The Fastest Man Alive - Playing Catch Up

At some point in every person's life comes the appreciation for speed.  In the world of comics, when comparing the speedsters, everyone is trying to see how close they can come to the one true speedster, the Flash.  This is a brief point of notice for all of those writers and creators who create stories around a speed demon.

I love the aspect of a speedster.  I also love that there are different levels of these ultra fast characters in the comic universe, from martial arts masters like Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, to Spiderman and Deathstroke, up the line to characters like Aquaman, Quicksilver, Aurora and North Star, Wonder Woman, Superman, and eventually, the big red blur himself, The Flash.  The problem I have is that in most cases, writers fail to show the truly improbable circumstances of 'catching' a speedster.  The BEST example of this shortcoming is from the DC Universe cgi short "Who Do You Trust".  In this awesome short, the Joker manages to blast the ground from under the Flash.  - - - hmmmmmm.  I'm having a hard time ignoring this comic faux pas.

In my opinion, the Flash, by far the fastest of the speedsters, creates incredible writing challenges to maintain.  Writing a story that can capture the essence of his speed while making the story last longer than two pages requires a villain and the creativity level that matches his speed.  The best example of just how fast the Flash is can be seen in the 'DC Universe Story - MK Chapter 1 - The Flash'.  YouTube it, it's WORTH IT!  In this CGI set up for the fight that starts between Deathstroke and the Flash, Deathstroke is walking down the ravaged streets when a short blur appears, then appears several more times before his hyper senses realize its the Flash.  What is awesome about this scene is that you don't see the blur approaching Deathstroke, you only see it (as I would assume) when Flash slows down enough to do something to Deathstroke (probably bump him so he doesn't knock his spine through his meta-human skin).  It may not be the most stunning visual display for an entire movie, but when you understand the concept of being able to move faster than light, it's a powerful image that makes you smile and want to run again.

Flash and other speedsters aren't unbeatable, but they are some of the most dangerous opponents that those with normal to above normal reactions times and/or speed will face.  The best method for us is to defeat them is mentally when they stop to talk.  Let's face it, when you have that kind of speed, bragging is part of the package.