Speedsters That Could Show Up In FLASH Season 2
With Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg recently reaffirming that additional DC Comics Speedsters will show up in season 2 of The Flash, lets examine all of the possible candidates. Jay Garrick and Wally West are obvious, but what about Max Mercury?
After the epic season one finale of The Flash aired, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg confirmed an early rumor that season 2 would introduce new "Speedsters" to Flash watchers. Lets rundown some possible candidates for whom Kreisberg could potentially be teasing.
As teased in the epic season finale, hopefully one of those Speedsters introduced is original Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. When the Flash series was first introduced and 90's Flash actor John Wesley Shipp joined the cast, many fans were hoping he would be Garrick. Alas, that did not come to pass but Shipp did land an important role as Barry's father. But who is Jay Garrick? Created in 1940, Jay Garrick is the original Flash, who is a natural-born metahuman who had his latent powers activated in a lab experiment. Typically depicted as an elderly man, Garrick was reinvented as a recent college graduate in the 2011 New 52 reboot of the DC Universe. This version of the character receives his super speed from the dying Roman god, Mercury, who was fleeing an attack from Darkseid.
The next likely candidate for the show to introduce would be Wally West. With Allen raised as essentially a member of the West family, perhaps he's already met Iris' cousin, Wally? Created in 1959, West is the third person to call himself Flash after Garrick and Allen. West originally began his superhero career as Kid Flash and was a longtime member of the Teen Titans. West received his super speed when the freak accident that gave Barry Allen his abilities was accidentally recreated. When Barry Allen made the ultimate sacrifice in 1986's Crisis of Infinite Earths, West replaced his mentor and donned the red threads of the Flash.
With time travel involved, there's also a strong possibility that a third member of the immediate Flash family shows up, Barry Allen's grandson, Bart Allen. Perhaps Edobard Thawne hails from a time when it's not Barry who keeps Central City safe but Bart? Created in 1994, Bart Allen was suffering from a hyperactive metabolism that caused him to age must faster than a normal human. At the urging of his grandmother, Iris West, Bart travels back in time and receives aid from then-Flash Wally West in curing his deadly disease. Allen opted to stay in the past and learn from Wally rather than return to the future. Code named Impulse by Batman, Bart also spent some time under the tutelage of Max Mercury.
Who is Max Mercury? Originally debuting as Quicksilver in 1940, Mercury was something of a pulp-adventurer with super speed and had scant backstory. That is until Mark Waid reintroduced the character to DC lore in 1993. Fleshing out the character, Waid's backstory for Mercury stipulated that he received his powers through an enchantment from a dying Indian shaman who tasked Mercury with watching over his tribe. Through his adventures and trials, Max eventually became aware of the existence of the infamous Speed Force. Developing something of an extreme obsession with the Speed Force, Mercury was dismayed to learn that he was not quite fast enough to enter it. Instead, each of his attempts to enter the Speed Force bounced Mercury decades ahead in time. As a result, Mercury became something of a guiding force for nearly every member of the Flash Family, with each of Mercury's attempts to enter the Speed Force leaving him in a time when various Speedsters were just starting their superhero career, including the likes of Jay Garrick, Wally West and Impulse. In many ways, Mercury is like a good-version of Tom Cavanagh's Eobard Thawne, mentoring and guiding users of the Speed Force but without an ulterior motive.
Honorable Mention: Jesse Chambers (Liberty Belle), Johnny Quick and the Tornado Twins
The Flash season 2 will premiere this Fall.