The Flash, Earth-One (Barry Allen)
PL 14AbilitiesStrength 2, Stamina 3, Agility 4, Dexterity 3, Fighting 5, Intellect 4, Awareness 2, Presence 2
SkillsAcrobatics 5 (+9), Athletics 5 (+7), Deception 8 (+10), Expertise: Forensic Science 10 (+14), Expertise: Law Enforcement 2 (+6), Expertise: Physics 8 (+12), Insight 8 (+10), Investigation 10 (+14), Perception 8 (+10), Persuasion 4 (+6), Technology 12 (+16)
AdvantagesAccurate Attack,
Agile Feint, Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Police Clearance),
Close Attack 7, Contacts, Connected, Defensive Attack,
Defensive Roll 5, Equipment 3,
Evasion 2,
Improved Initiative 24,
Interpose, Inventor, Inspire,
Instant Up, Leadership,
Move-by Action, Power Attack,
Seize Initiative,
Takedown, Teamwork, Ultimate Effort
Powers-
Fastest Man Alive: Improved Initiative 24, Quickness 28, Speed 28 •
80 points-
Fast Thinker: Immunity 5 (all mind-reading effects) •
5 points-
Frictionless Aura: Immunity 5 (all friction based effects) •
5 points-
Speed Enhancements: Enhanced Defences 30 (Dodge 15, Parry 15), Enhanced Advantages 20 (Agile Feint, Close Attack 7, Defensive Roll 5, Evasion 2, Interpose, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Seize Initiative, Takedown) •
50 points-
Super-Speed: Array (32 points)
-- Base:
Rapid Attack: Strength-based Damage 10, Burst Area 12, Selective 12 •
32 points-- AE:
Air Control: Cone Area Move Object 14, Close Range •
1 point-- AE:
Bullet-Catching: Deflect 16, Burst Area, Selective, Limited to Projectiles •
1 point-- AE:
Bullet-Throwing: Ranged Multiattack Damage 11, Quirk (requires objects to throw) •
1 point-- AE:
Momentum Punch: Strength-based Damage 14, Penetrating 16 •
1 point-- AE:
Rapid-Fire Punches: Strength-based Damage 10, Multiattack 12, Accurate 2 •
1 point-- AE:
Speed-Reading: Variable 4 (20 points of skills and advantages), Free Action, Requires Access to Books •
1 point-- AE:
Spinning: Burrowing 16, Penetrating 16 •
1 point -- AE:
Vacuum: Burst Area Cumulative Affliction 8 (fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Concentration •
1 points-- AE:
Vibrational Phasing: Insubstantial 4 (Intangible) •
1 point-- AE:
Whirlwind: Burst Area Move Object 14, Close Range •
1 point-
Unrelenting Momentum: Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 2, Water-Walking), Only While Moving •
3 pointEquipment:-
Cosmic Treadmill: Dimensional Travel 3, Time Travel 3 •
12 points-
Costume Ring: Features 1 •
1 pointOffenceInitiative +100, Rapid-Fire Punches +16 [Close, Damage 12, Multiattack], Momentum Punch +12 [Close, Damage 16, Penetrating]
DefenceDodge 20, Parry 20 (both Impervious 15)
Toughness 8 (3 without defensive roll), Fortitude 12, Will 12
Power Points
Abilities 50 + Powers 185 + Skills 40 + Advantages 15 + Defences 20 = Total 310ComplicationsEnemies: The Flash has a long list of colourful enemies who seek his destruction. Most notable are Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues Gallery, though his most lethal and dangerous foe is Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash.
Relationships: As Barry Allen, the Flash is close to his wife Iris West. He also counts other members of the Justice League amongst his closest friends.
Secret Identity: The Flash is secretly Barry Allen, forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department
Weakness: Extra effort involving movement speed can over-exert the Flash and kill him.
NotesThe Flash is one of those interesting characters in comics. He represents a few important trend-setting areas. The original Flash was the first hero who broke the mould of the all-or-nothing type superheroes who either had a
lot of power (Captain Marvel, Superman), or were reliant on a series of abilities that weren't powers (like Batman), being the very first superhero to have only one power, and the following implications of having that power. Quite obviously, that was super-speed for Jay Garrick. However, the Flash that I've posted here is actually arguably
more important to comic books as a whole, probably even on the levels of Superman's own importance, even if he's less well-known and respected.
You see, back in the fifties, superhero comics were well on their way to dwindling in popularity. Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman were the only heroes that were arguably surviving that era, and even then only barely. Superman's early-fifties stories had turned him into a laughing stock, Batman was only barely a superhero, and Wonder Woman's stories only got published because of a licensing agreement. Most of the old heroes of the Golden Age had been cancelled, and their books replaced by comics that dealt with other genres, such as westerns, horror and science fiction. Most famously, All-Star Comics, the book that starred the Justice Society, was retitled All-Star Western, and its superhero plotlines had been entirely abandoned.
But then in 1956, DC Comics published a 're-imagined' version of the Flash as part of its
Showcase anthology comics. The unexpected popularity of a new, science-fiction based superhero was ultimately the shot in the arm that the genre needed, and superhero comics started to become quite a bit more popular than they had been previously. What followed was the birth of what is now recognised as the Silver Age of Comic Books.
So while Superman created the superhero, the Flash was at least as important for ensuring their continued survival.
For the most part, this build draws a lot on wiki-trawling, reading a few issues of various comics (that, due to gaps in my collection, actually starred Wally West), glancing at the stats for the character in the Heroes & Villains book, and figuring out how to translate that into a workable Silver Age form. I tried to avoid mentioning the Speed Force, because it's my understanding that it wasn't mentioned much until later as a justification for various things. For the most part, this came out like a boosted-up version of the Heroes & Villains character, though I've included some actual offensive options for him here.
