# The Flash: All I can do is run fast... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491 "2003-05-21T03:36:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/21 "2003-05-22T02:31:04Z")
Back when Cheeks still had a comics page, he had a column up explaining Barry Allen’s speed ability. This did, of course, ignore all the “speed force” stuff. Remember, Barry was noted for being an exceptionally slow and methodical man as a police scientist. The columnist supposed that his “super-speed” was really a time-distortion effect; that he could work at a hundred times normal speed for short bursts, but needed to live most of the time at, say, 95% normal time-flow to balance the speed episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Trauma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Doc\_Trauma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Trauma)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/22 "2003-05-22T03:07:59Z")
I recall one issue of the Wally West version of Flash that talked about how he could shift his mind into and out of speed mode. It happened when he was talking to his in-laws and everything word they said was drawn out into minute long sylables. I guess moving at speed for Flash is just like moving faster for regular folks. Just because you’re sprinting, doesn’t mean that time moves by any slower or faster (well until you start approaching the speed of light, then all bets are off.) He has the ability to disconnect from the speed force I guess, kinda like a throttle. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/23 "2003-05-22T04:17:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Drop Batman into the middle of the Atlantic, and wave bye-bye… …if he’s unprepared. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/24 "2003-05-22T07:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daniel \* > **In the live-action TV show (I have the origin episode on tape, and it’s pretty good - even has a realistic explanation for his costume), he had the “I have to eat tons of food” problem before he realized he even had super speed. Their explanation was that his body just adjusted to it. The Speed Source explanation, however, leads to much cooler storylines.** Hell yeah! I thought I was the only one that remembers the live action show :D. Whenever I mention it to someone they just give me this blank stare. I don’t even remember how old I was when I saw it. I do remember one episode where his shoes got trapped by glue and he had to run around barefoot. It’s nice to know I didn’t just imagine the whole thing. Now if I can only find someone that’s seen the live action version of The Tick… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/25 "2003-05-22T08:14:49Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Little Nemo_ > C’mon, the Flash is the weakest superhero in the Justice League? What about Hawkman, whose only power is flying? The Atom, whose only power is getting small? Or Batman and the Green Arrow, who technically don’t even have superpowers? I won’t even get into the cliche of Aquaman’s powers. Actually, isn’t Hawkman’s power that he has a _machine_ that lets him fly? Heck, Batman’s got one of those, and his shoots cruise missiles, too. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/26 "2003-05-22T09:42:04Z")
> [@](#): > > My theory is that they watered down all of the characters on the Cartoon Network Justice League because the writers aren’t able to handle the concept of writing them at full strength. Absolutely correct. There was one episode where a friggin’ gas grenade took down Superman. A GAS GRENADE! The guy FLIES IN SPACE! A _GAS GRENADE_!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/27 "2003-05-22T10:27:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*Superman…The guy FLIES IN SPACE! A _GAS GRENADE_!!! \*\* Not without his trusty spacesuit! …I love the cartoon but I also really wish they hadn’t watered all the characters down so much. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/28 "2003-05-22T14:38:32Z")
Well I personally like super heros who are not GODS. It makes the story a little better. In the JL on cartoon network now, which now fills my 10 pm time slot Superman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman and the Matian Manhunter are all pretty much GODS walking the earth. Gee I wonder who’ll win. Right now they are running the time travel to WWII era where a bad has some future tech that is allowing the Nazis to win. They have Steve Trevor and they have this group of pilots. Is that group from a Golden Era book? Also very frustrating is that with GL’s power ring out he is not saying “it takes a lot more than a power ring to be a Green Lantern”. Why the hell not? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/29 "2003-05-22T15:39:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vlad Dracul \* > \*\*…could phase through solid objects by vibration, could run up and down vertical surfaces and across water, and could travel through time and between dimensions… > Imagine a guy who could vibrate his hand into your skull, pull out your brain by vibrating IT, throw it on the ground and run away… all before you even realized he was there! \*\* Just trying to understand this power. Is it even physically possible to vibrate one solid object through another solid object? Like have scientists actually done an experiment, and ended up with a metal bar through a brick wall? Also, in the comics, was there anything that a speedster could not vibrate through? Like a force field or something? ---
**Author:** ![sghoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@sghoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sghoul)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/30 "2003-05-22T16:01:45Z")
They are watered down in the comics all the time. GL: His ring lets him do ANYTHING, and he just uses it to make green baseball bats. A friend has a theory the Oans pick the GL’s based on their non-inventiveness. Flash: Can take out a room full of thugs in under a second, but put him up against the main villain, and suddenly he sucks. Most villains shouldn’t be able to even think as fast as Flash can act. So, by the time they even realize that the flash is there, they should be KO’s by a 1000MPH punch. Supes: Why does one of the most powerful men in the universe have so many normal humans as his main villains? Toyman? Lex Luthor? As Batman once told Supes “If I had your power, I could clean up Gotham in one night”. Wonder Woman: How does a woman, who can lift countless tons, not have muscles dense enough that she doesn’t need to deflect bullets? Firestorm: Why not just turn the air in a person’s lungs into CO2 and keep it that way until the person passes out? See, the problem with many DC heroes is that they are too powerful to make good plot for on a regular basis. So, the writers dumb them down or amp them up as the plot sees fit. I still think Plastic man (when he was in) was the most powerful Leaguer. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/31 "2003-05-22T16:26:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sghoul \* > \*\* > I still think Plastic man (when he was in) was the most powerful Leaguer. \*\* Until Superman burns him to a lump of cinder with his heat vision ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/32 "2003-05-22T16:27:08Z")
Hawkgirl. a God? Hardly. She flies. And has a sparky mace. To be fair, **sghoul** Wonder Woman’s strength is magical in nature. It doesn’t necessarily mean her muscles are super-dense and able to stop a bullet. I have no problem with the watered down versions of our heroes. It’s a justice league tradition. It can go too far. When gas takes out Superman, or when Flash has trouble catching up to a truck (or dodging some flying rubble), that’s just sloppiness. Still, it may be better than every other enemy building a cage of flaming yellow kryptonite. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/33 "2003-05-22T16:32:47Z")
A sparky mace that she can smash through anything. Even though she has wings (that never flap) she is able to fly as fast as any of the more aerodynamic heros. She manages to dodge bullets. Oh and she has a great rack. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/34 "2003-05-22T16:41:01Z")
Where’s Darkseid when you really need 'im? ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Dracul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/50afbb/32.png) [@Vlad\_Dracul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Dracul)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/35 "2003-05-22T18:09:48Z")
Controvert… No, I’ve never heard of anyone actually vibrating one object through another. I doubt that it can be done. 1950’s comic writers played pretty fast and loose with their “scientific justification”. ``` I suppose it's about as plausible as a man whose entire body will withstand nuclear explosions, but can still kiss Lois Lane without his beard stubble cutting her face to ribbons. :) ``` In the Crisis storyline, Flash was trapped in some sort of gel, which he couldn’t vibrate out of. I assume trapping a speedster would be something like tuning your phasers to punch through Starfleet shields… theoretically easy, but hard to match the frequencies. ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/36 "2003-05-22T19:45:24Z")
Slight hijack here: But The Tick featured a superhero called “the running guy” who was “faster than ten fast men” which I thought was hilarious. Yeah, I could whoop up on Flash if he’d stay put. ---
**Author:** ![sghoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@sghoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sghoul)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/37 "2003-05-22T20:01:11Z")
Zebra, Hawk Girl’s wings aren’t real. She flies by means of an Nth metal (yes, Nth metal) belt. the wings are for control, and looks. Her mace is made up for the cartoon, and I doubt it can break ANYTHING. She has never tried it on anything real tough. As for WW, ok her strength is magical. Would it be too much to magically give her tougher skin? If magic can give it Captain Marvel, it can give it to Wonder Woman. It’s just a doofy excuse for her to have to use her bracelets. And, seeing as Plastic man has survived being disintegrated and spread into the oceans for 3000 years, I would say he would survive some heat vision. Besides, seeing as he seems to actually gain the abilities of that which he mimics (when he is a light, he gives off light. If he turns into a can of bug spray, he spray’s bug spray), he could just mimic some kryptonite, and bye bye Supes 😉 But lets face it, Plas is a plot device…and that is why I think he is so powerful, becuase he can do whatever the writers think would be funny. Lobo would kill them all. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/38 "2003-05-22T22:34:57Z")
**sghoul** : In the “War World” episode of the cartoon, Shayera batted a planet-busting ray back into its ultra-cannon with that mace. While flying, yet. If that’s not tough, I don’t know what is. Unless you mean she hasn’t tried to smash something made of whatever it is that Chemo was made from. Upstream a ways, **Zebra** was asking about the WWII time-travel episodes. I would suggest Googling for “Blackhawk” for details on the group of aviators. ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/39 "2003-05-23T02:02:42Z")
The Flash gets a [C+.](http://www.bookofratings.com/moresuperfriends.html) ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/40 "2003-05-23T02:22:19Z")
Slight hijack: Can the Flash kill Omega red? He’s the bad guy from xmen who absorbs powers by bashing people with a spike and he has adamantium armor and about every power in existence(in x-men)(or something along that line).He’s supposed to be omnipotent… So, they both can really kick ass. Bigger hijack: If the Flash can’t kill him, can Mr.Mxypltk or Q of star trek kill Omega red? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491.md?page=3)