The Flash Other Ability That I Didn't Know About

[Bartmanhomer]

I was watching Season 1 and now 2 of the Flash on Netflix. On the first season of the Flash, there was an episode where Flash tried to stop a tsunami from destroying Central City and he ran so far he travels back in time. I was like whaaattt????!!! Did he travel back in time? I ask my older brother about and yes he said the Flash can time travel. I didn't know he could actually do that.

[Rynjin]

Sadly, yes, he can do that.

It ends up being a plot point a few times and is used well precisely zero of those times.

[The New Bruceski]

The answer to any question is Speedforce. Barry's main limitation is he can't remember any of the stuff he can do until someone else reminds him, particularly effective if they tell him to run.

[Mordar]

It is worth mention that this is a long-since established power for the Flash, dating to at least the late 1970's, including the moral quandary of using time travel to try to stop Reverse Flash from killing Iris West via vibrating-hand-in-the-brain.

@The New Bruceski: I'd say the main limitation is questionable writing combined with a pathological need to make the non-speedsters and non-supers in the show all equally important to the titular character...coupled with trying to drag a villain even this level of Flash would take out in less than an eye-blink into being a season-long adversary.

I really want to like the show. I like several of the characters, but it is losing me.

- M

[Rynjin]

Cicada is an interesting villain in the sense that he falls into a middle ground where he's too weak to be a real threat but just strong enough that any force required to put him down would probably kill him outright.

I personally think ol' Flashy Boy should take the risk and put the poor schmuck out of his and our misery, but...

[Traab]

The Flash is broken as a character. His powers are absurd when taken to their fullest extent. It doesnt often seem that way in comics as most of the senior council of the league or whatever they call themselves are almost as broken in their own ways, but the flash is utterly disgustingly overpowered. Did you see that scene where quicksilver evacuates the entire x mansion in mid explosion? That level of speed and reaction time is bad enough, the flash eclipses that. The flash has done that on a city sized scale.

[Mordar]

The Flash is broken as a character. His powers are absurd when taken to their fullest extent. It doesnt often seem that way in comics as most of the senior council of the league or whatever they call themselves are almost as broken in their own ways, but the flash is utterly disgustingly overpowered. Did you see that scene where quicksilver evacuates the entire x mansion in mid explosion? That level of speed and reaction time is bad enough, the flash eclipses that. The flash has done that on a city sized scale.

I kinda think you don't like the character

I agree that Barry Allen Flash is the most powerful non-reality-warping character from my DC comics days. Super tough to write for a character with the demonstrated power level. The CW doesn't even try at this point

- M

[Traab]

I kinda think you don't like the character

I agree that Barry Allen Flash is the most powerful non-reality-warping character from my DC comics days. Super tough to write for a character with the demonstrated power level. The CW doesn't even try at this point

- M

I like the character, his personality, I like the general gist of his powers. I liked wally west in the cartoons where he was fast, but not normally reality breaking fast. Im not a big fan of the comic power creep in general. Not just for him but for all the characters. In all seriousness, JLU was the series that I think did a solid job of nailing power levels at a reasonable level. Superman wasnt fighting planet busters, even darkseid was punch through buildings level tough.

[Keltest]

I like the character, his personality, I like the general gist of his powers. I liked wally west in the cartoons where he was fast, but not normally reality breaking fast. Im not a big fan of the comic power creep in general. Not just for him but for all the characters. In all seriousness, JLU was the series that I think did a solid job of nailing power levels at a reasonable level. Superman wasnt fighting planet busters, even darkseid was punch through buildings level tough.

Ive always been a fan of the "everybody up to and including the Flash himself is scared of the Flash going all out, so they all agree to play nice" thing he has going on with his rogues. Its a level of humanization for both him and the villain that characters like Superman don't have so much. They aren't trying to make a point, or kill the Flash for their ego, or otherwise be super destructive, and the Flash doesn't want to have to resort to a lethal and dangerous amount of force to stop them. Neither side is interested in that kind of war, and theyre willing to admit it.

[Giggling Ghast]

The Flash once outran a nigh-omnipotent being instantaneously teleporting across the universe to Earth. In essence, he outran thought.

I was told once that other villains tend to underestimate Flash’s rogues because they tend to be one-trick ponies with gadgets, but the Flash is so powerful the fact that they give him any trouble at all is impressive.

[OutOfThyme]

I like the character, his personality, I like the general gist of his powers. I liked wally west in the cartoons where he was fast, but not normally reality breaking fast. Im not a big fan of the comic power creep in general. Not just for him but for all the characters. In all seriousness, JLU was the series that I think did a solid job of nailing power levels at a reasonable level. Superman wasnt fighting planet busters, even darkseid was punch through buildings level tough.

And even there, the Flash is probably the strongest member of the League. He's the only one to come up with a way to stop the Brainiac/Luthor hybrid, even if it very nearly costs him his life.

[Traab]

And even there, the Flash is probably the strongest member of the League. He's the only one to come up with a way to stop the Brainiac/Luthor hybrid, even if it very nearly costs him his life.

Yeah and he flat out said that he could never go that fast again as it would cost him his life. Its why i said mostly :p Also keltest, I read this fanfic where luthor for reasons too complicated to explain, was informing a group of bank robbers in the flashs home town why they need to step lightly. They were claiming that his bad guys were a joke so clearly he is a wimp or some such thing, Luthor goes, "No, those are just the ones the flash allows to exist" Then goes off into this TERRIFYING story about how only his rogues gallery that plays by his rules is allowed to exist, He tells a tale of some random bad guy killing a child in front of the flash, who proceeds to go back in time, preventing the moment of conception between his parents, then he pops out of existence due to paradox, replaced by a wally west with no idea of what he has done. Only the criminals who follow the rules are allowed to exist in his territory. At this point the robbers are sobbing they are so terrified and he says,

"Hey, its ok, you havent crossed the line. I know this because you still exist."

"What do we do if we run into him?"

"Try not to soil yourself. Then realize you have soiled yourself and be happy about it, because you have to exist to do so."

The Flash and Green Arrow are observing from the watchtower with their jaws dropped in shock and horror, completely unable to process how terrifyingly PLAUSIBLE that is, and that there is no way to be sure he is making it up because there would be literally no sign of it either way.

[Calemyr]

I can't remember where it was from (it was an ensemble cartoon, though), but there is one scene that tells me all I need to know about the Flash.

Upon realizing that one of his rogues might be tied to the crisis of the day, he goes to the bar the rogue frequents. Most supers would start a brawl and only ask questions once everyone is too beaten up to resist. Flash just sits on the stool next to him and companionably asks after him. How's he doing, how's his family doing, is he keeping up with his medication, etc. The rogue admits he screwed up and readily tells the Flash everything he knows. The Flash then tells him to turn himself in and get the help he needs and the rogue just agrees to it, after which the Flash just leaves.

No violence, no threats, just kindness and genuine concern, and he achieves what Batman or Superman could have done in half the time they would have needed.

That scene is tied for my favorite scenes in any animated superhero show.

Spoiler: The other

Show

Thug walks into a room that Batman is investigating. He looks right at Batman, who silently shakes his head. Without a word, the thug turns around and leaves the room. In the hallway, another thug asks him if he found anything. His answer? "Nope."

[Keltest]

I can't remember where it was from (it was an ensemble cartoon, though), but there is one scene that tells me all I need to know about the Flash.

Upon realizing that one of his rogues might be tied to the crisis of the day, he goes to the bar the rogue frequents. Most supers would start a brawl and only ask questions once everyone is too beaten up to resist. Flash just sits on the stool next to him and companionably asks after him. How's he doing, how's his family doing, is he keeping up with his medication, etc. The rogue admits he screwed up and readily tells the Flash everything he knows. The Flash then tells him to turn himself in and get the help he needs and the rogue just agrees to it, after which the Flash just leaves.

No violence, no threats, just kindness and genuine concern, and he achieves what Batman or Superman could have done in half the time they would have needed.

That scene is tied for my favorite scenes in any animated superhero show.

Spoiler: The other

Show

Thug walks into a room that Batman is investigating. He looks right at Batman, who silently shakes his head. Without a word, the thug turns around and leaves the room. In the hallway, another thug asks him if he found anything. His answer? "Nope."

I remember that one. It was the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Good show.

[Darth Credence]

Cicada is an interesting villain in the sense that he falls into a middle ground where he's too weak to be a real threat but just strong enough that any force required to put him down would probably kill him outright.

I personally think ol' Flashy Boy should take the risk and put the poor schmuck out of his and our misery, but...

Spoiler

Show

As to this, I think there is a fatal flaw with the cure. If the cure exists, there is no way that the government doesn't end up forcing the metas already in prison to take it. At the very least, a three strikes law would be implemented. People don't need to consent to be put in prison, and they wouldn't have to consent to have powers taken away. They absolutely should be using that cure to eliminate their Cicada problem.

I love the CW show, but the version of the Flash there has issues. He and the other speedsters run at the speed of plot. You always see them do things that would require ridiculous speeds - last night he cleaned up a room and read every paper in the room to know what was missing in a fraction of a second. That is ludicrous speed. Normally, he runs fast, but his speed can be measured, and it is in the hundreds of mph range, not effectively stopping time speed.

[The New Bruceski]

I can't remember where it was from (it was an ensemble cartoon, though), but there is one scene that tells me all I need to know about the Flash.

Upon realizing that one of his rogues might be tied to the crisis of the day, he goes to the bar the rogue frequents. Most supers would start a brawl and only ask questions once everyone is too beaten up to resist. Flash just sits on the stool next to him and companionably asks after him. How's he doing, how's his family doing, is he keeping up with his medication, etc. The rogue admits he screwed up and readily tells the Flash everything he knows. The Flash then tells him to turn himself in and get the help he needs and the rogue just agrees to it, after which the Flash just leaves.

No violence, no threats, just kindness and genuine concern, and he achieves what Batman or Superman could have done in half the time they would have needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl91v2Mvv94

[Bartmanhomer]

Another thing I notice that in Season 3 of the Flash, Flash and Kid Flash was racing each other and the Flash can go through building while running.

[Keltest]

Another thing I notice that in Season 3 of the Flash, Flash and Kid Flash was racing each other and the Flash can go through building while running.

Yeah, the pseudoscience is that he is vibrating his molecules such that he phases through the building.

[Anteros]

The Flash once outran a nigh-omnipotent being instantaneously teleporting across the universe to Earth. In essence, he outran thought.

I was told once that other villains tend to underestimate Flash’s rogues because they tend to be one-trick ponies with gadgets, but the Flash is so powerful the fact that they give him any trouble at all is impressive.

He's also lost to Deathstroke on multiple occasions because Deathstroke held an object completely still while Flash runs into it. Comics are just inconsistent and poorly written to the point where you can't really apply individual feats to other stories, even when it's the same character.

[Reddish Mage]

The Flash's abilities should make him a nigh-omnipotent being: he's shown unparalleled speed, ability to react, infinite mass punch, lightning, ability to phase through solid objects, and he can time travel. And he can do all of this in combat.

Yet somehow he can get stopped by...a boomerang? Really. Not a faster-than-light boomerang....but a boomerang. Also he gets caught by traps like nets and glue, hit by guns, ... and non-superpowered villains somehow manage to get a bead on him all the time.

Forget the inconsistencies of physics, or inconsistencies from story to story. The Flash has fundamental attributes that are plainly described and shown...and yet they are selectively weak in very oddly specific ways as soon as the villain attacks.

[Bartmanhomer]

The Flash's abilities should make him a nigh-omnipotent being: he's shown unparalleled speed, ability to react, infinite mass punch, lightning, ability to phase through solid objects, and he can time travel. And he can do all of this in combat.

Yet somehow he can get stopped by...a boomerang? Really. Not a faster-than-light boomerang....but a boomerang. Also, he gets caught by traps like nets and glue, hit by guns, ... and non-superpowered villains somehow manage to get a bead on him all the time.

Forget the inconsistencies of physics or inconsistencies from story to story. The Flash has fundamental attributes that are plainly described and shown...and yet they are selectively weak in very oddly specific ways as soon as the villain attacks.

Flash is very weak.

[Traab]

Flash is very weak.

When he isnt evacuating entire cities in mid nuclear blast, or feeling a bullet hit the back of his neck and dodging it without taking any damage. Or revealing his reaction time and thought process can be measured in attoseconds which are barely measurable by the most advanced technology we have today. Then he steps in a puddle and crashes into a wall, allowing the trickster to cover him in glue and feathers.

[Devonix]

To this day it's still kinda strange that people say " The Flash " when they're talking about 4-6 different people with different feats and abilities.

It's like people saying Robin has done this, and not saying Tim or **** has done this.

[Traab]

To this day it's still kinda strange that people say " The Flash " when they're talking about 4-6 different people with different feats and abilities.

It's like people saying Robin has done this, and not saying Tim or **** has done this.

Pfft, the flash can never beat the green lantern, at least we can all agree on that. /whistles innocently

[Pex]

The other powers Flash has on the current tv show is Shake Head When Speaking and Keep Losing Until The Season Finale

[Mordar]

The other powers Flash has on the current tv show is Shake Head When Speaking and Keep Losing Until The Season Finale

I've just decided he's like Fezzik. He hates for people to lose embarrassed.

So he sandbags and lets his "teammates" feel like they make important contributions and his adversaries feel like they were a real threat.

There's a reason Reverse Flash and Zoom are his real enemies.

- M

[Psyren]

Ive always been a fan of the "everybody up to and including the Flash himself is scared of the Flash going all out, so they all agree to play nice" thing he has going on with his rogues. Its a level of humanization for both him and the villain that characters like Superman don't have so much. They aren't trying to make a point, or kill the Flash for their ego, or otherwise be super destructive, and the Flash doesn't want to have to resort to a lethal and dangerous amount of force to stop them. Neither side is interested in that kind of war, and theyre willing to admit it.

Yeah but come on. Does he really need physics-warping, world-threatening power to permanently stop the likes of... Captain Boomerang?

There's a reason Reverse Flash and Zoom are his real enemies.

Because only other speedsters could remotely threaten someone that powerful. That doesn't make it particularly engaging though.

[Devonix]

Yeah but come on. Does he really need physics-warping, world-threatening power to permanently stop the likes of... Captain Boomerang?



Because only other speedsters could remotely threaten someone that powerful. That doesn't make it particularly engaging though.

Boomerang and the other Rogues are all rather very competent. and you don't need to be a Speedster to threaten a speedster. One thing a lot of people do is put too much emphasis on the power and not the character. Flash CAN do all of these things, but at the end of the day he's still a human, with human insecurites and human weaknesses. He doesn't pay attention to eveything. You can catch him off guard.

[Bohandas]

It just occurred to me that he's implicitly immune to x-rays and gamma rays and also a low-grade clairvoyant, because at the speeds he moves everything would be heavily blueshifted

[Devonix]

It just occurred to me that he's implicitly immune to x-rays and gamma rays and also a low-grade clairvoyant, because at the speeds he moves everything would be heavily blueshifted

Shh shh don't think to hard about it.