One of the most popular DC Comics heroes to have made it to the big and small screen within the last twenty years is The Flash. With mythology as big as the speedster one with Barry Allen, Wally West, Eobard Thawne, Jay Garrick, Godspeed and many more, a lot of has come to life beyond the pages of comics. From The CW’s The Flash series to Ezra Miller’s version in the DC films, several actors have portrayed these iconic characters. One of the most important aspects of the speedsters has and always will be their costumes. Along with their godlike speed, their looks are part of their identity whether it’s Barry, Jay, Wally, Bart, or others.
With so many characters having appeared from the Flash mythology in the various shows and films, there is a great range of costumes to take in. It’s hard to imagine what went into making several of these suits in the respective costume departments. With Flash having used a lot of looks from the comics, it’s time to rank the ten best Speedster costumes.
Impulse
While he has yet to show up on Grant Gustin’s Flash series, Bart Allen has appeared in live-action in the Superman prequel series Smallville. Appearing in three episodes between seasons four and nine, Kyle Gallner was the first actor to ever play Bart in live-action. Portraying the fourth person to become Flash in the comics, Bart was one of the biggest DC heroes to ever show up on the Tom Welling drama. In the ten-year-long Clark Kent story, Bart eventually suited up as Impulse. Back then, Smallville had a specific way of doing costumes, with some looks being both grounded and a bit comic book-y. In Impulse’s case, it had a grounded tone to it while also giving nods to the Flash-ier look from the comics.
Jesse Quick
Violett Beane debuted as Jesse Wells in the second season of The Flash but officially became Jesse Quick in the next season. Despite her costume originally coming from a one-off villainous speedster wannabe, Jesse still made this costume feel like her own.
Jesse has had several looks in the comics and for the TV series; the creative team gave the young heroine an updated look. The costume still pays homage to her comic costumes with the red and yellow color schemes.
Godspeed
Despite having only properly appeared once during season five, the CW drama brought the villainous Godspeed out of the comic pages perfectly into the small screen. Excluding the fake-Godspeeds, in the season six premiere, the adaptation of Godspeed in the fifth season was a straight adaptation. With the comic design being as adaptable as it is, it makes sense why it was easy for the costume department to create it for live-action.
XS
The fifth season of The Flash may not have introduced Jenni Ognats proper; XS was introduced in the form of Nora West-Allen (Jessica Parker Kennedy.) Portrayed as Iris (Candice Patton) and Barry’s daughter from the future, Nora is operating as XS in her timeline.
When she travels back in time to meet her father for the first time, XS becomes a regular hero during that season. For her costume, the show did a solid job of introducing her classic suit while also giving it a slightly modern update.
The Flash (Justice League)
Currently, on the big screen, Ezra Miller plays the cinematic version of Barry Allen. Having done a few cameos prior to Justice League, Miller is set to reprise the Scarlet Speedster in his own solo film that is in the works. In the 2017 installment, his Flash costume becomes the most different one out of all the live-action versions. Rather than leather or spandex, this Barry has a suit that is more advanced than the other ones that have appeared on the screen.
Reverse-Flash
Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) is still being recognized as The Flash’s best big bad of all time. That comes as no surprise given that the Reverse-Flash is Barry’s greatest enemy. With the Scarlet Speedster dominating with the red, Thawne is all about the yellow.
For the CW incarnation, the costume department did a solid adaptation of Thawne’s comic looks while putting some of their own touches.
1990’s The Flash
Before The CW brought the fastest man alive to their line-up, The Flash had actually been done as a series on CBS back in the 1990s. In this version, John Wesley Shipp played the titular hero who has become part of the Arrowverse in more ways than one. After having played Barry for only one season, it wouldn’t be until 2014 when Shipp boarded the CW version as the father of Gustin’s Barry. But in last year’s Elseworlds crossover, Shipp got to reprise the role of his Barry from Earth-90 as a setup for the Crisis on Infinite Earths event this fall. The suit he wore on CBS was great back then and is still phenomenal now. Over twenty years later and Shipp’s costume still holds up.
Jay Garrick
Shipp has not only played Henry Allen and '90s Flash, but he actually took on another role at the end of season two. Introduced as the real Jay Garrick from Earth-3, Shipp returned to the boots as yet another iconic Flash speedster. When it came to Jay’s costume, it was a combination of paying tribute to his iconic comic suit while also modernizing it for today. While his suit may have a slightly different vibe from his comic counterpart, they definitely kept his famous helmet the same. Between his 90’s Flash suit and the Jay Garrick costume, Shipp looks perfect in both.
Kid Flash
After debuting in season two, Keiynan Lonsdale’s Wally West officially became Kid Flash in the third season. Being the first actor to ever play the iconic role in live-action, the CW series didn’t take long before they turned the young brother of Iris into one of the many speedsters in the Flash family. For his costume, it jumped straight out of the comics and into the CW series. With Kid Flash’s look being as timeless as it is in the comics, it makes sense why the TV suit wasn’t modified as it was a simple design to make.
The Flash (Season 6)
Over the last six years, Gustin’s Barry has had his fair share of different looks from the first season to today. Some worked better than others, but in the sixth (ongoing) season, the hero finally found the perfect version of his costume. Introduced in the season six premiere, Barry officially gets a slightly modified design from his season five look with the big difference being a complete fresh cowl design. This is as close as the CW has gotten to match the comic version of Barry’s look including the new cowl. It has the perfect balance of bright red, compared to the other suits he had while also sporting a cowl that doesn’t get too comic book-y.