The Flash comics have evolved over the years with several iterations of the scarlet speedster. However, given the similarities that each version of Flash shares, the comics are bound to have some recurring tropes that might have overstayed their welcome. 

From using time travel as a convenient plot point to killing off characters for shock value, The Flash-centricstories in DC Comics have their fair share of cliches that can frustrate some loyal fans. Readers can argue that these cliches are defining factors of the character arcs of The Flash universe. But given the character’s rich mythology and the presence of several other superfast metahumans, the series can incorporate a few fresh changes. 

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A New Flash For Every Generation

Passing the baton from one version of the scarlet speedster to another has proven to be a staple of his character since his debut. While Jay Garrick had a distinct visual style with his winged helmet and vintage costume, the subsequent heroes like Wally West, Barry Allen, and Bart Allen had to have different personalities (since they more or less sport similar-looking costumes and powers). 

Even though adolescent speedsters like Kid Flash and Impulse add some diversity to the roster of speedsters, their powers end up being very similar. It might be tiresome for some readers to see the writers just borrowing traits from each iteration and virtually recreating the same hero over and over. 

Messing Up The Timeline

The Flash can use his superspeed to reverse the very fabric of time, going back in the past in this process. However, as time-travel fiction has shown, interfering with the time-space continuum is bound to have negative consequences. The speedster is aware of the repercussions and is still ready to go back in time, only to create more problems. 

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The biggest example is perhaps The Flashpoint Paradox in the 2010s crossover comic issue Flashpoint. Through this event, Barry Allen aimed at saving his mother but ended up creating a whole different timeline for the DC Universe. Other Flash comic issues like Crisis On Infinite Earths, Final Crisis, and Race Against Time, all deal with similar interferences with the timeline. Seeing the same issue arise might just feel repetitive and be boring for the readers. 

Captain Cold’s Grey Areas

Most of the main comic villains in The Flash comics have grey areas and his nemesis, Captain Cold, clearly fits in this category. Leading the Rogues, he seems to function as an antihero as he functions according to a strict code of ethics. He always ensures that no innocent civilians are harmed in his villainous missions. 

Hence, it is not surprising to note that the Flash and Captain Cold have also joined forces at times. But Cold’s arc again has become quite predictable. Several stories around the character deal with him embarking on an antagonistic route and eventually having a change of heart. At this point, with a main part in DC’s Arrowverse, Cold feels more like a hero than a villain. 

Character Deaths

Nora Allen in Flashpoint, Iris West in The Death of Iris West, Supergirl in Crisis on Infinite Earths. These are a few examples of the major character deaths in the Flash comics over the years. While the saddest deaths in The Flash comics do carry depth and motivate the speedster to take major measures, it is just a tired and tested element by now. 

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Like other comics of the time, killing off a female character seems like a cheat code for the Flash to go through a major dramatic phase. This would then be followed by violent outbursts or the usual time-travel antics. Barry Allen himself died in Crisis and while his sacrifice held some relevance, he was resurrected a few years later. Reverse Flash also dies in the comics only to come back in titles like Blackest Night. 

Too Many Speedster Heroes And Villains

The villains faced by the Flash are either speedsters like him or they boast powers other than superspeed. Despite some of the iconic villains in the latter category, they aren’t as strong as speedsters like Zoom, Reverse-Flash, Black Flash, and Savitar. When they clash with The Flash, the situation turns into a “survival of the fastest.” 

It is almost a laughable cliche now that the “fastest man alive” is not the fastest anymore as new speedsters show up from one dimension or the other. What follows is a clash of the two speeding titans as they race against each other all over the city, leaving behind colored trails of lightning. 

Narrow Escape From Death

The Flash’s adventures can be quite extreme at times and can even cost him his life. For instance, in Flashpoint, Barry Allen seeks to gain Thomas Wayne’s help in recreating his now-lost powers. The result is an elaborate experiment in which Barry gets electrocuted by lightning. In Final Crisis, it is revealed that Barry had been running in the Speed Force for more than two decades to escape the Death God Black Racer. 

With newer The Flash comic issues, such close experiences with Flash’s death are becoming quite mainstream. It becomes predictable that the Flash would have a fatal experience but eventually survive. After all, the Flash will eventually get resurrected even if he dies. 

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The Flash Loses His Powers

From superhuman agility to time travel, the Flash boasts a variety of powers. An obvious theme in classic heroes like the scarlet speedster is an arc that involves these superpowered beings losing their abilities. 

Recently, the Trickster cut off Wally West’s legs taking away all of his running ability in The Flash #69. In the Teen Titans crossover series The Lazarus Contract, Deathstroke exacts the Speed Force out of both Flash and Kid-Flash versions of Wally West. The villainous mercenary ends up using their speed abilities to save his son in the past. These are just some of the few examples of the Flash losing his powers. 

Flash’s Speed Has One Weakness That Can Kill Him in Seconds

About The Author


Shaurya Thapa
(727 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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