to the compartment as his "cupboard".
 * Goggles: Wally used goggles to protect his eyes from debris while running. The goggles also had light/radiation wavelength detection and thermal imaging capabilities.
 * Polar stealth suit: An insulated, white version of his second costume. By touching the logo on his chest, it could change colour to mimic his normal costume.

Former equipment

 * Helmet of Fate: For a brief time, Wally gained possession of the Helmet of Fate, which allowed him access to powerful magical abilities and allowed him to temporarily become the new Doctor Fate.

Weaknesses

 * Hyper-accelerated metabolism: Wally's metabolism functioned several times faster than normal, so he constantly took in large quantities of food to maintain his energy. Whether or not it tasted good was not a primary concern, as he had eaten a batch of Miss Martian's burnt cookies with no ill effects. For emergency situations in which he had to be away from food for more than 24 hours, Wally kept food in a hidden compartment on his right glove.

The Flash (Barry Allen)
Wally and Barry were family, through Barry's marriage to Wally's aunt Iris, making him Wally's uncle.

According to Wally, he was a huge fan of the Flash and one day stumbled across the notebooks Barry kept of his attempts to duplicate the powers of the original Flash. Ignoring Barry's adamant refusal to take responsibility for a partner, Wally re-created Barry's experiment on his own with less successful and more destructive results. Barry felt guilty because Wally's injuries were due to his finding Barry's notebooks. When Wally slowly developed super-speed, Barry accepted him as an apprentice along the lines of Robin and Speedy.

Wally's familial relationship to Barry allowed for the two of them to interact in a more friendly and less formal manner than the other sidekicks and mentors. However, while Barry was more laid back and easy going, Wally seemed to get impatient with his mentor on occasion. Their overall good relationship however, was the result of their entire family being close as a whole. In fact, their families were fully aware of their powers and dual identities, and they were good friends with the original Flash, Jay Garrick.

Nightwing
Nightwing was Wally's best friend, having met and been friends before the creation of the Team. He trusted Kid Flash with his secret identity As a result, he was uncomfortable with having Wally around during a personal mission to Haly's Circus, but Wally argued that he should have been there to support his friend, and keep him objective. After the faked death of Artemis and the destruction of Mount Justice, Wally and Dick had a falling out because the former did not approve of the risks Nightwing was willing to take for the sake of learning the identity of the Light's new partner. After his death, Nightwing decided to take a leave of absence.

Miss Martian
Kid Flash had an obvious crush on Miss Martian, which often showed itself by his constant flirtatious remarks and attempt to draw her attention. Nightwing has remarked that his behavior bordered on "creepy". He was, for a long time, completely oblivious to her relationship with Superboy, and was disappointed when Artemis told him.

Artemis
Kid Flash and Artemis did not get along when they first met. He considered her the reason Red Arrow didn't join, and blamed her for every minor setback. Likewise, she thought he was just annoying, and did not like how he continually tried to hit on M'gann. Their true feelings for each other were different, though. They got along perfectly when both their memories had been wiped, and Wally was genuinely distraught after witnessing Artemis's "death" in a telepathic training exercise gone wrong. In the aftermath, both asked Black Canary not to tell the other of their true feelings. Wally eventually became more open to her, admitting he trusted her and she earned her place on the Team. His opinion changed drastically when it turned out she misdirected them and caused a mission to fail on purpose, but he quickly turned around when she explained the reason.

When Wally decided New Year's Day was the opportune moment to kiss her, both agreed they should have done it much earlier. Their relationship lasted, though Wally had a habit of forgetting Valentine's Day.

They moved to a small house in Palo Alto, adopted a pit bull, and attended together. However, this picturesque scenery came to an end when Wally begrudgingly agreed to take part in faking Artemis's death. He made it pretty clear he didn't want Artemis returning to the hero life.

When it was time to end the deep cover mission, Wally came out of retirement, and planned to retire again after the Reach invasion was averted. It was not to be; he sacrificed himself saving the world. In his last words, he asked his uncle to convey his love to Artemis and his parents.

Background information

 * In the comics, Wally's origin is slightly different. Instead of recreating the experiment on purpose, it coincidentally happened when his uncle was explaining how the accident happened to him in the first place. The 2011 reboot of the DC Universe has retconned this origin out of continuity. Wally is now African-American, and received his powers when a future version of himself transferred his powers to him before dying. The 2016 soft reboot reintroduced the red haired Wally, who was previously sucked into the Speed Force and all memories of him were wiped by Abra Kadabra.
 * This is Wally's sixth animated appearance, and his fourth appearance as Kid Flash. He first appeared as Kid Flash in the Teen Titans shorts part of the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure. He was the Flash in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and Kid Flash in Teen Titans, both voiced by Michael Rosenbaum. He had a cameo appearance in Justice League: The New Frontier and appeared in two episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.