Wally West

Wally West was born to Rudolph and Mary West in Blue Valley, Nebraska. As a boy, Wally would often daydream, most notably about being the Flash. He idolized the Flash and was the president and sole member of the Blue Valley Flash Fan Club. His parents thought he was setting himself up for failure and did their best to dampen what they believed to be unrealistic expectations, in rather harsh ways. His father encouraged him to work at the same plant he did, but Wally grew frustrated and hurt (and eventually apathetic) by their lack of faith in his abilities.

At a family reunion, hosted by the Wests, Wally accidentally spilled some soda, inciting his father to yell at him for being so careless. Wally quickly went to his room in tears. Once there, a familiar looking man, who he thought to be his uncle, came in and began to speak to him. The man encouraged Wally not to give up on his dreams, giving him confidence that he would reflect back on for years to come.

One summer, when he was ten years old, Wally went to Central City to stay with his Aunt Iris, whom he called his best friend. Iris was going out with police scientist Barry Allen, who was "friends" with the Flash. Barry "introduced" Wally to his idol, the Flash. In the back room of Barry's apartment was a lab, where Wally asked the Flash all sorts of questions. When he asked Flash how he got his powers, it turned out the speedster had set up his chemical cabinet just as it had been when he was created. Wally wished that something like that could happen to him; the Flash dismissed it as a billion-to-one chance. However, it just so happened that the weather that particular day was stormy and, at that moment, lightning did strike the cabinet, bathing Wally in the same chemicals that created the Flash.

Flash told Wally to keep this a secret, even from Iris. He gave Wally a Flash costume specially tailored to fit him, and Wally became Kid Flash. The Flash taught Wally everything he knew about how to use speed to his advantage, and about the rogues gallery.

Years later, when Wally was about to enter his twenties, Barry sacrificed himself saving the Universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. To honor his uncle, Wally became the third Flash, and started wearing a costume similar to Barry’s. Originally very much in Barry’s shadow, Wally became as great a Super Hero like his mentor, and found himself running at speeds rivaling any speedster who'd come before.