Bart Allen
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Bartholemew Henry "Bart" Allen II is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. He originally went by the code name Impulse and later became the second Kid Flash, before becoming the fourth Flash. He first appeared in The Flash (2nd series) #91 in a cameo appearance. His first full appearance was in issue #92.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Impulse
Suffering from greatly accelerated aging, Bart appeared to be twelve when he was actually only two years old. He was raised in a virtual reality machine, leaving him ill-equipped to deal with reality until he was rescued by his grandmother, Iris Allen. Eventually, Iris took him back in time to the present, where Wally West, the Flash at the time, tracked him down in a race across the world. Wally finally caught Impulse and helped him to control his "hyper-metabolism". However, while the two had to work together during the Terminal Velocity arc, it was apparent that Bart rubbed Wally the wrong way. The impulsiveness of youth that even Wally himself had displayed was too much to handle, and Bart was pawned off onto retired superhero speedster, Max Mercury.
Bart would join the Titans [1] early in his career before going on to become one of the founding members of the superhero team Young Justice. As revealed in Impulse #50, Batman named him "Impulse" as a warning, not as a compliment. Following Max's disappearance, Bart was taken in by Jay Garrick, the first Flash, and his wife Joan. After the breakup of Young Justice, Bart joined some of his former YJ teammates in forming a new line-up of the Teen Titans.
[edit] Kid Flash
Shortly after joining the Teen Titans, Bart's kneecap was blown out by Deathstroke (who was at the time possessed by Jericho) and replaced with an artificial one. While recovering, Bart read every single book in the San Francisco Public Library and reinvented himself as the new Kid Flash. Even with the artificial kneecap, he can still run close to light speed.
In the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline, Bart assumed the mantle of the Flash after the current Flash died in a "Crisis". In this alternate future, he was able to steal the speed of others, a power he used on his past self. At first, he appeared to be working with the Titans of Tomorrow, but was secretly spying on those Titans on the behalf of the resistance group formed by the Cyborg of this alternate future, Titans East. In this future, Bart had a romantic relationship with Rose Wilson, The Ravager.
[edit] Infinite Crisis
After Superboy-Prime attacked Conner Kent (Superboy) in Smallville and injured or killed many Teen Titans, Bart joined with Flashes Wally West and Jay Garrick to stop the rampage of Superboy-Prime by running him at top speed into the Speed Force. Jay reached his limit before entering the Speed Force and Wally turned into energy and vanished, leaving Bart alone with Superboy-Prime. Barry Allen, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury, all of whom had previously been absorbed into the Speed Force, appeared and aided Bart. After taking Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force, Barry told Bart that "Wally is waiting for you". After they disappeared, Jay claimed that the Speed Force was gone.
Bart spent four years in an alternate reality's Keystone City, with Max, Barry, Wally, and an alternate version of Jay Garrick. There Superboy-Prime managed to escape from his prison, and the alternate Jay failed to stop him. All the speedsters rallied together to return to their dimension so they could warn everyone about Superboy-Prime. However, they knew that not even the fastest men alive could get there before the insane Boy of Steel. Barry suggested to Wally that he somehow absorb the entire Speed Force, but cautioned that it might kill him. Bart bravely volunteered, because Wally had his family to think of, and Barry was incapable of it because he was already dead. Wally handed him the ring and Barry gave Bart his Flash suit, which would both help Bart survive his journey.
Bart reappeared in Tokyo wearing his grandfather's costume. He later helped the heroes against the army of escaped supervillains in the Battle of Metropolis. Bart then explained to the nearby Wonder Girl that his grandfather's uniform was the only thing that could survive the trip back from where he had been, and that he was the only one there "who could still run". Bart then unleashed his anger against Superboy-Prime for killing Conner Kent, pummeling him at super-speed and forcing Superboy to retreat from the battle. When the crisis was over, Bart explained to Jay that he had spent years in an unknown dimension where he grew older. Bart confirmed that the Speed Force was destroyed and that he had used up the residual speed locked in his body fighting in Metropolis. He gave Barry's costume to Jay and said that Jay was once again the fastest man alive.
[edit] The Flash
In Teen Titans (3rd series) #34, Bart is referred to by Robin as "kind of retired," and suffered partial amnesia of his times at the alternate Earth during the Crisis. He is living with a roommate, Griffin Grey, and assembling cars on a scab basis for a newly automated, high-tech plant in Keystone City[2]. Bart has nightmares about the Speed Force, such as when he and Jay Garrick were separated during Infinite Crisis, and glimpses of Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Lying to everyone that the Speed Force is gone, Bart is still able to tap into it, though the effects are far more difficult to control, and Bart suspects them to be lethal. Despite the risk, Bart attempts to use his powers to save Griffin when a bomb is set off at the plant but is unable to control them. Jay Garrick rescues Griffin and sees Bart use the Speed Force.
Bart confesses to the Garricks the Speed Force's existence and his fears. Wanting to live a normal life, he offers to work with S.T.A.R. Labs to separate him from the Speed Force. S.T.A.R. presents him with a new Flash uniform, recreated by duplicating the molecular structure of the remains of Barry Allen's costume, although its details are based on Wally's. Bart claims it, unable to leave the uniform behind, and when S.T.A.R.'s Keystone location is blown up, Bart puts on the uniform to rescue Valerie Perez. Soon after, Bart begins working with Perez on his control of the changed Speed Force. Perez admits she's so interested in helping Bart because as Kid Flash he saved her life in a riot at her high school. Bart and Perez kiss, and begin a romantic relationship, even after Perez is fired from S.T.A.R. Labs. Bart also confronts Griffin, who is seduced by the fame of being a superhero.
Griffin kidnaps Jay Garrick in order to find his secret of youth. Bart finds both of them at Keystone's abandoned subway. The Griffin escapes, and Jay isn't breathing. Bart manages to revive him and send him to a hospital in time. The Griffin, in his last-ditch effort to pursue his fame as a hero, destroys the city's bridge so he can save everyone on it. Bart arrives to save them, and he and Griffin have a final showdown. The Griffin shoots Bart with his energy blast, which brings back his memory of his time at the alternate Earth during the Crisis and the reason the Speed Force is inside him. The Griffin later dies, after realizing that the Flash was his former friend Bart. Keystone City welcomes the Flash back.
[edit] Powers and abilities
As with most speedsters, Bart's primary power is speed; he also posseses an aura that prevents air friction while running. However, he possesses some abilities other speedsters do not. He has the ability to produce "scouts", Speed Force avatars he can send through the timestream, but has used it infrequently since the death of one put him in a coma during the Our Worlds at War storyline that crossed over between the Impulse, Superboy and Young Justice titles.
Bart is resistant to alterations in the time stream, possibly due to an oddity of his origin; his parents met only in post-Zero Hour continuity, but he actually arrived before the event. Bart has total recall of everything he's ever read, heard or watched (which includes speed-reading every book in the San Francisco Public Library), allowing him to spout encyclopedic information concerning the situation at hand as well as quotes from Mark Twain, whom he likes.
Since Infinite Crisis, Bart's connection to the Speed Force has been more difficult to control because he now contains the Speed Force and, in essence, is the Speed Force. He is told he has changed on a "macrobiotic level". When he taps into the Speed Force, Bart appears to have electricity crackling around him, and has become so lethal, that he initially wore the Flash suit while running in order to prevent it from killing him.[3]
[edit] Flash Legacy
Since his first appearance in The Flash (2nd series) #91 Bart has been trained by several speed-endowed heroes such as Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick and Max Mercury. Prior to his current reluctance to don the red and gold, Bart has shown a lot of enthusiasm towards his role as the future Flash. This is despite Wally West's apprehensions about Bart, illustrated by his naming Jesse Quick as his successor and his refusal to deliver to Bart his invitation from Cyborg to join the latest incarnation of the Teen Titans. Bart takes these insults in stride though, and, after Robin claims that he will always live in the Flash's shadow, even says that "the Flash will be in mine[4]."
[edit] Appearances in other media
An episode of Smallville entitled "Run" featured a speedster named Bart Allen played by Kyle Gallner. He was portrayed as a self-centered teenager who uses his powers for personal gain, although by the end of the episode, he was showing signs of changing his ways. Bart also carries around identification of Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, three Flashes in the main DC Universe.
Gallner will reprise his role in the season six episode "Justice". This episode will also include other heroes who appeared in the series, such as Aquaman, Cyborg, and Green Arrow. [5]
In the original Kids WB! pitch for the Justice League animated series, Robin, Impulse and a teenage female version of Cyborg were to be seen as junior members of the League. It was later decided to avoid their introduction, so as to avoid making Justice League seem like the old Super Friends series. The corresponding short animation is available as a bonus on the season one DVD of Justice League. [1]
[edit] References
- ^ New Titans #126
- ^ The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1
- ^ The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #3
- ^ Teen Titans (3rd series) #5
- ^ http://tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspx?posting={1FB5E5D6-7FD4-4987-B948-1CE8D8DA8781}
[edit] External links
- Crimson Lightning - An online index to the comic book adventures of the Flash.
- The Flash: Those Who Ride The Lightning - Fan site with information about the super-speed characters of the DC Universe.
