Barry Allen

Bartholomew "Barry" Allen is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe and the second Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), created by writers Gardner Fox and Bob Kanigher and penciler Carmine Infantino. His death in 1985 removed the character from the regular DC lineup for 23 years. Interviews in May, 2008 reveal that the character will soon appear in Final Crisis. Barry Allen is a police scientist (his job title was changed to a forensic scientist in the Iron Heights one-shot) with a reputation for being very slow, deliberate, and frequently late, which frustrates his fiancee, Iris West. One night, as he is preparing to leave work, a lightning bolt shatters a case full of chemicals and spills them all over Allen. As a result, Allen finds that he can run extremely fast and has matching reflexes. He dons a set of red tights sporting a lightning bolt, dubs himself the Flash (after his childhood hero in the comic books, Jay Garrick), and... full article at wikipedia