The Flash is the Fastest Man Alive… in the DC Universe. However, as any comic book fan can tell you, that status doesn’t necessarily apply in all universes. While Flash has faced off against other speedsters in the Marvel Universe and come out on top, he may have met his match when he came up against two famous Looney Tunes characters!
Yes, as impossible as it might seem, Flash once got into a foot race with Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner – and learned they were potentially as fast as he is, if not faster. Considering that all of these characters are owned by Warner Bros, the race may have been inevitable, although it certainly took Flash by surprise.
The unlikely match happened in the four-issue miniseries Superman & Bugs Bunny which saw Superman’s enemy Mr. Mxyzptlk accidentally wind up in the Looney Tunes universe. Horrified that the bunnies, ducks, and pigs in this realm are just too wacky for him to annoy, Mxyzptlk comes up with a different strategy. After teaming up with the Looney Tune Do-Do, he uses the creature’s teleporter to transport characters from the cartoon world into the DC Universe. This causes multiple DC characters, from Superman to Green Lantern, to bump into Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian. However, the hero who gets the rudest surprise is arguably the Flash. At the time, the Flash was Wally West, the former kid sidekick to his predecessor Barry Allen. Having achieved a greater connection to the Speed Force that fueled his powers, Wally was capable of running at near light speed, vibrating his molecules so fast that he could phase through solid objects, and even travel through time.
However, none of this made the slightest bit of difference when Wally, while out for a run in the middle of the desert, senses someone chasing him. Pouring on speed, he attempts to outdistance his competitor but can’t lose him. As he decides to confront his pursuer, he ends up seeing Speedy Gonzales zoom right past him. Once billed as “The Fastest Mouse in Mexico,” Speedy once starred in several Merrie Melodies cartoons, although concerns that he presented an offensive Mexican stereotype caused many of his animated shorts to be shelved until the early 21st century. Speedy remained a popular character, however, and the fact that he easily caught up with the Flash when Wally claimed to be “giving it all I’ve got” says a lot about his speed and indicates he may actually be able to beat him in a foot race.
But this wasn’t he only surprise for Wally. In the very next issue, Wally continued his trek through the desert when he ended up being pursued by none other than the Road Runner. Wally stopped to see the bird, who gave him his customary “Beep! Beep!” greeting before zooming off. As the Flash tried to catch up with him, however, he was soon overtaken by Wile E. Coyote who zoomed past him wearing a pair of Acme rocket skates. Flash’s performance against the Road Runner is a bit harder to measure since he stopped running before the two could truly compare their top speeds. However, considering that Wile E. Coyote was able to easily streak past Flash while Flash was already running at a very high speed to catch up with the Road Runner suggests that the Road Runnner – who is easily much faster than the coyote – can match and likely exceed Flash’s top speed. (It’s even possible that Wile E. Coyote’s Acme gadgets can give him the speed to beat the Flash in a foot race, although the Flash would probably never live that down if it were true).
Flash didn’t get a chance to test his speed against the Looney Tunes speedsters again in the story – but this technically wasn’t the only time a Flash met the Road Runner. In the Marvel Comic Quasar #58, a dimensional traveler named “Buried Alien” (likely an amnesic Barry Allen who survived his “death” during DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths saga), wound up in the Marvel Universe. Only remembering that he needed to run, “Buried” participated in a “galactic marathon” against all of the Marvel Universe’s greatest speedsters – and a few unknown alien races as well.
Related: The Looney Tunes’ DARK Origin Story Is Finally Revealed
Although “Buried” ended up dropping out of the race to deal with such treacherous competitors, readers later got to see the race’s winner, an Eternal named Makkari, be proclaimed “The Fastest Being In the Galaxy” by none other than the Road Runner (who actually gets to talk in this adventure). While the Road Runner didn’t actually participate in the race, it’s likely that – as a presenter – he was a former competitor in past races, and one of the fastest beings in the universe.
This raises all sorts of fun questions – particularly, what is the source of Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales’ amazing power? Wile E. Coyote depends on gadgets for his Road Runner hunts and Flash can call upon the energy of the Speed Force to fuel his incredible runs, but what fuels the Road Runner and the Fastest Mouse in the World? Bird seed and cheese can only provide so many calories, so could there be a “Looney Force” the cartoon speedsters are tapping into?
It would also be interesting to see if the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales can replicate some of Flash’s impressive speed tricks – such as vibrating their molecules so they can pass through solid objects or traveling through time. Considering all the creative and borderline sadistic ways the Road Runner has gotten rid of Wile E. Coyote in the past, he probably does know enough about phasing and cloud hopping to give the Flash a few pointers.
Unfortunately, given the limited amount of time Flash got to spend with the Looney Tunes, fans may never get any definitive answers to these questions. Still, it’s always possible a future crossover might allow Barry Allen or Wally West to cross paths with everyone’s favorite bird and mouse speedster. DC did end up releasing a complete line of DC/Looney Tunes crossovers a few years later – including one that reintroduced the Road Runner (although he ended up harassing Lobo instead of the Flash). Perhaps it’s time for a sequel that let’s the Fastest Man Alive find out for sure if he can measure up to the legendary speed of the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales?