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Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best The Flash Storylines in Comics
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Vote up the The Flash comic book story arcs every fan must read
There are many superheroes in the DC Universe, but few are as important as the Fastest Man Alive himself, the Flash! Thanks to his introduction in the mid-1950s, the Silver Age Flash kicked off a new era of superheroes, which has continued well into today. The Flash has been a member of the Justice League, and has played a role in some of the DC Universe's most significant stories and crossover events, but with decade after decade of stories piling up into thousands of books, determining which story arc, single issue, comic book, graphic novel, trade paperback, and one-shot is the best is no easy task.
Fortunately, this list is here to help as the 20 best Flash stories ever told have been compiled for you! Check out the stories below, which make up the Flash's most important storylines, comics, story arcs, graphic novels, single issues, and amazing adventures, and make sure you vote up the one you think is the greatest Flash story ever told!
Like most DC superheroes, the Flash has a rather large rogues' gallery, but with so many villains to contend with, odds are things will come to a head sooner or later. In "Rogue War," the group of bad guys who make up his old gallery of rogues run afoul of the newest members of his rogues' gallery in a conflagration the likes of which the Scarlet Speedster hasn't seen before.
The conflict may result in the destruction of Keystone City itself! Will the Scarlet Speedster be able to stop the destruction of his beloved city, or will he sacrifice himself to save everyone? This pivotal tale was brilliantly written by Geoff Johns with pencils by Howard Porter and Steven Cummings and is one of the best villain-centric tales in the Flash's library.
The Flash is truly stuck in a race against time when he is literally caught running through time trying to return to the present. Amidst his temporal adventures, he must face new and old enemies while fighting evil and running as fast as he can to get back to the woman he loves, Linda Park.
Unfortunately, he is replaced in his absence by the time traveler, John Fox, who not only seeks to replace Wally as the Flash, but he also is out to take his girlfriend from him as well! Time travel is always a fun element to Flash storytelling, and this one by Brian Augustyn and Mark Waid is a doozy!
For years, the Flash knew his powers were augmented by the Speed Force, but it wasn't clear until "Terminal Velocity" that he was also being pulled from reality into another plane of existence! The Flash must confront his humanity as he tries to save the woman he loves from certain death at the hands of a madman, but the Speed Force itself may make his task impossible.
When it comes time to run into action, will the Flash sacrifice himself to the Speed Force, or will he find a way to stop the supervillain Kobra from taking over his beloved Keystone City? "Terminal Velocity" was written by Mark Waid in the pages of The Flash #95-100, and has been collected into a trade paperback you can nab off Amazon by clicking the link above.
For years, the Flash has been the superhero identity of Wally West, but before he was the Flash, he was Kid Flash to Barry Allen's fastest man alive. Sadly, Barry gave his life during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths," but like most comic book characters who die, they don't stay dead forever, and now, Barry is back!
Wally must contend with the fact that his longtime mentor has returned, but he's not the same man he was before. He is violent and paranoid of everything and everyone around him. Will Wally be able to bring Barry back to being a scarlet speedster, or will Barry remain the poor reflection of what he once was?
Longtime Flash scribe Mark Waid explores the earliest days of Wally West and his rise to become the fastest man alive. Wally, once known as Kid Flash, had a childhood filled with perils and amazing adventures, but a tragedy that befell his uncle, Barry, pushed him to become the new Flash.
This story details how Wally's life was forever changed the day Barry died and explores the emotional turmoil and heroic choices Wally was forced to make to take up the mantle of the Flash so he could follow in his uncle's footsteps to become the fastest man alive!
In what has become one of the most important single issues in the Flash's run, The Flash #132's story, "The Flash of Two Worlds" reintroduces the Golden Age Flash to the Silver Age of Comics! This was also the first mention of Earth-2 in what will become a massive multiverse that spreads across the entirety of the DC Universe, and ultimately leads to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths."
The meeting comes about when the Flash is performing tricks for children in Central City, but after a bit of a mishap, he is mysteriously transported to Keystone City, the home of the original Flash! What will happen when the Flash of two different worlds meet for the first time? This is easily one of the top books in the Flash's library, but more than being just a great read, it also set the stage for numerous changes made to the DC Universe, which would be impacted for years to come.
