Bart Allen

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Bart Allen's origin is deeply rooted in the complex family tree of the Allen and Thawne lines. Born to Meloni Thawne, a descendant of Professor Zoom, and Don Allen, son of Barry Allen (the second Flash), Bart has relatives on both heroic and villainous sides. His paternal grandmother is Iris West, who is also the adoptive aunt of Wally West. On his mother's side, he is related to supervillains like Cobalt Blue and is the half-brother of Owen Mercer, the second Captain Boomerang. Bart was born with full super-speed while his cousin Jenni Ognats (XS) did not initially display powers. Due to rapid aging, he appeared twelve when chronologically only two years old. To prevent mental health issues from this accelerated growth, he was raised in a simulated reality adhering to his perception of time. When this failed, Iris West brought him to the 21st century. There, Wally West tricked Bart into overexerting his abilities to return his metabolism to normal.

In Their Own Story

Bart's early career saw him join the Teen Titans before becoming a founding member of Young Justice alongside Robin and Superboy. During this time, he developed the ability to create Speed Force energy duplicates, though one clone was killed during "Our Worlds at War," causing Bart to temporarily quit the team to confront his mortality. Shortly after joining the Titans, Deathstroke (possessed by Jericho) shot him in the knee; while recovering and reading every book in the San Francisco Public Library, he reinvented himself as Kid Flash. During Infinite Crisis, Bart stopped Superboy-Prime's rampage by running him into the Speed Force with help from Wally West and Jay Garrick. After Wally and Jay disappeared, Barry Allen, Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury aided him. Following Superboy-Prime's escape, Bart pursued him for four years in an alternate Keystone City. Upon returning to his universe with amnesia, he participated in the Battle of Metropolis. Eventually, as The Flash in The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, he fought the Rogues until Inertia's machine drained his powers. Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard killed him in a panic. He remained dead for two years before Brainiac 5 resurrected him in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds.

Reader's Guide

Bart Allen's journey involves distinct eras and aliases defined by specific comic runs. He began as Impulse in The Flash (vol. 2) #91-#92 (1994), starred in the series Impulse (1995–2002), and later led The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive (2006–2007). His tenure as the fourth Flash ended with his death in issue #13 of that series. In 2009, he was resurrected in Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. During DC's The New 52 era, a character named Bar Torr used the alias Bart Allen in Teen Titans before being written out and erased by the DC Rebirth initiative. The original Bart returned via Wonder Comics' Young Justice series. Key allies include Max Mercury, who took custody of him in Manchester, Alabama, and later adopted him alongside Jay Garrick. His relationship with Wally West was central; Bart served as his teenage sidekick until Wally's apparent death in Infinite Crisis. Writers noted that Bart's death was an editorial decision to conclude a five-issue run involving the Rogues.

Did You Know?

• Bart was chronologically only two years old when he appeared twelve due to rapid aging from the Speed Force.
• He reads every single book in the San Francisco Public Library while recovering from a knee injury before becoming Kid Flash.
• Bart's death at the hands of Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard was an editorial decision for his five-issue run as The Flash.
• He is the half-brother of Owen Mercer, the second Captain Boomerang.
• During The New 52 era, a character named Bar Torr used the Bart Allen alias before the original continuity was restored in DC Rebirth.