The Flash Has Spider-Man’s Best Power, Without Even Trying

Despite never having been bitten by a radioactive spider, the Flash from DC Comics can replicate one of Spider-Man’s most iconic powers. In fact, the Scarlet Speedster may have an even better version of the Spider-Sense than Peter Parker himself.

Spider-Man’s unique Spider-Sense alerts him to danger just before it occurs, allowing him a few extra moments to dodge attacks, save lives, and prevent other catastrophes. While extremely helpful, the ability isn’t 100% effective, as the wall-crawler takes fairly regular beatings from his foes and even fails to rescue those who need him on occasion. Nevertheless, his Spider-Sense gives him a massive advantage over a variety of enemies and acts as a valuable tool in his heroic adventures. Although this precognitive power has been a staple in Spidey’s stories for decades, it still doesn’t compare to the impossibly quick capabilities of DC’s Flash, whose superspeed can make a huge difference in the seconds before disaster strikes.

Several heroes have held the mantle of the Flash, with Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West acting as some of the most notable figures to take on the role. These characters share more than a title, however, thanks to their connection to the Speed Force. Though much remains unknown about its nature, the Speed Force is the source of power for DC’s speedsters. Obviously, the main ability resulting from this connection is superspeed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for many of the Speed Force’s conduits. Increased stamina, durability, and healing are all part of the package, as they help to avoid the wear and tear of traveling at superhuman velocities. Plus, by utilizing their links to the Speed Force and manipulating their powers in creative ways, certain characters have also managed to phase through solid objects, generate blasts of lightning, travel through time, and much more.

Amongst all of the amazing abilities granted by the Speed Force is an enhanced mental capacity, which allows a speedster’s mind to move exponentially quicker than that of a regular person. As Barry Allen has explained, he can react to changes around him in one quadrillionth of a second. His senses also function far beyond those of a normal human and are so finely tuned that he can feel minor shifts in air pressure, alerting him to potential threats. Adding all of these abilities together makes the Flash almost untouchable. It’s nearly impossible to surprise him, he can dodge or catch bullets even after they’ve touched him, and he can go so far as to freeze time to investigate an entire area if he feels that something is even slightly off.

Peter Parker’s Spider-Sense is powerful and comes in handy quite often, but the Flash’s brain works at such high speeds that he can detect and respond to threats at a moment’s notice. Technically, Spidey tends to have a longer window of time to react than the Flash, so his ability could be seen as more useful. Of course, Spider-Man isn’t nearly as fast as the Flash, so handing him an extra second or two doesn’t give him any distinct advantages over the speedster. Ultimately, the Flash doesn’t even have to try to replicate the Web-Slinger’s Spider-Sense, as he can naturally respond to the stimuli around him in a fraction of a second. Spider-Man may be more well known for his precognitive responses to danger, but The Flash’s superspeed gives him a more effective version of Spider-Sense.

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