How Wonder Woman Can Run as Fast as Flash (Without The Speed Force)

While debates surrounding the fastest characters in the DC Universe often focus mainly on the so-called “Speedsters” like the Flash and his ilk, Wonder Woman deserves to be included in that conversation. In an issue of DC Nation, a free monthly comic that interviews writers and artists working at DC, writer Josh Williamson answered the question of which ten DC characters would win in a hypothetical foot race. Diana actually managed to come in seventh, beating two of the more stereotypical speedsters.

Speedsters are generally classified as characters in the DC Universe whose primary superpower is super speed. The first of these characters to appear in the comics was Jay Garrick, the original Flash. Over the years, more speedster heroes appeared following in Garrick’s footsteps and many speedster villains appeared to oppose them. Most of these speedsters derived their powers from a mysterious entity known as the Speed Force. The Speed Force enables them to surpass even the laws of physics, letting them reach speeds that would have been impossible otherwise. However, different speedsters have varying levels of ability to tap into this force, thus limiting the maximum speeds they can reach.

According to Williamson in DC Nation #2 (2018), while Wonder Woman doesn’t have the ability to access the Speed Force, she is still able to beat both Kid Flash and Godspeed in a hypothetical race, coming in at seventh place. This is due both to Kid Flash and Godspeed being slower than other speedsters and to Wonder Woman being a great runner. Wallace West is still a relatively new in his role as Kid Flash and thus doesn’t have enough experience yet to have a superlative grasp on his powers, while Godspeed’s speed has been siphoned away by Kid Flash and Barry Allen to keep his powers in check. Wonder Woman on the other hand can make up for her lack of a connection to the Speed Force with the deep knowledge of the mechanics of running that she learned in her Amazon training. So while she may not to be able to use the raw speed that the two speedsters have access to, she can utilize her speed more effectively, enabling her to outpace them.

Interestingly enough, Wonder Woman isn’t the only non-speedster on the list. Her enemy Cheetah actually ranks one place above her despite also lacking a connection to the Speed Force. This is due to Cheetah’s complete lack of hesitancy in her movements. The economy of motion this grants her enables her to move more quickly than most of the characters in the DC universe, even those who can access the Speed Force. The fastest non-speedster on the list is Superman, who manages to come in fourth. Although he may lose to the likes of Wally West and Reverse Flash in a footrace, Williamson does note that in the air, Superman’s speed is unmatched.

The results of this hypothetical race between the fastest characters of the DC Universe show that pure power isn’t everything. Efficiency, knowledge and experience will always beat raw speed. That is what enables Wonder Woman to run faster than the likes of Kid Flash and Godspeed, despite being unable to access the Speed Force like Flash can.