Many speedsters have taken up the mantle of the Flash over the years - and each one has called themselves the fastest man alive. While it's safe to say all versions of the Flash are among the fastest superheroes, the fastest iteration of the Scarlet Speedster isn't who fans might suspect. Believe it or not, the fastest Flash isn't Barry Allen or Wally West - its actually Barry’s grandson, Bart Allen.

Born many years in the future, Bart Allen inherited speedster abilities naturally through his grandfather’s bloodline. However, this also caused him to age at a dangerously rapid rate. Since no one in their time had the knowledge to help him, Bart’s grandmother, Iris, brought him back in time to seek help from Wally West, the Flash of the past. Wally was able to stabilize Bart’s aging - though he technically still doesn't know how old he is. Regardless, Bart then chose to stay in the past and study under Max Mercury, the most experienced speedster. However, Bart’s impatience and rash decision making made him a difficult pupil, earning him the nickname Impulse. Despite his flaws, Bart’s innate connection to the Speed Force made him incredibly fast - even compared to other speedsters.

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Published in 2006, The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #2 centers around Bart trying to rid himself of his connection to the Speed Force so he can live a normal life. However, his guilt over retiring the Flash mantle causes him to have a vision from his former mentor, Wally West. In the dream, Wally recalls when he and Bart drove the evil Superboy Prime into the Speed Force to save the world during the events of Infinite Crisis. Going into the Speed Force itself is usually a one-way trip, but as Wally says, “You came back from it, Bart. You’re the only one who could have…You’re fast, Bart. Faster than all of us put together.”

Wally is widely considered to be the fastest incarnation of the Flash, but the fact that Wally himself admits that Bart is faster challenges that notion. Take the aforementioned events of Infinite Crisis. Although Bart had help in banishing Superboy to the Speed Force in issue #4, he was undoubtedly the one leading the charge, as Jay Garrick simply couldn’t keep up and Wally dissipated into energy before Bart hit his top speed. Not only that, but Bart managed to escape the Speed Force on his own in time to warn the other heroes of Superboy’s return in the following issue. It’s possible that Bart’s natural link to the Speed Force, having been born with it instead of connecting to it through some kind of accident, gives him an inherent edge over the other speedsters.

At the end of the day, given all the alternate dimensions and timelines within the DC universe, it’s difficult to factually pinpoint who is really the fastest Flash. However, seeing as he's accomplished feats no other speedster has and carries the endorsement of Wally West himself, it seems that Bart Allen is a serious contender for the true fastest man alive.

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