The Flash Season 3: 10 Things You Need To Know About Kid Flash

Find out all you need to know about Wally West ahead of his upcoming transformation to Kid Flash.

by Andrew Pollard
The Flash Wally West Kid Flash
The CW/Cartoon Network

With Keiynan Lonsdale's Wally West having debuted in Season 2 of The CW's The Flash, fans instantly started speculating on whether Wally would end up with his own superpowers at some point in the future. After all, this is someone who is one of the most well-known and beloved speedsters in the DC comic book realm.

The CW has finally let the cat out of the bag, recently revealing some pictures of Wally suited-and-booted as Kid Flash ahead of the show's upcoming third season. But who really is Wally West?

Having debuted in 1959, the comic book Wally has nearly 60 years worth of history to explore as the character worked his way up to becoming one of the most important heroes in comic book history. Yes, Wally West really is that big of a deal.

How the superpowered Wally will feature in The CW's Grant Gustin-starring show remains to be seen, but, if nothing else, he certainly looks the part, with many fans mightily impressed by the look of this new take on Kid Flash.

So with that said, let's take a look at the comic book Wally West/Kid Flash, and get you up to speed on the key facts of this fan-favourite speedster.

10. Family Ties

The Flash Wally West Kid Flash
DC Comics

In the comic book realm, Wally West is the nephew of Iris West.

Upon Wally’s 1959 debut, Iris was at that stage dating Barry Allen. Eventually, Barry and Iris would end up married, making Barry the step-uncle of Wally. That’s certainly keeping the speedster gig in the family.

Obviously, in The CW’s show things are a little different. In the TV series, Wally is instead introduced as the long lost brother of Iris, with him having been kept a secret from both Iris and her ever-great pops, Detective Joe West.

Whilst it may have taken Keiynan Lonsdale’s TV take on Wally a little while to warm to Grant Gustin’s Barry, he did share one major thing in common with his comic book counterpart: both the comic book Wally and the TV Wally idolize The Flash.

And just like how the comic book Wally West eventually went on to become his own speedster under the Kid Flash moniker, the TV take on the character is now doing the same.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.