The Flash is not only the fastest character in superhero comics, but one of the most powerful characters in the DC Universe. From Jay Garrick to Avery Ho and everyone in between, the Flash has the opportunity to ascend to godhood – he’s simply powerful. And yet, something always holds him back and keeps him humbly human.
The Flash has done many miraculous things in his tenure as a superhero, but there are some limitations and weaknesses that prevent him from reaching his full potential, including his own source of power. Various power limits prevent him from becoming a true godbut these limits were also occasionally broken. Because The Flash will always push the limits – of the universe and of himself.
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Flash Speed Reading Doesn’t Mean Infinite Knowledge
Barry Allen reads an entire library
The Flash can sometimes use his speed powers for something other than his feet. Flash is often seen devouring information at a rapid pace, reading dozens of books in a few seconds. Although at first glance this may seem to mean that the power of speed reading gives the Scarlet Speedster immense knowledge, but unfortunately, knowledge does not remain and has a shelf life in short-term memory.
Impulse was observed to have broken this limit. Bart Allen’s history as Flash is erratic, and his connection to the Speed Force has done miracles for him. Aging and rewinding and flying back and forth in time, it’s no wonder Impulse remembers everything he reads, like the hyperactive fellow he is. Overall, however, this limit on the other Flashes actually prevents them from becoming omniscient in the blink of an eye.
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The Flash can’t control how he changes time
Barry Allen is famous for meddling with time
As much as the Flash is a shining beacon of hope, sometimes his powers become twisted nightmare fuel. As in the case of Flash point by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubrick, Barry Allen’s meddling with time produces disastrous results. The Flash has important ties to the timeline, and while he has the power to affect time and manipulate it to his advantage whenever he wants, he’s certainly no god when it comes to consequences.
The Flash can’t control how he changes timeonly he can change the weather. In Flash point, Not only did the past change, but his actions to save his mother’s life fractured the multiverse and altered the future, even taking away his powers. Ultimately, the Flash is just another consequence in the timeline and not its author, as a god would be.
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Flash doesn’t work with broken legs
Wally West breaks that limit with a Speed Force costume
One of Flash’s limits also highlights one of his coolest feats. As a sprinter is essentially a runner, If they can’t use their legs, they can’t run. When Wally West broke his legs, it completely took him out of the superhero game. In THE Flash #131 by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Paul Ryan, John Nyberg, Tom McCraw, and Gaspar Saladino, The Flash uses a wheelchair as his legs heal, but quickly discovers that his healing factor is as fast as he is.
The Flash isn’t as patient, however, and in the same issue, to help save his speedster friends, he manipulates Speed Force energy to create a suit for himself. With pure energy, Wally West holds his body together and allows himself to run even when his legs are broken. This plot suit is a great example of limiting his powers – broken legs – with a quickly found loophole – thanks, of course, to the Speed Force.
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Flash doesn’t work at all
Flash needs a surface to work
Another simple idea is that a runner needs something to run. The Flash cannot exist in a vacuum and even though he is powered by pure Speed Force energy, he is a human runner who needs something under his feet. Naturally, he is able to run on water, but when it comes to interdimensional physics, the Flash is a step below godhood as he can get stuck without a surface to run on.
However, the Flash’s daughter Irey West may have god-level powers, as DC has hinted in future glimpses of her adult success. In THE Flash #771 by Jeremy Adams and Kevin Maguire, Wally West sees the future versions of his children, and your daughter has the ability to run in the air thanks to his perfection of Speed Force energy.
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Flash’s fast healing does not mean correct healing
Impulse reveals a major flaw in the Speedster’s healing factors
While Flash’s healing factor has been touted as an advantage to his superpowers, it can also be a curse. Just because Flash can heal quickly doesn’t mean he will heal properly. Like any other body, a bone needs to be set correctly before it can heal, and when Impulse begins to heal too quickly before receiving medical attention, it shows a fierce limitation to the speedster’s powers.
In Teen Titans #3 by Geoff Johns, Mike McKone, Marlo Alquiza, Jeromy Cox, and Comicraft, Flash’s healing factor has a major design flaw, and Impulse experiments with it due to his lack of experience in the area. After being shot in the knee, Impulse’s leg heals partially, but incorrectlyshowing how speedsters’ powers can be their own curse. Fast doesn’t always mean good, and in this case, there seems to be no way around this Flash Fact.
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Flash needs the speed force to function
Quicksilver beats Flash in DC/Marvel crossover
In 1994, Flash lore changed forever in The Flash #91 by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo, José Marzan Jr., Gina Going-Raney and Saladino with the first named hint at the existence of the Speed Force. Before this point, the Scarlet Speedster was just a fast runner, and that was the extent of his powers. But with the introduction of the Speed Force, the Flash became a cosmic hero tied to the energy of time, as well as the life force of all creation. However, because of this, the Flash may lose all of his powers when he is separated from the Speed Force.
In JLA / Avengers by Kurt Busiek and George Pérez, the icons of DC Comics go hand in hand with the icons of Marvel Comics. For speedsters, the Flash races Quicksilver, only to lose because, in the Marvel Universe, there is no Speed Force. Although Quicksilver is canonically slower, Flash needs its power source to function.
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The Speed Force poses a danger to Flash
The source of your powers could be your undoing
The Speed Force also opens up some other questions for Central City’s hero. Since the Speed Force functions as a mysterious energy source that any Flash can access, this means that the Flash himself can also be accessed. In THE Flash #771 by Adams, Maguire, Howard Porter, Bryan Hitch, and Scott Kolins, Wally West exploits the Reverse-Flash’s connection to the Speed Force and possesses his body.
Flash himself can be possessed at any timemaking it vulnerable to insider attacks. The Speed Force is unpredictable in its power, such as when it turned Barry Allen into a living bomb in The Flash #83 by Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto and Steve Wands. Threats like possession prevent the Flash from venturing too far into the Speed Force.
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Flashes need lightning rods to stay rooted in reality
Barry Allen shifts through dimensions
One of DC’s speedsters could always run too fast and get lost inside the Speed Force. This has happened to Wally West many times, but he has always spoken of his wife, Linda Park-West, as the lightning rod that keeps him grounded. In The Flash: Rebirth by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, Barry Allen encounters the exact same problem.
Lost in the Speed Force for decades because of his dematerialization due to going beyond what reality can handle, it took a few lightning rods for the Flash to return to the DC Universe. This threat of disintegration is a big problem for the Flashes, considering their entire power depends on how fast they can run. But apparently there is a limit.
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Flash’s powers require a lot of energy to maintain
Sprinters need to eat – a lot
Just like speed reading, it’s not just the feet or healing factors that move at a fast pace for Flash – but also his metabolism. To meet his body’s insane demands, Flash must eat an amount of food that would be lethal to any other human just to survive. Connecting to the Speed Force requires a lot of energy, and that kind of demand might just be the Flash’s secret weakness.
The Flash cannot truly transcend to godhood – because of his simple hunger.
While it doesn’t seem as serious as Superman’s weakness to kryptonite, If Flash’s hunger is not controlled, his overactive metabolism will eat him alive. Unable to save the day due to loss of energy, Flash needs to grab a quick snack to keep fighting. The Flash cannot truly transcend to godhood – because of his simple hunger.
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To be the Flash, you need a genius-level intellect
Barry Allen saves a new speedster from accidental death
Not just anyone can be a speedster, and not just because of the whims of the Speed Force. In fact, Flash’s powers would kill anyone who wasn’t a genius. In The Flash #21 by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato and Carlos M. Mangual, The Flash uses his scientific knowledge to help a new speedster who is running too fast. Barry pulls the speedster out of Earth’s gravitational pull. If it weren’t for Barry Allen, this new young hero would have fled the planet.
The Flash has some dangerous powers, and using the Speed Force means possible destruction, such as flying out of the atmosphere, molecular disintegration, or being lost in time. The Flash needs his genius intellect to survive, because even with his superpowers, he is at the mercy of the physics of reality. It is this genius that allows Flash to know these rules and discover loopholes.
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The flash can be removed with a simple swipe
A banana peel is Flash’s worst nightmare
Sometimes not even science can save the Flash. The Speed Force can be tricky and devastating territory for the Scarlet Speedster, but a simple slip can do just as much damage. Tripping has always been a problem for Flash, but in Justice League of America #154 by Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin, Frank McLaughlin, Jerry Serpe and Ben Oda, The Flash literally slips on a banana peel and throws himself off the planet.
It’s hard for a hero to become a god when a banana peel is his greatest weakness. In this edition, it was an atomic banana peel, but the tripping rule still applies to all super-powered runners. This seemingly minor weakness is the main reason why Flash can never ascend to godhood. At the end of the day, the Flash is just a superhero running around, and he can always trip over — on a banana peel, no less.
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The Flash’s accelerated body gives him a surprising weakness
Wally West flirts with divinity and returns to humanity
The Flash has yet another weakness, and that weakness can kill him in seconds. As seen in The Flash #163 by Pat McGreal, Ron Lim, Doug Hazlewood, McCraw and Saladino, Flash’s entire body is accelerated, including his breathing rate, when he uses his super speed. If he fell into the water, he would drown within seconds, unable to hold his breath due to how quickly his body moves. Fortunately, he can still run fast enough in the water to keep up with this possibility.
With weaknesses to things like water, your own energy source, your metabolism, and even banana peels, it doesn’t look like Flash will have its apotheosis anytime soon. Even though he has performed miracles beyond any other hero’s imagination, the Flash is just a human at the end of the day. More than that, the Flash is the fastest man in the world – but not the fastest god.