Barry Allen

Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character known as the Flash, following Jay Garrick. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 (October 1956), created by writer Robert Kanigher and penciler Carmine Infantino. A forensic chemist, Barry accidentally gains superpowers following a lightning strike in his laboratory. Like other heroes who go by the Flash, Barry is a "speedster", with powers that derive mainly from his superhuman speed. He wears a distinct red and gold costume treated to resist friction and wind, traditionally storing the costume compressed inside a ring. Created as a reimagining of the popular 1940s superhero The Flash (Jay Garrick), Barry Allen's popularity helped to bring about the Silver Age of Comic Books and contributed to a large growth in DC Comics' stable of science fiction comics and characters. During popular early volumes as the Flash, Barry established his own Rogues Gallery of colorful villains and sci-fi concepts like Gorilla City. Through crossovers with popular characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, Barry Allen's Flash also helped establish DC's flagship Justice League title, whose success would define its publishing strategy for decades to come. Barry Allen's classic stories also introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics, which has played a large part in DC's many continuity reboots over the years. As a result, the Flash has traditionally always had a significant role in DC's major company-wide crossover stories, and in the crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (November 1985), Barry Allen died saving the Multiverse and would not appear again for 23 years. His return to regular comics is foreshadowed during Grant Morrison's crossover story Final Crisis #2 (June 2008), preceding his full return in Geoff Johns' accompanying The Flash: Rebirth (June...