He’s speeding to The CW with his own TV show next week -- the Flash!

But the DC Comics hero has had a long and complicated history. In fact, there have been several different characters that have gone by that name. So let’s take a look back at the Scarlet Speedster and how he has evolved over the years.Here’s everything you need to know about the Flash!

Flash Comics #1 (1940)

Showcase #4 (1956)

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The death of Barry Allen

Wally West becomes the Flash.

Bart, Wally, and Barry, as depicted in the Young Justice animated series

Created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, the original, Golden Age Flash debuted in the appropriately named Flash Comics #1 in 1940. Jay Garrick was a college student who -- get this -- during a smoke break, accidentally knocks over his science experiment in “hard water” gasses, whatever that is. He inhales the stuff, collapses, and is near death for weeks… but eventually Garrick is revived and the Flash is born. Now blessed with superhuman speed and reflexes, in his first adventure Garrick manages to get all four of his foes killed. Because that’s how superheroes rolled back then.Clearly inspired by Mercury, the speedy god of Roman mythology, Garrick -- in a burst of old-fashioned overstatement -- is even called the reincarnation of the god in his first issue. God or not, the Flash would become a very popular character among readers, defending his fictional home of Keystone City, and soon joining his fellow heroes in the original super-group known as the Justice Society of America. But in time, superhero comics went out of fashion in favor of other types of stories, like Western, romance, and crime books. And Jay Garrick -- like many of his cohorts -- eventually disappeared from the comics rack altogether, with his last appearance coming in All-Star Comics #57 in 1951.But it didn’t take long for the Flash to return. Just five years later, DC relaunched the character in what would become known as the birth of the Silver Age of comics. Attempts had been made to bring back superheroes before, but this new Flash -- debuting in Showcase #4 in 1956 -- was the first to truly succeed. Spearheaded by editor Julius Schwartz, and created by Robert Kanigher, John Broome, and Carmine Infantino, the Silver Age Flash was Barry Allen, a police scientist who gains his powers after an unlikely run-in with a lightning bolt and some chemicals. Funnily enough, the Jay Garrick Flash is even acknowledged in Allen’s origin tale as a comic-book character that inspires the new Flash’s heroics.By 1959, Allen was popular enough to get his own comic. And with the success of this Flash, superheroes were now hot again. New takes on old characters were launched, a variation on the Justice Society was born called the, ahem, Justice League of America, and even Jay Garrick was reintegrated into this new continuity in the classic “Flash of Two Worlds” story -- thanks to the concept of parallel Earths. And in an early bit of meta storytelling, Allen even refers to Flash creator Gardner Fox in that tale!Garrick’s Golden Age counterparts would soon reappear as well, though of course this would all eventually lead to the insanity known as Crisis on Infinite Earths… But we’ll get to that shortly.Barry Allen remained the Flash for some 30 years, speeding through his home base of Central City, romancing his fiancée and eventual wife Iris West, and picking up a young sidekick in the form of Iris’ nephew Wally West. Created by Broome and Infantino, Wally found himself in the incredibly unlikely situation of also getting powers from a lightning-and-chemical bath. And so he of course became Kid Flash.A bizarre band of villains known as the Rogues would plague Allen over the decades, including guys like Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, the Trickster, the Pied Piper, and more.But by the 1980s, the DC Universe was drowning in all those parallel Earths and multiple continuities that had been suggested way back in the “Flash of Two Worlds” story. And so the Crisis on Infinite Earths came about, a reality-destroying crossover event designed to streamline the world and history of the DC heroes and make them more accessible to new readers. You know, kind of like the more recent New 52…A main story point in Crisis detailed the heroic death of Barry Allen as he tried to save the universe. And since this was way back when comic-book deaths kind of meant something, Allen actually stayed dead for 23 years. And so Wally West took on the mantle of his dead uncle, becoming the new Flash.In the process, DC had also managed to transform their famed speedster into a younger, hipper hero. An attempt was also made to ground Wally's powers somewhat, slowing him down -- relatively speaking -- and requiring him to stuff his face constantly in order to fuel all that super-speedy action.Wally remained the main Flash for many years himself, and in fact his lighter, funnier characterization has often informed the portrayal of the Flash in modern onscreen incarnations like the beloved Justice League animated series. Something called the Speed Force was also introduced during West's tenure in the red suit, an extra-dimensional catch-all explanation for the true source of all the Flashes' powers.By 2006, the fourth Flash had arrived. Created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo, Bart Allen was the grandson of Barry, only from the 30th century (long story). Formerly known as Impulse and then Kid Flash as well, Bart was the sidekick to Wally before graduating to full Flash status himself. He would die shortly thereafter, but don’t worry… Bart returned from the dead eventually.As did his granddad Barry, who’d been dead ever since Crisis but finally returned in 2008 and 2009’s Final Crisis and The Flash: Rebirth stories. It turns out he’d been trapped in the Speed Force all those years -- or something -- which might've had fans crying foul if DC didn't go and reboot everything again just two years later with their New 52 continuity crunch, where Barry is once again the main Flash.But, hey, that’s comics for you. And in any case, these varied and crazy Flash tales provide a plethora of storylines for the new TV series to draw from… not to mention the Speedster’s inevitable launch on the big screen. Because you’ve gotta figure that’ll be here before you know it too. You might even say it’s coming… in a Flash!

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