Top 15 Fastest Superheroes in Marvel & DC (Ranked)

Fast characters and comic books are like Formula One race cars and their engines…they are made for one another. Since the time when superhero comics were first created until now, publishers and creators have continually tried to one-up one another by creating the fastest characters they could. DC created The Flash, and Marvel created Quicksilver. DC created Wally West, and Marvel created Speed. 

Due to the ever–changing landscape of fast characters, it’s been hard to keep track of exactly which are the fastest. I mean, which characters are actually the fastest in all of comics, and which ones are only pretending to be? 

So, to answer this question, I created a list for you. The list takes who I believe to be the 15 fastest characters from both Marvel and DC and organizes them by pure speed and some subjective criteria. So…here are the fastest superheroes in Marvel and DC.

15. Spectrum

Even though she’s not a speedster in the traditional sense, Monica Rambeau’s inclusion as one of the fastest superheroes still makes sense. As a hero, Spectrum has led the Avengers, been Captain Marvel, been a part of Nextwave, the Mighty Avengers, The Ultimates, and more. Her power to absorb energy enables her to travel at the speed of light and venture into the depths of space unharmed. For reference, even I, in my glory days of running, couldn’t muster up speed even close to that. 

And there’s more. You may have noticed that she played a large role in the 2019s ‘Captain Marvel’ movie. Because she’s been used in so many different ways in comics, I suspect that her role in the MCU will continue to expand. 

14. Speed

Speed makes this list not because he is one of Marvel’s fastest superheroes. Instead, he makes it because he’s one of Marvel’s fastest superheroes with the most potential. 

Speed first appeared in ‘Young Avengers’ #10 and has since become a mainstay on the team. He is the brother to Wiccan, and although he’s no match for Quicksilver, he has achieved speeds faster than the speed of sound. That means that he has been able to travel over 1200 miles per hour. 

Speed is an interesting choice for this list because he is so far away from his potential that he may one day become Marvel’s fastest superhero.

13. Superboy

As an offshoot of both Krypton and Earth, Superboy has been gifted a set of powers that would make other superheroes drool. Because he is a clone of Superman, he doesn’t naturally possess all of Superman’s powers. Instead, he clones them. Luckily, of the powers he does inherently possess, speed is one of them.

Superboy is so fast that, if running under Earth’s sun, he can move faster than the eye can see. As a result of his impressive speed, he and Bart Allen, like Superman and Barry Allen before them, have gone toe-to-toe in multiple races to see who is faster. And just like Superman and Barry Allen, we’ve never really been given a definitive answer.

12. Shazam

His story is well-known. Billy Batson, a homeless boy looking for more out of life, follows a mysterious figure into a nearby subway station. As he arrives, he quickly notices a strange-looking Subway car and, along with the mysterious man, jumps in. The car takes the two to an old man who tells Billy that he is looking for a successor to bestow great power on. With Billy’s acceptance, he instructs him to utter the word Shazam.

As Shazam, Billy is granted many powers, including superhuman speed. His speed allows him to travel at velocities similar to Barry Allen’s. But that isn’t all. Because his powers derive from so many Gods, Billy can also fly through the depths of space unharmed and, in early iterations of the character, could even fly faster than the speed of light.

11. Quicksilver 

Quicksilver…the man many believe to be Marvel’s answer to DC’s The Flash. 

Quicksilver, as his name implies, is really fast. Quicksilver can easily reach high supersonic speeds of Mach 4 to Mach 5. To put that into perspective, even the fastest car in the world can only achieve speeds of 301 miles per hour. Simple math says that Quicksilver is several times faster than the fastest car in the world. 

Remembering back to when he first appeared in the ‘Days of Future Past’ movie, it’s easy to see why they slowed down time around him. Can you imagine what it would look like if they hadn’t? I can. Instead of being the best scene in the movie, it would have looked like a blurry, blue poop streak on a child’s underwear. 

10. Northstar/Aurora

If the Alpha Flight twins inclusion here confuses you, let me explain why they’re here.

Separated at birth and reunited by Wolverine for the Alpha Flight team, Northstar and Aurora have identical powers. Their powers allow them to control the kinetic energy in their bodies, allowing them incredible speed.  And what kind of speed are we talking about?

Together, the twins are capable of moving at light speed. Yeah, light speed. I will, however, mention one important thing. Neither has mastered exactly how to control the effect that light speed has on their bodies, so they don’t do it too often.

9. Supergirl

Superman’s “older” cousin has the same potential as him, in theory, so it’s not surprising that she has exactly the same speed potential as him. Even though Supergirl is, due to lack of control of her powers, many times slower than Superman due to her Kryptonian physiology, she is already among the fastest characters in DC and is frequently compared to the Flash.

8. Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a demigoddess, and not only that, but she also received various blessings from various Olympian Gods. This is what separates her from other Amazons and makes her physical aspects all the more enhanced.

Wonder Woman is often compared to Superman, and for a good reason, she is easily among the fastest characters in DC and can reach the speed of light while flying in outer space. On Earth, this speed is a bit more humble. Nevertheless, she is both among the fastest combatants and can usually match Flash’s cruising speeds.

7. Nova

Most of the time, when characters have faster-than-light speeds, you know they move in space often; Nova is no exception.

Due to access to Nova Force, Nova can move at speeds several times faster than the speed of light, and while on the surface of the planet, he can at least run several hundred miles an hour. What’s interesting is that the exact limits of Nova’s speed aren’t known.

6. Makkari 

Makkari is an Eternal who possesses incredible speed. As such, he is the fastest of all the Eternals. As an Eternal, he is telepathic, incredibly strong, near-immortal, can fly, and project energy. What makes Makkari unique as an Eternal is his obsession with speed. Makkari is so obsessed that he has drained his other abilities and channeled them into his speed.

Already the fastest of the Eternals, Makkari, with his other abilities drained, has become one of the fastest beings in all of Marvel. Unfortunately, his obsession has come at a cost. Because he’s drained his other abilities, he isn’t as strong as other Eternals, and his body can become fatigued to the point of sickness.

5. Superman

I’ll be honest. I had trouble putting Superman on this list. I had trouble not because he didn’t deserve to be here. No, not at all. I had trouble because any sort of “Top 10 Superheroes Who…” list almost always includes him. Let’s be real. 

Superman is absolute perfection in the superhero realm. He has every known power in existence. He can do anything the writers need him to do. And he has single-handily saved the Earth more times than can be counted. 

My reservations aside, he still deserves to be considered one of the fastest superheroes. And here’s why. Superman is so fast that he and The Flash have had multiple races to see which of the two is the fastest. That’s right. He and the fastest man alive compete to see who is actually faster.

4. Sentry

I had doubts about whether to put Sentry on this list, just like with Superman. Sentry is currently such a broke character and beyond overpowered, so it doesn’t surprise us that he is among the fastest Marvel characters as well.

Sentry, despite being a relatively young superhero, already has impressive speed feats. He was able to fly to the sun in just a few moments, which means that he is many, many times faster than light. Sentry, in fact, doesn’t merely fly; he bends time and space around himself through pure speed. The limits of Sentry’s speed aren’t exactly known, considering that he literally moves the space around himself.

3. Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer has often been synonymous with incredible speeds and interstellar travel. He is notable for being the Herald of Galactus, and what does this mean? Silver Surfer needs access to reality-breaking speeds to find appropriate planets for his master to consume. Luckily Power Cosmic that Surfer has access to grants him to speed with which he can easily traverse the large cosmic distances in no time.

Silver Surfer is many times faster than light, as his estimated speed is 500,000 light-years per second. Silver Surfer is so fast that he can enter hyperspace, although while moving within the outer layers of the planet’s atmosphere, his speed is limited to Mach 10. I think this justifies his place on this list.

2. Flash – Barry Allen

Most don’t even need to be a fan of comics to have heard the name The Flash before. Barry Allen is the quintessential speedster and has personified what it means to live life in the fast lane since his debut. While not the first Flash character, Barry Allen is the most important.

Throughout his history, he has sacrificed everything for the greater good, lost love, and done so because that’s what heroes do. Barry Allen is everything The Flash stands for because he wrote the book on what it means to be the Flash.  And the fastest superheroes list just isn’t complete without Barry Allen.

1. Wally West

For as long as Wally West has existed, there has been a debate as to whether or not he is faster than Barry Allen. Recently, DC released a chart depicting their fastest characters in order of slowest to fastest. And with that chart, the world had its answer. Wally West.

Of all the characters in DC, Wally West is the fastest superhero they have. And why? Because while others use the Speed Force, Wally has become one with it. To put it into perspective, Wally West is so fast that he has covered over 7,000 miles in just under 7 seconds. If you ever thought Barry Allen was the fastest Flash, consider yourself educated.

And I’m gonna wrap it up here. The fastest superheroes in all of comics. What do you think? Who would make your fastest superheroes list?