Now that The Flash is playing in theaters across the world, comic book fans once again find themselves asking a very important question: Is Barry truly the fastest man alive, or would he be humbled in a race against Superman?
The Flash and his associates often call him “the fastest man alive,” but does that mean the Scarlet Speedster can go toe-to-toe with Superman and live to tell the tale? While there are some factors to consider in this potential match-up, you have to understand that comic books never answer this question with certainty, and different timelines always follow different rules.
What’s more, every Flash has a unique speed based on their connection to the Speed Force. And considering the fact that the Speed Force is one of the Seven fundamental aspects of the DC universe — and one associated with movement and velocity, at that — the conclusion is a simple matter of what the respective superheroes can tap into when it comes to superpowers.
So, who is faster, The Flash or Superman?
We all know that the Man of Steel is “faster than a bullet,” and when it comes down to it, he can spin across the world so fast as to turn back time itself. That’s probably the reason why he can see and react to The Flash while he taps into the Speed Force. An instance of this happened in Justice League, and that movie continued to flirt with the idea of a race between them to the very end. But ultimately, the Scarlet Speedster would come out on top in such a race, and here’s why.
While Superman has super-speed, The Flash is connected to the Speed Force itself, and can continue to increase his speed with training. Superman turned back time once, but that’s the bread and butter of Barry Allan, to the point that The Flash is essentially a meme when it comes to changing timelines and creating alternate realities. (Even the 2023 movie revolves around Barry messing with the timeline… again.)
There is one other instance in the comics (Superman Giant #9) where the Man of Steel wins a race against The Flash, but only because Lex Luthor motivates him to do so by promising to give $1 billion away to charity. In the grand scheme of the DC universe, though, Superman would always lose to The Flash, and a 2018 issue of his comic series, The Flash #49, confirms that the Man of Steel wouldn’t be able to keep up with different versions of his Justice League teammate.
So, if that sequence at the end of Justice League ran but a little bit longer, you’d see that the Scarlet Speedster can outrun even Superman.
