Is The Flash a little TOO powerful??

[Polux]

I just saw this video...

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...and it got me thinking (actually, I thought about it plenty before, but here it goes...)

I'm REALLY excited for The Flash, but I feel that he's incredibly overpowered - more by description than by execution - in the comics; like how he's described in the video above as being able to run (and think) faster than the speed of light, he's even mentioned to be able to perceive things in an attosecond. Let's think about that for a second; from wikipedia: "...an attosecond is to a second what a second is to about 31.71 billion years." The fact that he'd be able to perceive the world at that speed would leave him in a world that's frozen around him...I can't understand how he wouldn't go insane!

But ok, let's say he can switch it on and off; when he's on "Flash mode" nothing should be able to touch him, he should be able to see EVERYTHING coming his way YEARS ahead; this is a fundamental problem that I've found with every animated/live action depiction of the character, since I feel that writers have to dumb him down, and make'im stop and try to reason with perpetrators or villains instead of taking them down in the blink of an eye, which would not only make sense, but would be the responsible thing to do, since in most of the situations there are civilians lives at stake (and of course, Barry being a CSI, he has police mindset and the knowledge that civilians safety comes first).

I'm really excited about seeing the Rogues in the big screen, but honestly none of them should make Barry break a sweat...I mean, Boomerang?? (And I LOVE Jai Courtney in the role)

What I'm saying is that, by description, he should be severely downgraded; just the idea of him being able to move at the speed of sound would make him incredibly fast (340.29 m/s is crazy fast, guys) while at the same time allowing for threats to be believable.

What do you guys think??

 

[BlueLanternKal]

Nah, if he can only move at the speed of sound he wouldn't be able to tap into the Speed Force or time travel.

I agree that the writers need to find a way to bring him down a notch, but not at the expense of what makes the Flash who he is.

Best way to do that is to ramp up his villains. Recent versions of Captain Cold can use the Cold Force. He can slow down the world around him on a molecular level. That right there poses a challenge to the Flash.

 

[Polux]

Yeah, maybe the speed of sound is a little too slow, since Superman can break it easily and Flash should definitely be faster than Supes, I just think that speed of light is too much and the whole "attosecond" thing is way too ridiculous...but maybe that's just me.

 

[BlueLanternKal]

Nah, you're right. But that's why it's not easy. Inexperience could also be a factor. When Barry was introduced in the Silver Age he didn't have all the powers he had today. So use that as a model. He gets more and more powerful the older the DCEU gets. But at it's inception he has no idea what the Speed Force even is. He has to go to Silas Stone to ask what the deal is everytime he unlocks a new power or ability.

 

[Micromind]

These characters (Flash, Superman, WW) operate at different "power levels" depending on the situation, a bit like in games, a character gains more powers as he progresses through the different levels but uses his increased powers only when a situation arises.

 

[Polux]

Well, Ezra also talked about how we won't be seeing him at his full potential at the beginning; can remember exactly what he said or which interview it was, but if I recall correctly he mentioned Kingdom Come and how the Flash is like a ghost in it because he's one with the speed force and lives in a different level of reality, and how in the movies we're gonna see his abilities evolve through time, which I think it's really cool.

I just hope they're consistent with his abilities. I think that's the one thing that annoys me the most; for example, in the TV show in one episode they have him reacting to a bullet the moment it touches his skin and dodging it right then (which makes sense with his abilities) but in a later episode he gets hit by a dart....I mean, really?!

But also, their power level depend totally on the writer at the time, I just hope for a bit of consistency with that and I think putting a roof to his speed (at least initially) would be a good idea.

 

[Polux]

I also think that's one of the reasons it's taking so long to get the project off the ground; to try to come up with credible threats to him without depowering him too much.

 

[Bren]

As much as it goes against canon, I'd like him to genuinely be hampered by physics such as creating a massive wind or (even firestorm due to friction) if he exceeds certain speeds. In other words, let the Speed Force allow him travel as fast as he likes, but collateral damage and massive risk in killing bystanders is what limits him physically and requires him to be resourceful.

And when you need him to break the time barrier, he's got to be bloody careful.

Taking it up a notch; imagine in his inexperienced beginning, he kills someone (even a criminal) because of unrestrained speed and he blocks himself...

 

[Web-Head]

"I certainly think it will represent the next stage," he explained. "What I find fascinating is that we’re still very much amateur-hour Speedster." That's a journey Miller's clearly keen to continue in any potential future movies: "I’d love for the series to track an evolution of Barry Allen’s early times as The Flash."

When asked if we could see a fully-powered Flash in DC's movie universe one day, Miller explained why that was unlikely:

"Like, I love this comic 'Kingdom Come' - unbelievable art - and in that The Flash is fully evolved, and you never even see him, right? It’s just like a red mist, and there’s no crime in [Keystone] City. He protects a whole chunk of the country.

"So that wouldn’t make for the most interesting film - you know what I mean? What do we have to learn about that guy? That guy barely exists, right? He’s almost one with the Speed Force. So it’s interesting to go to the beginning."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/11/17/the-flash-solo-movie-will-feature-an-amateur-hour-barry-allen

 

[BlueLanternKal]

As much as it goes against canon, I'd like him to genuinely be hampered by physics such as creating a massive wind or (even firestorm due to friction) if he exceeds certain speeds. In other words, let the Speed Force allow him travel as fast as he likes, but collateral damage and massive risk in killing bystanders is what limits him physically and requires him to be resourceful.

And when you need him to break the time barrier, he's got to be bloody careful.

Taking it up a notch; imagine in his inexperienced beginning, he kills someone (even a criminal) because of unrestrained speed and he blocks himself...

I can already taste the "not my Flash" rage-tears from here.

As far as time traveling goes I'd rather he be relegated to going to STAR Labs for equipment and support. It'd be a nice nod to the cosmic treadmill without the hokiness. If he's just breaking the time barrier will nilly then THAT would definitely be too god-like. Time travel has to regarded as dangerous and complicated as space travel, but for superheroes. IMO of course. YMMV.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

They have ways of mitigating the incredible difficulty of coming up with plausible threats for a character with as many abilities as Flash has.

I think, and sorry if this offends it's fans, but the best thing they could do is look at how they handle it on the CW show and do the opposite. Consistency is also a key. As a for instance... Don't have Flash able to catch a bullet fired a few feet in front of him one moment but then get tagged by a dart the next. Don't have him whizzing around what are essentially black holes and never even get phased by the forces unleashed and then later on he stumbles because of a shock wave created by a character hitting the ground (which implies that said character can generate more force than a trans-dimensional rip which was shown literally pulling skyscrapers apart... SERIOUSLY CW?).

Look, it's not easy writing the obstacles for this level of powered hero but it can be done. I think speed wise for the first film they gotta keep the extra-luminal to a minimum, maybe even only as a finale bit... And show how much that takes out of him.

 

[Polux]

They have ways of mitigating the incredible difficulty of coming up with plausible threats for a character with as many abilities as Flash has.

I think, and sorry if this offends it's fans, but the best thing they could do is look at how they handle it on the CW show and do the opposite. Consistency is also a key. As a for instance... Don't have Flash able to catch a bullet fired a few feet in front of him one moment but then get tagged by a dart the next. Don't have him whizzing around what are essentially black holes and never even get phased by the forces unleashed and then later on he stumbles because of a shock wave created by a character hitting the ground (which implies that said character can generate more force than a trans-dimensional rip which was shown literally pulling skyscrapers apart... SERIOUSLY CW?).

Look, it's not easy writing the obstacles for this level of powered hero but it can be done. I think speed wise for the first film they gotta keep the extra-luminal to a minimum, maybe even only as a finale bit... And show how much that takes out of him.

Agree with all of this, specially the bolded part.