# Silver Age Flash question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215 "2012-05-17T15:39:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/21 "2012-05-19T00:42:08Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > Supposedly that’s why Quicksilver, one of Marvel’s Speedsters, is always in a bad mood. “Imagine trying to have a conversation with someone when you have to wait 20 minutes before they start to answer a question.” I don’t think they ever talked about it with the Flashes nor really talked about fueling that metabolism except a bit in the animated JL show. I remember some Wally stories talking about him having to eat a lot due to his metabolism, but it was before I was really regularly reading Flash and I don’t recall specifics. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/22 "2012-05-19T03:17:34Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I remember some Wally stories talking about him having to eat a lot due to his metabolism, but it was before I was really regularly reading Flash and I don’t recall specifics. It gets mentioned from time to time, usually to be played for laughs. I vaguely recall a scene in the old _Flash_ TV series with Barry dumping a whole box of cereal in a salad bowl, drowning it in milk, and eating it at superspeed. The animated _Justice League_ Wally takes his coffee with cream and 47 sugars (or something in that neighborhood). None of them actually eat enough to support their speed metabolically, of course. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/23 "2012-05-20T17:42:35Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I remember some Wally stories talking about him having to eat a lot due to his metabolism, but it was before I was really regularly reading Flash and I don’t recall specifics. I remember a random Wally story from probably the 80s where ge lost his powers, and when they tried something to turn them back on, had a dozen or so large pizzas waiting for him to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/24 "2012-05-20T19:05:14Z")
It was a running gag (no pun intended) in the short-lived live-action Flash TV series that Barry Allen began eating ridiculous quantities of food, including a scene where he’s gone through everything in his pantry and looks longingly at a large bag of kibble bought for his dog. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/25 "2012-05-22T02:52:32Z")
Damn, I _loved_ that show (and so did my kids). Dealt with the problems of super-speed (first time Barry tried running, he was out of control and couldn’t stop), AND Mark Hamill did a manic job of playing The Trickster. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215/26 "2012-05-23T17:05:42Z")
Although the TV Flash was Barry Allen, a lot of him was largely based on the post-Crisis Wally West, who was the Flash in the comics at the time. Wally started his Flash career severely powered down from Barry Allen levels and also had had the increased metabolism that kept him constantly eating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silver-age-flash-question/622215.md?page=1)