Flash, The: Born to Run

The Flash (1987) (Old Editions) #1

by Mark Waid, Tom Peyer (Illustrator), Greg LaRocque (Illustrator)

The moving, early adventures of Wally West who becomes The Flash.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar]

This is basically a retelling of Wally West’s origin as Flash, or, more accurately, how the young Wally West became Kid Flash and sidekick to Barry Allen. What sets this story apart is how Waid takes some time to look at Wally’s emotional development as well as the development of his super power.

For those who really don’t know. Wally West took over the mantle of Flash after Barry Allen was killed off during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The story doesn’t aspire to much more than being an origins re-telling, but it’s deceptively effective.

The best bit: that speedball that Barry Allen throws for West in order to test if the speedforce has manifested.

[Molly™☺]

A Wally West origin that documents his journey from kid, to Kid Flash, to Flash. It's a rather generic backstory, but the formula has worked for so many other heroes, and it does the job here, too. Good characters and an understandable journey makes for a worthy read.

[Sophia]

This review is only for the Born to Run storyline.
I already love how different the writing style is compared to the previous Flash issues.
I am excited to read more of Waid’s stories.

I did find the small change to Wally’s origins an interesting one.
I wonder if it was to tie in to how Barry is the lightning bolt that gave him his powers?

Anyway, I’d never heard of Grandpa Ira before and I loved that sweet moment between him and Wally at the end.

Overall, I enjoyed myself with this story. Things happened a little too quickly at the beginning but I guess that’s what you get with two speedsters!

Also, I did have a quick peek at the next story's art and it’s VERY different…

[Himanshu Karmacharya]

Born to Run tells the story of Wally West, his origin as Kid Flash and his eventual take over of the mantle of The Flash.

The book manages to establish Wally West as a strong character; his will power and desire to save others are well portrayed. Character interactions are very engaging with some really deep and emotional moments.

What hinders the book from being great are some absurd moments that really haven't aged so well, and its poor pacing.

[Sarah]

A great introduction to Wally West, and actually where I jumped on with The Flash series. I've always understood this particular hero and the legacy of The Flash through Wally's eyes, so it makes sense that recounting his life story wouldn't read as hokey to me (though we're deep into 1990s comics here, so people's hair looks ridiculous). Another saving grace is Waid's almost instinctive understanding of the character's voice. I've heard Waid say that he sees himself as very Wally-like, and I think his ease with Wally's hyperactive thought process, goofy humor and biting remarks defends this remark well. Here, we are presented with a man who knows and appreciates his own history, while still being sort of overwhelmed by it and his the part his poor decision-making process in the past has played into that legacy. A man divided but also completely aware of his lucky life, Wally emerges as a person I want to follow, thanks to Waid's energetic, breezy style and his adept summing up of Wally's previous adventures.

[Bryson Kopf]

This is one of the better 'Year One' tales that DC probably put out in the 1990's, detailing how Wally became Kid Flash, sidekick to his idol Barry Allen (Flash #2). I dig that Waid did not dial down the insanity of the original Silver Age (1950s) tales, but added in a ton of character development. Wally has a lot of joy in being the Flash, and this shines throughout the volume. Some of the Flash's classic Rouges make an appearance too, who always manage to warm my heart. Good stuff.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy]

Mark Waid does a great job capturing that childlike wonder you should feel when reading comics, you have to let go of your preconceptions and just enjoy the heroism. The heroes are all GOOD guys, the world is simpler and doing right is the only choice. This was the type of comic that would have gotten me into comics when I was younger and then I’d have hated it when I was an edgy teen obsessed with things like The Boys and now I’m old and can recognize the beauty in these works. This is not a major story, this is the background of kid flash (eventually regular flash) and it just shows a kid learning to be a good guy and a superhero. Highly recommended.

[Adam Collings]

This one started off a lot cheesier than the other comics I've read in recent time, but by that fourth issue, I was really starting to see the depth. This one has some important things to say about parenthood and family relationships. A nice introduction to Wally West's Flash.

[Paweł]

Wreszcie mam jakiąś pozytywną opinię o Wallym, bo wcześniej nie czytałem żadnego komisu o nim.

[Chris Greensmith]

"No matter where your speed comes from, Barry...you're the most human guy I know."

[Kamen Rider Ben]

Una decente introducción a los cómics de flash, aunque no hace mucho para interesarme, tardaré un poco más en empezar a leer el resto de cómics de flash.

[Stingray]

In my opinion this is a 5* cuz i knew nothing about the flash before this and now ive got a much better idea

[Sarah]

I'd already read the main arc of this graphic novel in the first "Flash by Mark Waid" collection. But it was nice to flip through the pages and revisit that, quite frankly, awesome story. I requested this one separately from the library, however, because it included three other Wally-centric stories that were not included in the Waid collection. The first was about Kid Flash facing Element Man on his own; the second, about the only time Kid Flash ever saw fear in Flash's eyes (when the idea that, as a speedster, he might not be human crossed his mind); and the third was a brief look into what Wally's life could have been if he hadn't become Kid Flash and then later the Flash. The end result of these three stories is the fact that the Flash is a hero based on the best of humanity, much like Superman. I love my dark heroes (Batman, Red Hood, etc.), but we need these heroes that, while still complex, focus on the best of what we have to offer--even if they are constantly confronted with the worst. This volume also (obviously) dove more into Wally's growth from a kid in a less-than-idea home (to put it lightly) to a superhero. The instant he became Kid Flash, his life started on a new path--and the type of person Wally is made sure it was a path for good. These are nice stories that still give you interesting characters, but that also show how positive changes CAN happen in life. In short: Stories like these are the yang in the DC universe, and I'm very appreciative of that. (Because, despite common belief, DC really isn't all that much "darker" than Marvel, especially if you look at the universe as a whole--at least, that's what I've found in my extensive journey into DC.) If you're a Kid Flash fan, this is practically a must-read, and it's something that will make you adore Wally West all the more.

[Brini]

Flash ist mittlerweile zu meinem Lieblings-DC-Superhelden geworden— oder besser Barry Allen. Es ist dennoch interessant zu sehen wie Wally zu Kid Flash wurde sowie seine Beziehung zu Flash. Ich hätte allerdings gerne gelesen wie Wally und Iris hinter die wahre Identität von Flash gekommen sind. Eine Übergangsgeschichte fehlt in dieser Ausgabe einfach.

Punktabzug gibt es bei der deutschen Umsetzung. Ich glaube kaum, dass Eaglemoss Korrekturleser beschäftigt. Anfängliche Schreibfehler (fehlende oder falsche Buchstaben/Wörter) wurden zu grausamer, völlig fehlender Grammatik. Man sollte niemals Google Übersetzer benutzen und eine Geschichte dann 1:1 so verlegen. Desweiteren wäre es von Vorteil einfach das Feld zu vergrößern wenn der Text nicht reinpasst. Fehler, die nicht hätten sein müssen, zerstören einen sonst perfekten Comic.

[Printable Tire]

Man, I've been reading a lot of comic book trade paperbacks recently, especially ones concerning the Flash. This one was pretty good even though I read some of it before and the bridging story is ruined by the fact comic book corporate shenanigans have Wally's Aunt alive in the past most recent issues I read. Some underlying homoeroticism between Barry and Wally, I noticed. Is Barry in NAMBLA? No, certainly not, just bad posturing. Some extremely lukewarm and hideous art therein, but very pleased my Waid's attempts to rectify one of the stupidest origins in comic book history.

[Trish]

3.75 stars

I liked reading about the way Flash was able to continue on after Barry. I didn't like the corny side-kick gimmick that was so popular following the appearance of Robin.

We mainly follow Wally West and his mentor Barry Allen as he gets the same super speed. Wally was an angsty mere 10 years old (Not that the art depicted that well) when he unwittingly became Kid Flash.

Interesting enough story, but made me more curious to learn about the Teen Titans.

I've been on a graphic novel kick the past few days.

[Ashe Catlin]

So this starts off in a weird place you have Wally West as the Flash running around an airport, then you meet his grandad. It goes into a bit of a tangent, telling you all about Grandpa until it realises it’s a Flash story. The it goes into a retelling of Wally’s origins, how he got power and become Kid Flash. It’s pretty interesting, even though it’s an older comic it still holds up. One of the things I do like is how Flash and Kid flash differ in power wise, these days they always seem equal but this shows that it’s not so easy having powers. Wally has some personal hurdles to get over as well which rounds it out nice, it’s a pretty good jumping on point if you’re interested reading about Wally. I would recommend checking The Flash by Mark Waid: Book One instead as these trades are hard to come by since they’re out of print. So it’d be a much easier way of carrying on the series, volume one collects the same as this one bar 3 issues. It’s also recently been released so it won’t be going out of print anytime soon, you also get 3 additional stories in this. The origin of Wallys’ unique yellow and red outfit, honestly it was a little boring but it was latch on at the end of the volume and doesn’t offer additional narrative to the main story so it’s just filler. It’s not part of the run either all of the additional 3 stories are plucked from a random point in time and not written by Waid, the other 2nd one features Cobalt Blue which is a pretty unique villain as it’s like he’s ripped out a fantasy book instead of a run of a mil Flash villain. The last one a what if Wally never got his sped which plays out pretty interestingly, I really enjoyed this apart from the whole Grandpa guffufel which I could have done without.

[Vladimir Radojković]

The story follows Wally’s memories of his first days as Kid Flash, with a few bonus adventures focusing on his relationship with his uncle and mentor - Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash.

Although this is essentially Wally’s origin story, we also get to see and learn quite a bit about Barry and the person who brought the two of them together, Iris West. There are also many mentions as to what happens to these characters much later down the road, though overall, I think this graphic novel makes for a great introduction to these characters.

Bear in mind, though, this comic is from the early 90s and it shows. So, not all is great. Some of the story elements seem a bit naïve in today’s day and age, and the relationship between characters is sometimes a bit too idealistic or overly dramatic for it to always be taken seriously. Still, one thing that’s clear from the get-go is that this book has heart. That’s what kept me engaged from start to finish and what made me appreciate these characters and their story.

[LYS.]

“My name is Wally West, and at age ten, l’d finally found a way to keep people from running my life: I started doing the running.” —Wally West, issue #63

actually 4.5 stars!

this is my first stint in the flash (the comics, specifically) and jumping headfirst into wally’s first year was insane. barry and iris are dead, apparently, and wally’s the saddest-happiest kid on earth. waid does such a great job of balancing wally’s internal narration regarding his past, his family (and subsequent trauma) and the quick-paced action that the flash always promises.

ugh. i want to throttle rudy west so badly. i want to keep wally age ten in central city with iris and the flash for a little while longer. but time really is the enemy, as wally would say. sighhhhhh waid does it again! anyway, i certainly will be reading more of wally’s flash in the future—yipppee!!

[Craig Lotter]

With the passing of Barry Allen, Wally West steps into the running shoes of the Flash, but as he finds himself reminiscing, he has been training for this role since he was a boy, when he first encountered Barry, had the accident, and became Kid Flash! This is Waid at the start of his legendary Flash run, laying down the character groundwork to start building new stories on. It's a solid origin tale for Wally West and good 90's DC read. The book is padded out with a couple of standalone issues, but none of these are particularly standout or strong. For the main storyline, Larocque and Marzan Jr. produce serviceable enough art, which although is not the most dynamic or exciting ever, does a good enough job of bring Waid's storytelling to life. A quick, not too bad read which I found myself easily zipping through in a day.

[Jana P.]

Pokračuju v krasojízdě s dalším dílem DC komiksového kompletu. Tentokrát se svazek zaměřuje na propojení příběhu Flashe a Kid Flashe, vyprávěné z pohledu druhého zmíněného. A bylo to vcelku příjemné setkání. Příběh jednoznačný, srozumitelný, umělo mne to zaujmout, četlo se mi to dobře, graficky mne to taky bavilo.
Hodnocení dávám lehce nadprůměrné, lepší 3 hvězdy - tak 3,5. Bavilo mne to, ano, ale mám už oblíbenější svazky v této sérii a příběh Kid Flashe, byť se četl dobře, mám prostě větší favority. Jde tedy spíš o nějaké osobní preference, než že by tenhle svazek byl nějak vysloveně špatný.

[Mr. Stick]

"DID YOU EVER SEE THE MOVIE FRANKENSTEIN? THE ONE WHERE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS RUNNING FROM. A MONSTER WHO MOVES SLOWER THAN YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER? I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT'S TO BE SCARED OF. THE ONLY THINGS THAT CAN HURT YOU ARE THE THINGS THAT CAN CATCH UP TO YOU."
- super-speed narrator, Wally West.

There was a big gap between Savage Velocity and Born To Run, but this one gives plenty of back story for Wally, Iris, even Barry. Updates are made to many of the Rogues.
This one included my favorite aspect of Super-Hero comics: ordinary stuff. Characters engaged in casual conversation, waking up late, sharing meals, family time. The kind of stuff that makes superheroes relatable.
Five stars!

[I']

This is my first The Flash comic and I found it very introductory and easy to follow.
I've gotten to know both Barry Allen and Wally West as The Flash and Kid Flash. The storyline was entertaining buy a bit repetitive tho, but it felt that it was due to the way it was compiled. Some facts were stated several times and I felt the story could have been more diverse once the characters were introduced. But for an introduction to the characters it was a good read.

[Caleb Abel]

I haven't read enough old Flash to know if it was a temporary style decision to make this look like a comic from the 60s or if that's just what The Flash looked like even in the early 90s, but I definitely read Batman and Spider-Man in the 90s and this looks super dated by comparison.

The art is not very good and a lot of the story telling is corny. The first issue was tough to even get through but I enjoyed the other three issues quite a bit.

[George Barlo]

This graphic novel explores the origin of Wally West as the Flash and his journey to becoming the true Scarlet Speedster, stepping out of the shadow of his mentor, Barry Allen. Waid’s writing captures the emotional growth of Wally as he grapples with responsibility, legacy, and heroism. LaRocque’s artwork is bright and energetic, fitting the speed and intensity of the story.
Did I enjoy it? Yes, it’s a heartwarming and fast-paced look at a beloved character.
– George B

[Rhys Charlton]

This was a good read for my first flash book as well as my first real introduction to Wally West as a character. A lot of the plot elements honestly did feel a bit rushed and I'm left questioning why Barry Allen is written so weirdly but for the most part I really enjoyed it. I wish it was longer, the edition I read that was part of the DC Graphic Novel Collection was coupled with a few single issue comics that were much less engaging than this main book.

[Caitlyn R]

"Barry may have taught me how to be Kid Flash, but Iris taught me how to be Wally West."

This was a really nice introduction to Wally and had some fantastic character writing in general. When the stakes increased, Waid wasn't downplaying anything. Can't wait to read more from him!

[Dennis Brock]

it was ok, I did like it, just barely though!

[Arthi]

What a great arc. Tells Wally's origin story and has some great moments between Wally and Iris, Ira and Flash. I tend to stick to more modern DC comics, but this was a worthwhile read!

[Rocco Ricca]

Full of hope and lighthearted fun, this is exactly what a superhero comic should be! 4.5/5