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The Flash — Description

Wally West is, without the slightest hesitation or apology, The best Flash. Yes, yes, I know the scarlet speedster first struck gold with Barry Allen (and to a lesser but no less important part with Jay Garrick) and while his place in the DCU isn't quite as secure
as it once was due to reboots bringing back his silver-age mentor, Wally was the one who taught me love the character. He was my first introduction to the mantle in comics similar to how Kyle introducted me to GL, and only afterwards did I retrace the legacy
to appreciate the man who came before. Created as Kid Flash before inheriting the role following Barry's heroic sacrifice, Wally accomplished somethin' few sidekicks ever manage: he proved that legacy doesn't have to be limited by the past. one of the core
things I always felt DC had over Marvel (less so today) was that they had their next generation of heroes already in training. Dick could arguably replace Bruce if needed, Roy could carry on Ollies crusade, Garth and Donna could take up their mentors mantles and
carry them forward - their world could move beyond the characters (in theory. lets face it, fans don't let go easily hahah)
Under writers who understood the assignment, he evolved from an impulsive sidekick living in another man's shadow into arguably the definitive version of the cahracter, mastering the Speed Force in new ways and pushing the very boundaries of what speed could mean in superhero fiction, becoming not just faster than Barry in more ways than one, but richer in experience, more complete as a hero, and gloriously comfortable in his own skin.
His greatest victories weren't measured in impossible feats of velocity, though there were plenty of those, but in watching a young man grow into a husband, a father, a mentor in his own right, and the beating heart of an entire heroic family.
In recent years it's felt like they've not really known what to do with him, and he's ended up feeling a little shoehorned in now that Barry's back in the spotlight. I should mention, it's not like I lack love for Barry - he ran his race well, but I felt like his sacrifice in
Crisis on Infinite Earths was the perfect cap to his heroic tale, and that he served better as a benchmark for Wally to measure himself against from there - he became a heroic ideal that I feel got muddied a little with bringin' him back.
anywho, Wally had some real competition to contend with with Zoom (hunter zolomon) and Savitar (the real deal, not the nonsense tv version) as well as a HOST of other villains ranging from girded goliaths to stitched-mouthed serial killers and he always managed to come out on top, a testament to heroism and - just to reiterate - the greatest of his number to ride the lightning.