How Did Wally West Got His Powers & Become a Speedster?

Several characters have carried the mantle of the Flash over the long history of the character’s existence, and somewhere around the launch of ‘The New 52,’ the story of Wallace West has become increasingly complicated. Nevertheless, Wally is still among the most famous characters to carry the mantle and, depending on your source, the fastest Flash of all time. This is why we decided to go over Wally’s origin story and revisit it. Now, without further ado, let’s see how Wally West got his powers & became a speedster. 

The original Wally West got his powers much in the same way as Barry Allen did. He was struck by lightning inside Barry Allen’s lab while he was near the exact same chemicals that gave Barry his speedster powers. Wallace R. West, on the other hand, got his powers when he was contacted by a future version of Flash when he was supposed to die and absorbed the Speed Force powers, which granted him the speedster powers. 

Now that we’ve covered how Wally (and Wallace) got their powers, it’s time to analyze it in a bit more detail. The story of Wally’s Flash can be difficult to keep up with, so if you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading! 

Wally West got his powers in a nearly identical way as Barry Allen 

Wally West was the son of Iris West’s brother Rudolph. He was a troubled child when he was younger and had a somewhat strained relationship with his parents, and this is why he liked spending time with his aunt and her future husband, Barry Allen. 

Wally also admired the Flash, a superhero gifted with the powers of amazing speed, and the fact that Barry Allen was the president of the local Flash fan club certainly helped him to connect with the youth. Wally West dreamed of meeting Flash, but when he hung out with Barry all that time, he wasn’t aware of how close to his dream he really was. 

One day while Wally was with Iris, visiting Barry’s lab, Barry asked Wally whether he would like to meet the Flash. He claimed that Flash occasionally visits his office, and this just might be Wally’s lucky day. 

Wally was beside himself with excitement and wholeheartedly agreed to meet the legendary Flash. He started making his way toward Barry’s lab, where Flash was allegedly. 

Barry hurried to change into his Flash outfit to meet Wally, and once inside the lab, he started explaining how he got powers. He was showcasing to Wally a mix of chemicals that he was working on when he was struck by a lightning bolt. Just at that moment, while Wally was close to the chemicals, lightning struck him, and he was doused by the chemicals. 

Barry immediately tested Wally for powers, and it turned out that Wally could keep up with him even though he was running with Super Speed. Barry gave a ring containing the suit to Wally containing the suit and took him under his win as a mentor. From that day forward, Wally was known as the Kid Flash. 

Unfortunately, Wally West will be removed from the continuity following the 2011 ‘ The New 52 Reboot’ and replaced by a different character, Wallace R. West. 

The New 52 introduced the new version of Wally West 

Following ‘The New 52’ reboot of the DC universe, Wally West was introduced as a biracial character to match its Arrowverse counterpart better. 

The new Wally West had a similar story to the former Wally West. Both were Iris’ nephews. Only Wallace R. West was the son of her second brother, Rudy West. Rudy ran off when Wally was a kid, and his mother disappeared during the Crime Syndicate’s attack. 

Wallace turned into a troublemaker, and in one instance, Barry was forced to arrest him for vandalism when he caught him spray painting the wall. Iris explained that she was forced to take Wallace in to stop him from ending up in foster care. However, she admitted that Wallace was in desperate need of a role model, and who was better as a role model than Barry Allen himself? 

Wallace West eventually figures out that Barry Allen is fast, but his life gets even more complicated as 20 years from now, Wally is supposed to be dead. The version of Barry Allen from 20 years into the future aims to stop that and change the course of the future. 

In the story ‘The Flash: Futures End #1,’ which ties into the ongoing narrative of ‘The New 52: Futures End,’ we witness an encounter between two versions of Barry Allen. The first is Barry from five years in the Future, where a young speedster named Wallace is destined to die. The second is Barry from 20 years in the future, who wants to prevent Wallace’s death.

During their battle, Wallace discovers that Barry is the Flash and accidentally absorbs a portion of the Speed Force, the source of the Flash’s abilities. 

This grants Wallace speedster powers, but his time as a hero is brief. He ultimately sacrifices himself to repair a rift in the Speed Force. However, due to the nature of time travel, this event has consequences for Wallace in his own past.

At the same time, in the present-day narrative of The Flash, Barry encounters Wallace for the first time through Iris. In a twist of fate, Barry is struck by lightning and gains super-speed abilities. An apparition of his future self explains that, because of how his future self died while fixing the Speed Force, all the power within him was able to travel back in time and use Wallace’s lightning accident as a catalyst for Barry’s own transformation into the Flash.

The original Wally West once again returns

Fans weren’t pleased with the fact that the original Wally West was seemingly completely erased from the continuity, and due to that, he was re-introduced again in ‘DC Rebirth #1.’ 

In the issue following the Flashpoint, we learn that Wally was trapped in the Speed Force for a decade. He discovered that an unknown entity, not Barry Allen, was responsible for altering reality in the New Earth universe. In an attempt to reach out to his former friends and warn them, Wally falls deeper into the Speed Force until Barry Allen remembers him and pulls him out. 

Wally’s return integrates his previous history into the new timeline, and he joins the Titans to uncover the truth with his friends, believing that the unknown entity will strike again to prevent their discovery.

And that’s it, an interesting albeit complicated history of Kid Flash. Which version of Kid Flash is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!