In his 79 year history, there have been several who have taken the mantle of the Flash, and with all the characters who have taken the mantle, Barry Allen is arguably the most popular. Although he wasn’t the first Flash, he’s basically started the Silver age of comics and has been the Flash in just about every portrayal of the Scarlet Speedster.
With his appearance in hundreds of shows, both animated and live-action, there are very few that have captured the true essence of what makes Barry Allen the best Flash. Here are 10 of the best onscreen portrayals of Barry Allen, who is better known as The Flash.
Justice League of America (1997)
This 1997 Pilot proved an unsuccessful try to get our favorite DC superhero team on the small screen. the storyline was following a young hero in her recruitment into the Justice League. The movie sets up mock interviews and shows the hero’s candid response to living a double life.
As a long-time member of the Justice League, of course, Barry Allen made an appearance as the Flash and managed to get a good amount of screentime, despite the cheesy costume. Part of what makes the Flash a great hero is Flash mythos is his great ability as a forensic scientist.With its little potential, it’s not expected it would have an accurate portrayal of any of the heroes, including the Flash.
Justice League: New Frontier (2008)
This animated film gives us the heroes fighting together for the very first time and defeating the sea monster that was causing destruction to the city. This telling of the story portrays a lot of our heroes in their early Silver Age depictions, giving them a stoic and God-like perfection to their characteristics.
The Flash is viewed as a perfect hero which is inaccurate to who Barry is today. What makes Barry a great hero is his empathy and his big heart, the fact he’s willing to see the good in others, even when they don’t see it themselves. It’s part of what makes the Flash one of the greatest heroes in DC and a well-respected one among his peers. Although the movie was great overall, it lacked giving Barry the moral values he carries with him in his evolution as a hero.
Justice League Doom (2012)
Arguably one of the best Justice League movies to date, Justice League Doom, is based on comic JLA: Tower of Babel, a story where some of the greatest villains steal Batman’s contingency plans to take down the Justice League and almost kill every member. One of the heroes almost taken out is The Flash when he is tricked into taking a bomb that explodes if he stops moving, forcing him to run until he gets too tired.
The movie is full of action scenes, with the Flash taking on Mirror Master and other Rogues with ease. We never really see Barry fighting, since he’d rather outrun or run past his villains. Seeing him in combat only goes to show how much of a great hero Barry really is.
Justice League VS Teen Titans (2016)
This Justice League animated movie deals with the Justice League taking on the Teen Titans after the League is possessed by the demon Trigon. Among the heroes possessed is The Flash who actually almost singlehandedly takes down the Titans before Superman steps in, but this is where we really see how bad things would be if our favorite speedster turned bad.
The Flash is not often seen as strong or powerful but we forget just how amazing some of his greatest feats are. Although we only saw a small glimpse of a Rogue Flash, we saw all we needed to see to know not to mess with Barry.
The Flash (1990-1991)
The show that showed us the Flash long before Grant Gustin’s portrayal, This CBS show was short-lived but still gave a lasting impact to Barry as a hero. Although his backstory is nothing like the comic book origins, the show does a good job showing Barry as a hero.
With John Wesley Shipp doing a great job with the character it is a shame the cheesy writing and 90s special effects made the show so short. Lucky for us, we can continue to see this Flash running around as he’s made an appearance in the Elseworlds crossover and is coming back in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.
Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
Not quite the movie one would expect to nail the character of Barry Allen down but nevertheless a great portrayal of the Flash in more ways than one. In a Groundhog Day type scenario, Reverse-Flash manipulates the Speed Force to put The Flash into a time loop, which forces him to re-live the same day over and over again. The Flash must find a way to restore time and finally apprehend his worst enemy before all is lost.
The short movie takes things from Flash mythos and accurately portrays them and the character himself is seen as the comic relief, much like he has been in the comics and shows for years. Although Wally West is more of the jokester, its easy to forget that Barry Allen is the lovable goofball who started it all.
Justice League (2017)
The first official big-screen performance, Ezra Miller takes on the lightning bolt and speeds past us as Barry Allen in the DCEU. He has the looks, the charm, the suit, but unfortunately lacks the personality to be Barry Allen.
His constant joking and failure to take anything seriously, and the fact the movie sort of paints him spineless, Miller didn’t fully portray the Flash as he should’ve been. Although Barry is comic relief, he’s also calm under pressure and very analytical in his attacks, even from the moment he got his powers.
Death of Superman (2018)
This movie is everything the live-action Batman vs Superman was supposed to be and more. Following a similar plot as Dawn of Justice, Doomsday threatens to destroy Metropolis and the only one that can take him is Superman. But we see the entire League attempt to take on Doomsday and the last hero standing before Superman saves the day is the Flash.
After Doomsday almost kills everyone in the League, Barry manages to use Hawkman’s mallet and is the first to actually do some damage before he, like the other members, is almost killed. This short moment shows us how fearless the Flash is, running towards danger to risk his life for others.
CW The Flash (2014-present)
Grant Gustin has done an amazing job taking on the role of Barry Allen. With a show full of ups and downs with bad writing, cheesy moments, and weird plots, Gustin has been consistently the best part of the show in more ways than one.
He embodies the Flash better than most and in his six-year tenure as the Fastest Man Alive has the experience no other actor has ever had. With his selfless attitude, his brief comic moments, and his willingness to sacrifice himself without a second thought, Gustin has all the acting chops to accurately play Barry Allen perfectly.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
A telling of the comic with the same name, Barry travels back in time to save his mother from being killed by Reverse-Flash. In doing so, he created a world where he wasn’t the Flash, his mother was still alive, and all the other heroes lived different lives in one way or another.
