Barry Allen

Barry Allen is a DC Comics superhero created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. He first appeared in Showcase #4 (1956), and his debut is widely regarded as the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics.

A forensic scientist working for the Central City Police Department, Barry gained superhuman speed when a bolt of lightning struck a shelf of chemicals in his laboratory, drenching him in an electrified mixture. Taking the name of his childhood comic book hero Jay Garrick, the original Flash, Barry became the second character to carry the title.

Barry is a founding member of the Justice League and the most prominent speedster in DC's history. He sacrificed his life to save the multiverse during Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) and remained dead for over two decades, a rarity in superhero comics. His return in Final Crisis (2008) and The Flash: Rebirth (2009) reestablished him as the primary Flash in DC's publishing line. His connection to the Speed Force, the extradimensional energy source that powers all speedsters, is central to the DC Universe's cosmology.