| abstract | - Wally West does not appear in DC Universe Online but there are screenshots of him running around.
- 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 held at the Wests, Wally accidentally spilled some soda while pouring, and was yelled at by his father for keeping his head in the clouds. He went to his room crying and a familiar looking man, who he thought was maybe his uncle or something, came in and talked to him, saying he shouldn't give up on his dreams and giving him confidence that he'd reflect back on for years to come.Kid FlashOne summer, when he was ten years old, Wally went to Central City to stay with his Aunt Iris, who 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.Kid FlashAdded by Mrblonde267 When he asked Flash howhe 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. The next day, Wally apprehended his first criminal after conquering a crippling fear of fire, Mr. Element. Element had attacked the Art Museum, transmuting many pieces of art into shapeless forms. Element stole the Giardi Atom, an atomic model crafted from gold and jewels. Kid Flash followed Element to the home of Ward Wellington Weaver, owner of another Giardi Atom, where he defeated the villain and turned him into the police. While in high school, Wally was a member of the Eta Pi fraternity, along with his good friend, Tommy Elkin. The next summer, Barry told Wally his secret identity, which surprised Wally, who had always thought Barry was kind of boring. Again, lightning struck, causing a matter-transforming machine to transform Wally's costume into a newer, predominantly yellow costume, the design of which Barry had been toying with in the back of his mind. He also joined the Teen Titans. He began to take classes at Taggert University, with hopes of eventually getting a doctorate in physics. As Barry's sidekick, Wally met Hal Jordan, then Green Lantern of Earth, and became Jordan's friend just as Jordan had been Barry's friend. Because Wally had been struck by lightning and affected by the charged chemicals when he was a kid, rather than a full grown man, it affected his body differently than it had Barry's. Although he was able to run through the crippling pain he called "hitting the wall" the summer after he got his powers, when adolescence hit, it came back with a vengeance, to the point that Wally was forced to quit his superheroic career. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, after Barry Allen sacrificed his life to destroy the Anti-Monitor's antimatter cannon, an antimatter ray fired by the Anti-Monitor hit Wally full force. While it knocked his speed down to that of sound, it also removed the malady that caused him intense pain. Wally took Barry's uniform and declared himself the Flash, just until Barry returned. However, the rest of the population did not share Wally's feeling that Barry was still alive, and they also did not appreciate Wally's attempts at filling Barry's boots. After being publicly embarrassed in a fight with Dr. Alchemy, Green Lantern declared that he would protect Central City. For about a week, Wally donned his Kid Flash costume again. However, during the next fight with Dr. Alchemy, he finally realized that Barry was not coming back. He saved Green Lantern and Jay Garrick from Dr. Alchemy. Finally, he was accepted as the Flash. After accepting that Barry was dead, Wally still had to overcome his anger of feeling abandoned, and forced into a role he did not feel ready for. Coupled with the emotional pain of what had happened with Raven, anger somehow overcame all the values that Barry had taught him, and he was rather rude and childish for a while. All these mental blocks also slowed him down, sometimes to the point where he lost his speed entirely. He also manifested the need to consume large quantities of food after using his powers, another product of his psychological condition. Wally won six and a half million dollars in the lottery. He was able to leave his small apartment in Brooklyn and buy a mansion on Long Island. He asked Frances Kane to live with him, and she accepted, for a short while. After two weeks, she left, saying they were moving too fast. Soon afterward, Wally invited nutritionist Tina McGee to live with him, even though she was eleven years his senior and not quite divorced. Wally's mother, Mary, also came to live with him, causing much tension between the two women. After Tina left so that she could go back to her husband, Wally lost all of his money in the stock market, and had to move into a new apartment. Here, he befriended his neighbor, Mason Trollbridge. He also began seeing Connie Noleski, a Texan model who he had actually been living with for a short time before Tina. After the alien invasion of Earth, during which Wally fought Durlans in Cuba, the aliens set off a gene bomb that robbed Wally of his superspeed. His friends, Jerry and Tina McGee, set up a device to restore his speed. It sprayed him with the chemicals that had gifted Barry and himself with superspeed while sending an electrical charge through him. However, with his new speed, Wally burned a deep trench across America, stretching from New York all the way to New Mexico. His aura, which had previously served as an energy collector, began to feed directly on him, starving him and affecting his brain, and also sending his consciousness to another energy level. He grew long spines around his body, and stalked around Swainsville, New Mexico, confused and looking for food, contributing to the citizens' belief in a local myth, the Porcupine Man. Luckily, Chunk was able to restore his essence to this dimension by using his singularity powers.[5] Afterwards, Mason Trollbridge was able to pluck the spines out of his body. After several attempts at Wally's life, he decided to move to Keystone City, which had been recommended by Jay Garrick's wife, Joan.Mason decided to join him so they could share rent. In Keystone, he started to date Linda Park, a reporter he had met initially during the Porcupine Man incident. When Barry Allen seemingly returned from the dead, Wally didn't know what to think. Jay and Hal Jordan had both embraced his return, but Wally remained skeptical, mostly because he hadn't mentioned Iris, who had died at the hands of Professor Zoom, at all. However, when Wally saw Barry visit Iris' grave, his heart was won over. Barry was back, or so he thought. Barry began to behave irrationally, as if he, and only he, was the true Flash. When they were both stuck in a Combine trap, Barry left Wally to die, then told the rest of the world that Wally hadn't been up to being the Flash, and had passed away trying. In fact, Wally had escaped, but after watching Barry speak so badly of him, decided to give up on the Flash identity, telling only Linda that he was still alive. In an aimless mood wandering through the streets, he came upon a tattered old book in the alleyway where Barry had materialized. It contained the truth: this Barry was fake, his true identity being Eobard Thawne, better known as Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash. With the help of the older speedsters, Jay, Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury, Wally brought Zoom down. In this fight, his speed returned to its old glory. Wally was every bit as fast as Zoom, because he had finally come to terms with the fear that he would be replacing Barry. In an elaborate scheme laid out by Abra Kadabra, Wally was sued for negligence by Allison Armitage, a store employee who was maimed in his fight with Razer. Although all the evidence in court favored him, Wally himself was furious at his actions. He felt that he, being the fastest man alive, should be everywhere at once. During the trial, he went on a non-stop, one-man life-saving spree, trying to make up for what he had done. After the trial was over, he went to Johnny Quick to ask for his speed formula, hoping that by adding Johnny's speed to his, it would make him unstoppable, able to save everyone. However, the formula only froze him in time. Max Mercury, who was able to join him for a while at that speed, taught him an important lesson: he cannot be everywhere at once. No matter what, he couldn't save everyone.
- Wally West is a superhero in the DC Universe who begain as Barry Allen's sidekick, Kid Flash, before taking the mantle for himself after Barry seemingly died.
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