The Flash has for six years introduced the majority of the speedsters that exist in the DC Universe. While Barry Allen is the primary focus of the Arrowverse drama, he has been joined by several others throughout his journey as the Scarlet Speedster. From Jay Garrick, Wally West/Kid Flash, Jesse Quick, to his daughter Nora West-Allen/XS, The Flash has in one way or another incorporated almost all of the iconic Flash Family members from the comics. But the CW adaptation has also had its fun with a handful of evil speedsters too that has been clashing with the heroes over the 6-year run.
The first three seasons had Barry take on a speedster villain one after another with Reverse-Flash, Zoom, and a very different Savitar. After The Flash season 3, viewers made it clear that it was time to take a break from speedster villains as the main threat of every season. That allowed other foes from Flash’s gallery to come into the Arrowverse with The Thinker, Cicada, Bloodwork, and even the second version of Mirror Master. However, Godspeed was introduced in the fifth season and was a reoccurring mystery throughout The Flash season 6.
With plans to introduce the real Godspeed next season, only time will tell what the latest speedster threat will look like. But as far as The Flash has gotten with bringing in the majority of good and evil speedsters, there are still several ones left from the mythology that has yet to make it from panel to screen. These are DC speedsters that are still missing in the Arrowverse that The Flash should introduce down the line, whether it’s in season 7 or future seasons.
Bart Allen a.k.a. Impulse
Since the show has Barry, Jay, Wally, Jesse, there is still one major iconic heroic speedster that has somehow not made it into the series: Bart Allen a.k.a. Impulse. This is one of the more personal members of the Flash Family, as Bart is the grandson of Barry and Iris from the 30th century. Son of Don Allen (Barry and Iris’s other child from the comics) and Meloni Thawne (Eobard’s ancestor), Bart is the fourth person to eventually take on the Flash mantle after having operated as Impulse. Bart recently reemerged in the comics as part of DC Rebirth after the convoluted arc that occurred in The New 52.
Impulse has had his fair share of media appearances with Young Justice and Smallville being the two biggest shows to have used him. While The Flash has gone as far as exploring Barry’s family tree up to Nora West-Allen, Bart is still someone that they haven’t introduced. As the show is entering its 7th year, only time will tell how much longer The Flash will keep going. Given that they have introduced almost all of the big ones in the Flash Family, it’s only natural that Bart becomes the next speedster that shows up, whether it be for only a few episodes or at least one season. Impulse’s Arrowverse debut would be the next step in honoring Iris and Barry’s legacy by knowing that they won’t just have children, but also grandchildren down the line.
BOTH of Iris & Barry’s Kids
Despite her death in the fifth season, Wally implied to Barry that Nora is alive in the future through visions he had of other speedsters before the Speed Force died. However, in the mythology, Barry and Iris actually had twins rather than just one child: the Tornado Twins. Don and Dawn (Nora’s comic counterpart) were born in the 30th century and ended up gaining their father’s super-speed, becoming the heroic duo. While it has never been hinted at that the TV versions of Iris and Barry would get twins, Crisis on Infinite Earths has made it possible to not only bring back Nora, but also reveal that she has a twin brother in the future. Not only would it be emotionally rewarding to see Nora alive again, but act as a reassurance to Barry and Iris about their future legacy.
Max Mercury
One of the classic speedsters that haven’t been utilized in DC in recent years is Max Mercury, a hero that originated back in the 19th century. Max gained his speed differently than some of the other speedsters, as he got his powers by a shaman who drew a lightning bolt on his chest with a mystical substance. Through his career, Max looked for ways to bond with the Speed Force while also working with other heroes like Jay Garrick. Introducing Max into the Arrowverse through The Flash would set up a refreshing speedster storyline by exploring a hero that came way before Barry. Even if he didn’t exist in the original timeline pre-Crisis, the crossover could, theoretically, have rewritten the history to establish Max’s role as one of the earliest speedsters in history.
Red Death
One of the remaining speedster villains that The Flash could introduce and have even name-dropped is Red Death, the Earth-52 version of Bruce Wayne. In that reality, Batman, who has lost most of the Bat-Family, ends up stealing Barry’s Speed Force through fusing with Barry, which transforms Bruce into Red Death. Being as unstable as he is, Red Death ends up being one of the most dangerous versions of Batman in the DC Multiverse. When he was first name-dropped in season 5, it always seemed impossible that the Arrowverse could have a different version of Bruce Wayne as their Red Death. But thanks to Batwoman having introduced Warren Christie as the franchise’s Caped Crusader (through Hush now looking like him), it might be more doable for the series to properly do Red Death where they fully follow the comics.
The only difference would be that there wouldn’t be an established relationship between Bruce and Barry to drive Red Death on The Flash. Having a Bruce doppelganger show up on Earth-Prime as Red Death wouldn’t, emotionally, mean much to that Barry. But that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t explore the potential of having Red Death as a villain down the line, whether it’s with Christie playing a Bruce from another Earth or a different character as the villainous speedster.
Cobalt Blue
While the Arrowverse version of Barry Allen never had a long lost brother, his comic counterpart did, and it makes the Allen-Thawne dynamic a lot more intense. In the pre-Flashpoint continuity, Nora Allen gave birth to two boys, one being Barry. However, the same night Nora gave birth, Charlene Thawne was also giving birth, but her baby died as a result of being strangled by its own umbilical cord. The doctor who was present that night was drunk and failed to save it. That’s where the twist comes in: the doctor took one of the Allens' sons and gave it to the Thawne family. Nora was told that the other child had been stillborn and she ended up only being Barry’s mother, while the Thawnes raised the other son as Malcolm Thawne.
Down the line, Barry would encounter his twin brother who was now a troubled criminal thanks to having been raised by con artists. Through his family’s blue flame resource, Malcolm was able to use its powers to steal abilities, which is how he has been able to operate as a speedster. While it’s not impossible to bring in Cobalt Blue into the Arrowverse, it’s possible that they would have to reimagine the character to fit with what has been established on The Flash. The idea that this Barry always had a long lost brother feels very melodramatic and something that might be out of tone for the series.
Inertia
If The Flash were ever to introduce Impulse down the line, it would open the door for another Thawne to arrive: Thaddeus Thawne, Bart’s evil clone. Operating as Inertia, Thaddeus is one of the characters that keep the war between the Allen and Thawne families going during the 30th century. While Inertia isn’t one of the bigger speedster villains in the mythology, introducing him on the show at the same time as Bart would serve as a solid mini-arc that deals with Barry’s legacy in the future. Not only could it play with a new angle for in the Allen and Thawne war, but having Barry helping Bart stop an evil version of his grandson would make for an emotional roller-coaster of a storyline.
Johnny Quick
The name Johnny Quick has two meanings to DC readers, as that title belonged to Johnny Chambers (Jesse’s father) back in the Golden Age. But in modern comics, the name Johnny Quick is associated with the evil speedster from Earth-3. Part of the Crime Syndicate of America, the evil version of the Justice League in another universe, Jonathan Allen was a big criminal operating in Central City before he was struck by lightning when he got cornered on the roof of STAR Labs while also being infused with chemicals.
Together with his now-super-powered girlfriend Rhonda Pineda a.k.a. Atomica, they became an even more dangerous power-couple as they eventually joined the Crime Syndicate. While the new Multiverse is still unknown to the Earth-Prime characters, introducing Johnny would be a solid way for them to discover that Oliver actually brought back other Earths while acting as the Spectre. It would, however, benefit the Arrowverse to introduce Johnny along with the rest of the Crime Syndicate as part of a potential crossover story in the coming seasons.
Other DC Speedsters Missing From The Arrowverse
One of the biggest aspects of DC’s Multiverse is how it allows different speedsters to exist whether they are heroes or villains. With an infinite amount of Earths, there are many ways to tell more speedster stories outside of the main ones that readers and Arrowverse viewers are used to. Given the role a speedster plays in the DC mythology through their connection to the Speed Force and the powers they are granted, there are still a ridiculous number of characters that exist in the lore. Whether or not they played small or big parts, DC has introduced a ton of speedsters throughout the years.
It’s unlikely that The Flash will ever get to the point where they have introduced every single one of them before the series comes to an end. If anything, it’s more likely that other speedsters will get name-dropped or hinted rather than get full-fledged appearances. Whether it’s Mary Maxwell, Stan Lee’s take on The Flash, Jenni Ognats (the originator of XS in the comics), the villainous Black Racer, Wally’s kids Iris and Jai West, Lady Flash, or John Fox, the number of speedsters is practically endless. As long as The Flash is on the air, nothing is impossible for what speedsters they can introduce in season 7 and beyond.