# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/41 "2003-05-23T02:45:49Z")
Sadly, while Plastic Man may not be the weakest member of the team, he is conspicuously out of place in the Justice League, seeing as how the Martian Manhunter has the exact same power at a much more sophisticated level, even being able to change colors and all (which Plas can’t really master, seemingly–so he couldn’t kill Supes by turning into _green_ kryptonite, but might be able to manage red K, I guess). So Plastic Man’s role is purely comic relief, and situations where his power is actually useful are even more contrived than the times when Green Arrow saves the day. True, being able to survive for 3000 years is nothing to sniff at, but then giant sequoias do the exact same thing and no one considers them superheroes. Speaking of the Martian Manhunter, he has to take the award for being the all-time most powerful Leaguer: he has every power imaginable! Flight, superstrength, superspeed, heat vision, telepathy, mind control, shapeshifting, invisibility, intangibility… In short, he can approximate the powers of any other Leaguer, and then some. I’m sure he could even duplicate the Atom’s shrinking ability in a pinch. Unfortunately, he is also the _weakest_ Leaguer, in that he is critically vulnerable to fire. Not magical fire, either, just regular fire like from a Zippo. And you don’t even have to set _him_ on fire; you can just light a match all the way over there on the other side of the room, and he keels over like Superman in a Kryptonite factory. This is a problem on a par with the varioous traditional Green Lantern limitations, and sort of explains why the Manhunter tends to surround himself with other, less flammable superheroes. So maybe it’s a good idea for Plastic Man to stick around after all, just in case. ---
**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 23, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/42 "2003-05-23T04:01:49Z")
To make it worse, the writers can’t seem to settle on whether the Manhunter’s fire weakness is physical or psychological. Maybe all he needs is a good therapist. 🙂 Of course, his biggest weakness is that name! The “Man-hunter”… does JLA have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy? ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/43 "2003-05-23T04:22:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Hawkgirl. a God? Hardly. She flies. And has a sparky mace. Yet on Justice League, she’s practically the most powerful member. Things that punch Superman 10 feet into the pavement routinely fall before the might of Hawkgirls mighty sparky mace. As long as she gives out a hearty “YEEARG!” while she swings it. ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/44 "2003-05-23T04:38:27Z")
I’ve seen the Manhunter use his powers in some very creative ways. I’ve seen the Flash use his powers in some very creative ways too. I guess it’s up to the individual writer. Basically, the Flash gives a starting point of ‘moving really fast’. Then a imaginative writer can take it from there and have him explode stuff or reverse velocity and such. **greck** , thanks for reminding me of the running guy. What a hilarious superpower :). ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/45 "2003-05-23T05:01:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bafaa \* > \*\*Sometimes I think being the Flash would be ponderous. People always asking you to clean up or paint the room cause “Hey, it’ll only take you a second!” It’s a second to us but to him does it feel like an hour? \*\* There was an issue of the Flash comic devoted to a story along these lines some years ago. He was sitting in a movie theater in his civilian identity when a bullet hit him in the back of the neck. But instead of punching right through him, he felt it as a hard jab. The explanation given was that he had immediately switched into “super speed mode” when the bullet touched him. So he turns to look at the bullet, and it’s hanging in midair. The movie screen has frozen, and everyone else is a statue. He walks around the theater, finds the shooter (whose gun is still firing) then walks around collecting all the bullets. While he perceives everything as “frozen” and himself moving at a walking pace, in reality he does all this in like 1/100 of a second. Then he come out of his high-speed mode right next to the shooter, and it appears as if he just materialized out of thin air. What I never understood about the Flash was, wouldn’t a man-sized object moving that fast generate hurricane-force winds wherever he went? But even so, Flash is ten times smarter than Superman. The latter has about 10 different powers, and still tries to box everyone. The Flash does more with his one power that Superman does with all of his in a year. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/46 "2003-05-23T05:07:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daniel \* > **While Superman can fly and has super strength and x-ray vision, he can’t travel at light speed. Flash can.** Pre-Crisis, I’ll betcha Superman **could** fly at light speed or faster. (Hell, remember when Christopher Reeve flew around the world backwards super-fast? He went back in **time** , for crying out loud!) ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/47 "2003-05-23T05:08:14Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\* > Drop Aquaman into the Gotham slums at midnight, and he’d have no problems._\* A blond, muscular man in tights and skin-tight chain mail? Hell, drop him in San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/48 "2003-05-23T05:10:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cletus \* > \*\*Hell yeah! I thought I was the only one that remembers the live action show :D. \*\* Nope, I remember it! In fact, I really liked it as a kid. Thought the costume with the built-in muscles was a little cheesy though. ---
**Author:** ![sghoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@sghoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sghoul)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/49 "2003-05-23T11:31:18Z")
A powerful mace does not a hero make. She has shown no propensity for science, so I doubt SHE made it. So basically anyone could use it and be just as cool. May as well give it to Batman. He would use it better. The ONLY reason she has it is because without it she would be useless. It was made up byt the cartoon writers so they could add another female character, but not have her be useless. I have always had a problem with the Hawk People, since I found out they don’t have real wings. Basically anyone could do what they do, and many people could/would do it better. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/50 "2003-05-23T16:20:07Z")
I’m not a comic geek, although I have known and loved several, but for some reason I often read these kinds of threads anyway. I’m glad I do. I always felt kind of sorry for old Flash…I mean, super speed would be a cool ability, but wouldn’t the poor guy’s love life suffer? Getting things done in a fraction of the time of other men could be a liability in zee boudoir. Even if he can control his ability, plenty of women probably wouldn’t give him a chance if they knew. But thanks to this thread I now know he can also _vibrate_ his body, so I’ll bet The Flash does just fine with the ladies. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/51 "2003-05-23T16:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*Also, wouldn’t he need to consume enormous amounts of food to compensate for the energy used in super-speed mode? Why isn’t Flash constantly sucking on Pixie Stix or some other sugar source like a human hummingbird? \*\* I didn’t see anyone answer this, so I’ll give it a shot: Flash gets his power from some external source, the “speed-force”, so it doesn’t have to come from his own metabolism. There was a brief story arc where his powers changed and he _did_ have to get his energy from food sources, though; it showed him eating 50 pounds of sphagetti in a sitting or something like that. Seems like he would have to eat much much more than that, even, like to the tune of many times his body weight daily, constant feeding even while he’s running. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/52 "2003-05-23T17:20:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Terrifel \* > **Speaking of the Martian Manhunter, he has to take the award for being the all-time most powerful Leaguer: he has every power imaginable! Flight, superstrength, superspeed, heat vision, telepathy, mind control, shapeshifting, invisibility, intangibility… In short, he can approximate the powers of any other Leaguer, and then some. I’m sure he could even duplicate the Atom’s shrinking ability in a pinch.** MM seems to have more powers than the rest, but to a lesser degree. One of the early editions of his stand-alone comic had him explaining that while he does have super-speed, he’s not as fast as Superman and nowhere near as fast as The Flash. He gets use out of it, but it’s not his best trait. Nor is flying, strength, or martian vision. His shape-changing and mind-reading ability are used mostly for gathering intelligence. His main purpose is as the backbone for the JLA. He’s also pretty smart, but while he may not be considered “the leader”, he’s definitely given his fair share of respect. Another thing the MM comic cleared up is whether his weakness to fire is physical or psychological: they just said, “it’s both!” and went on with their story. Back to The Flash, someone mentioned when Superman was felled by a gas grenade - during the Green Lantern On Trial episode, I took issue with the fact that the Flash _wasn’t_ killed by the poison gas a lot faster. Even if he doesn’t get his speed from calories, he still sucks up a lot more oxygen than everyone else. And I’m annoyed he couldn’t outrun the closing door to the gas chamber. And while I’m not upset that he got hit with the falling debris in Part Two (even heroes get careless sometimes), I’m upset that, hitting it at super-speed, it didn’t tear his head off. Not that I wish him any harm (Flash is my fave), but still, it looked out of place. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/53 "2003-05-23T18:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sghoul \* > \*\*A powerful mace does not a hero make. She has shown no propensity for science, so I doubt SHE made it. So basically anyone could use it and be just as cool. May as well give it to Batman. He would use it better. The ONLY reason she has it is because without it she would be useless. It was made up byt the cartoon writers so they could add another female character, but not have her be useless. > > I have always had a problem with the Hawk People, since I found out they don’t have real wings. Basically anyone could do what they do, and many people could/would do it better. \*\* Well, she _did_ take out a bunch of off-duty Green Lanterns in a bar brawl…without the mace…she’s tough. Oh, and the Hawkman/Katar Hol character wound up with real wings near the end of his stand-alone title’s run a few years ago…I really liked what they did with the character abilities-wise (he became the “Hawk Avatar”, with appropriate mystical explanations and real wings, hawk eyes, and a bad disposition.), but they also made him slightly schizo, which ruined him. ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/54 "2003-05-23T19:39:17Z")
Lamia: > [@](#): > > I always felt kind of sorry for old Flash…I mean, super speed would be a cool ability, but wouldn’t the poor guy’s love life suffer? Getting things done in a fraction of the time of other men could be a liability in zee boudoir. Actually it would be an advantage. Even if Flash did get done quicker, he would be recovered and going at it again so fast that the woman wouldn’t even realize he had ever stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/55 "2003-05-23T19:40:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pravnik \* > **I didn’t see anyone answer this** :::cough:::asked and answered:::cough::: ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/56 "2003-05-23T21:37:18Z")
D’oh! So it was, and in better form. Sorry, **Otto**! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/57 "2003-05-23T22:47:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daniel \* > **I took issue with the fact that the Flash _wasn’t_ killed by the poison gas a lot faster. Even if he doesn’t get his speed from calories, he still sucks up a lot more oxygen than everyone else.** But if he doesn’t get his super speed by burning calories, why would he **need** more oxygen? Normal people only need oxygen to combust with the glucose in their bloodstreams, which is in turn derived from the food they eat. If the Flash’s super speed is powered by something other than food (or other chemical combustion), there would be no need for extra oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/58 "2003-05-24T06:20:35Z")
If he was moving at near light speed, would he even be able to breath? How could his respiratory system draw air into the lungs? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/59 "2003-05-27T21:29:00Z")
If the Flash was running head-first into the air at near light speed, it would be almost impossible to **keep** the air from ramming itself into his lungs. (Maybe he has to turn his head backwards to exhale.) ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491/60 "2003-05-27T22:06:53Z")
hm, I might be confusing something. He probably doesn’t need more oxygen, but he processes it a lot faster. I’m getting this all from the “don’t team me up with Aquaman because I can’t hold my breath worth a damn” thing I remember from the comics. So you’re right in that he wouldn’t have breathed in the entire room within seconds. But the gas should have still hit him harder, perhaps, since it would have needed less time to kick in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flash-all-i-can-do-is-run-fast/176491.md?page=4)