The Many Loves of Wally West (original) (raw)

Jay Garrick had Joan Williams, and Barry Allen had Iris West. The first two Flashes both married the women they were seeing when they gained super-speed. Wally West, however, became a hero as a young teenager. He was already in the public eye when he started learning about love, and the indiscretions of his early twenties caused quite a stir...

Janet Heatherton

I have no idea who this is, but Wally says she’s the first girl he ever kissed in Flash #155 (2000).

Final score: Unknown.

Gail Manners

Wally met Gail Manners while on an expedition with his aunt Iris, Barry Allen, and Gail’s geologist father (Flash #120, 1961). They avoided each other at first, but eventually hit it off. They were too young to really date at the time, but they kept in touch over the years and were clearly attracted to each other during their late teens. At one point Gail slipped into a coma due to residual effects from that first expedition, and Wally and Barry helped bring her out (Flash #269, 1979).

Interesting facts: This expedition inspired Barry to design the Cosmic Treadmill. A third story with Gail gaining psychic powers (which later caused her coma) was printed out of sequence (Flash #325, 1983); when printed, she was renamed Jill and identified as Gail’s sister.

Final score: Unknown.

Donna Troy

During the second incarnation of the Teen Titans, Wally awkwardly pursued his teammate Wonder Girl. Donna was still attracted to Speedy, and she gave Wally the “Let’s stay friends” speech. Fortunately for both, they did. (Teen Titans #44–51, 1976–1978)

Final score: Unrequited.

Leslie

Wally says she was his first serious girlfriend in Green Lantern #96 (1998), but won’t say any more about her. However, she may be the Leslie who appeared briefly in The Flash Spectacular (1978), just as the two of them were about to graduate high school.

Final score: Unknown.

Liza Brodner

Liza appears briefly in a story set just before Wally begins college, surprising him as he’s drowning his sorrows in a root beer float. They don’t seem to be dating, but Wally does give her a kiss after she helps him figure something out, and a caption states, “We will see more of this young lady in the future.” Then they stopped printing Kid Flash backup stories, so she was never seen again. (Flash #266, 1978)

Final score: Unknown.

Nathalia

Again, no idea where she came from, but in _Legends of the DC Universe #18 (1999)_Wally’s career as Kid Flash keeps him too busy to pay attention to her, and their relationship falls apart.

Final score: Unknown.

Raven

The daughter of the other-dimensional demon Trigon, Raven brought together the third group ofTitans to defeat her father. She needed Kid Flash on the team, but recent events had led him to give up heroics for good. The only way to get him on the team was to manipulate his emotions and make him believe he loved her.

Even after she told him that his initial interest had been artificial, he continued to have feelings for her. She could never reciprocate, since to give into her emotions would risk releasing Trigon’s evil within her. Wally kept trying to sort out his feelings for her, and their relationship was strained up through the time he finally decided he couldn’t handle being both Kid Flash and Wally West, and chose to live a normal life. (_The New Teen Titans (first series) #1–39, 1980–1984_—followed up on in _The New Teen Titans (second series) #1–5, 1984_and Legends of the DC Universe #18, 1999)

Final score: Unrequited.

Frances Kane

A childhood friend of Wally’s from Blue Valley, Frances had a crush on him as a girl. As a teenager she started manifesting uncontrollable magnetic powers, and Wally brought the Titans in to help her. Afterward they started spending more time together, and began dating around the time he left the Titans.

Frances was Wally’s first long-term girlfriend, and they dated for several years. Barry died in the Crisis and Wally became the Flash, Frances started being able to control her powers (though she would have rather gotten rid of them), and then Wally won the New York Lottery. He asked her to move in with him, she freaked out, and left. Their occasional meetings ever since have been... rather explosive, due in large part to the fact that her powers and various supervillians have messed severely with her head. (New Teen Titans #17 – Flash #2, 1982–1987)

Final score: Long-term relationship.

Dance of the Revolution

Wally traveled to Hong Kong to learn to control his Dim Mak, or Death Touch. One night he lay awake, unable to sleep, and a woman he believed to be one of the household servants came to him. He succumbed to temptation, only to learn the next day that it had not been Lin Mei, but a martial arts master called the Dance of the Revolution. She had come to him the previous night to obtain mystical defenses against him. He was able to escape defeat only by applying what he had so far learned from the Wizened Sage. (Flash Annual #1, 1987)

Final score: One-night stand.

Tina McGee

Wally met scientist Tina McGee while trying to increase his speed (having dropped to roughly the speed of sound after the Crisis altered his body chemistry). He was on the rebound from Frances, and she was estranged from her increasingly erratic husband, and they simply clung to each other. Tina moved in with Wally after her husband became a seven-foot tall homicidal Speed Demon, but their personality differences and various stresses led them to break up. (Flash #3–16, 1987–1988)

Tina and her once-again-sane husband have since reconciled, and if Jerry can only be considered an ally, Tina is still Wally’s friend.

Final score: Relationship, co-habitation.

Karin Preus

When Wally was trapped in another dimension by Chunk, fellow prisoner Karin was convinced they’d never escape. Figuring they’d have to pair off eventually, she decided to choose someone now, while she still could, and chose Wally. She didn’t have a chance to convince him, though, as he was able to get them all out shortly after he arrived. (Flash #10–11, 1988)

Final score: Mild flirtation.

Trudy Powell

While living on Long Island, Wally’s neighbors—Nick Bassalgia and Trudy Powell (posing as Bassalgia’s niece)—invited him to a ritzy party. The main agenda was to get him in on their side against theVelocity 9 suppliers, but they were not above using Trudy to get at Wally. At this point his relationship with Tina was falling apart, and until he learned about their hidden agenda, the only thing that stopped them was lack of opportunity. (Flash #12–17, 1988)

Final score: Heavy flirting.

Durlan Spy

During the multi-planetary alien invasion of Earth (Invasion!, 1989), the Flash went to Cuba to prevent the island from becoming the aliens’ second beachhead. While there, he found himself working with the Cuban resistance, led by deposed dictator Fidel Castro. Wally stopped a bullet from killing a female guerrilla. That night, “Sgt. Gomez” came to Wally’s tent, offering to reward his kindness. It’s not clear how much time passed or what she did before pulling a gun on him, at which point she was stopped by Manhunter and revealed as a shape-shifting Durlan spy. (Flash #21 & Manhunter #8, 1989)

Final score: Either attempted seduction or one-night stand.

(Thanks to greenygal for pointing out this incident.)

Celia/Lila McGrath

Phony psychic who claimed to channel the ancient Atlantean priest, Llar-Twnakc. With staged appearances, she created the Celestial Enlightenment Ranch, a cult-like enclave designed to separate people from their excess money. She and her partner convinced the Flash to join, using his fame to promote their scam. On several occasions, Celia (also called Lila) attempted to seduce Wally in order to bring him deeper into the con. (Flash #36–39, 1990)

Final score: Attempted seduction.

Julie Jackam

Until recently a Keystone City police officer, Julie had a “thing” with Wally before he started seeing Linda. While it’s not clear from context whether this was in New York or later on in Keystone, writer Geoff Johns has stated that it was back in New York (which certainly fits better with Wally’s personality at the time). Julie was killed by the Cicada cult, leaving behind an infant son, Josh, whom she never mentioned to Wally. (Flash #170, 2001)

Final score: Casual relationship.

Jackie and Wanda

In a story in The Flash 80-Page Giant #2 (1999), Wally is trying to juggle two dates and a JLE meeting. There are more problems with the timing.

For Wally to be both living in New York and in JLE, it has to be between issues 29 and 32. (He goes on a date with Connie in #30, but their previous date was in #19, so they might not be exclusive at this point.) Green Lantern, however, was never on the team when it was in Paris. He joined after the team had moved to London (JLE #40), long after Wally had left New York. Even ignoring the cities and going by GL being on the team, that puts it sometime after Flash #66—between Connie and Linda, yes, but there’s no indication anywhere else he dated anyone during that time.

I’m calling this story on its bad research, and consigning it to the apocrypha (although if you really want it to be in continuity, you can blame it on Zero Hour or Hypertime).

Final score: Unknown.

Connie Noleski

Wally apparently dated West Texas model Connie Noleski briefly before he started seeing Tina (Flash Annual #1, 1987). She dropped by again after he and Tina broke up and he’d lost his money, and they started seeing each other again. Perhaps after his last few tumultuous relationships he wanted someone “normal.” Unfortunately, Connie was too normal for him. They didn’t exactly treat each other well, and Connie eventually left him for Chunk. (Flash #19–60, 1988–1992)

Final score: Long-term relationship.

Bonnie Blackmon

A new employee at Diogenes Industries, Bonnie Blackmon “stumbled on some papers [she] wasn’t supposed to see.” She went to the Flash to figure out what to do about it. If he had not been distracted by Waverider, he would have helped her find evidence to convict Diogenes, during which time they would have fallen in love and married. Unfortunately, they would have had to go into the Witness Protection Program, living as Mike and Diane Edwards for nine years before crippling Diogenes’ power base and being able to once again live under their own names. (Armageddon 2001, Flash Annual #4, 1991)

Final score: Nothing in continuity, married with children in alternate timeline.

Power Girl

Wally has never had any interest in Power Girl beyond the fact that he finds her undeniably attractive, but somehow they developed an antagonistic relationship anyway—most likely because she took offense at his womanizing tendencies during his rebound period (post-Frances through Connie).

Final score: Flirtation only.

Christina Alexandrova

After breaking away from Vandal Savage, the last member ofBlue Trinity became Lady Flash and started working with Wally. She also tried to latch onto him emotionally, but he pushed her away. He was still seeing Connie, plus he wasn’t sure he would have wanted to get involved with her anyway. She moved on, but after losing both Savitar and Kobra, she has since refocused herself on Wally. (Flash #51–55, 1991)

Final score: One kiss.

Linda Park

The proverbial love of Wally’s life, Linda met him in a strictly formal setting: TV news. She was reporting on the events of the Porcupine Man saga, and they met briefly (and antagonistically) back in New York. Coincidentally, though, Linda moved to Keystone City for a new job around the same time that Wally did, and one of her first projects was investigating a New Age retreat at which Wally was staying. He saw through her cover, and they started investigating together—at which point Linda became possessed by the spirit of an ancient Irish bard. This forced them to deal with each other on a regular basis, and they became friends. (Flash #31–70, 1989–1992)

After Wally broke up with Connie, he and Linda continued to see each other casually, as friends, until one day they realized they really didn’t want to be without each other, and started actually dating. Linda has had a maturing influence on Wally, and Wally has shown her how to relax from time to time. They’ve had to deal with some serious issues (hiding secrets and the powered/non-powered imbalance being the two biggest), but they’ve worked through all of that and finally married. (Flash #71—, 1992–present)

Final score: Married with children.

Monica Mayne

An actress hired by the city of Santa Marta to help convince the Flash to move there. She was assigned to be his personal liaison and administrative assistant, but she wanted a more personal relationship. A long-time admiration of the Flash had become fantasies of romance, and when she was cast as the female lead in a movie about the Flash (as his girlfriend, “Lindy”) she made her best effort to seduce him. She failed, but eventually set her sights on someone more willing: the actor playing him in the film. (Flash #122–124, Flash Annual #10, 1997)

Final score: Unrequited (reverse).

Angela Margolin

Shortly after Abra Kadabra kidnaped Linda and made everyone forget her, Wally met Central City police scientist Angela Margolin. They flirted mildly, though he disappeared into the Speed Force before they even had time to have dinner together. Angela subsequently became involved with Walter West, a Wally from an alternate timeline. Tragically, because of the dangers of Hypertime, they can never be together.

Final score: Mild flirtation.

In Summary...

Going back over this, it looks like the ones who mattered most were Raven, Frances, and Linda. Frances was his first serious relationship, and I’d have to interpret his relationships with Tina and Connie as rebounds. Then he had time to develop another serious relationship with Linda, and there we are!

Text by Kelson Vibber. Do not copy without permission.

Art

• Gail Manners - Flash (first series) #325 (1983) - Alex Saviuk and Frank McLaughlin
• Donna Troy - New Teen Titans (second series) #1 (August 1984) - George Perez
• Leslie - Flash Spectacular (1978) - José L.G. Lopez and Wally Wood
• Liza Brodner - Flash (first series) #266 (October 1978) - Alex Saviuk and Frank Chiramonte
• Nathalia - Legends of the DC Universe #18 (July 1999) - Butch Guice
• Raven - Tales of the New Teen Titans #2 (July 1982) - George Perez
• Frances Kane - Flash (second series) #80 (Early September 1993) - Mike Wieringo and José Marzan, Jr.
• Dance of the Revolution - Flash (second series) Annual #1 (1987) - Jackson Guice and Larry Mahlstedt
• Tina McGee - Flash (second series) #16 (September 1998) - Greg LaRocque and Larry Mahlstedt
• Karin Preus - Flash (second series) #11 (April 1988) - Jackson Guice and Romeo Tanghal
• Trudy Powell - Flash (second series) #14 (July 1988) - Michael Collins and Larry Mahlstedt
• Durlan Spy (disguised) - Flash (second series) #21 (January 1989) - Greg LaRocque and Larry Mahlstedt
• Durlan Spy (“true” form) - Manhunter (second series) #8 (Holiday 1988) - Frank Springer and Pablo Marcos
• Julie Jackam - Flash (second series) #170 (March 2001) - Scott Kolins and Doug Hazelwood
• Connie Noleski (Redhead) - Flash (second series) #19 (December 1988) - Jim Mooney and Larry Mahlstedt
• Connie Noleski (Blonde) - Flash (second series) #30 (September 1989) - Greg LaRocque and Larry Mahlstedt
• Bonnie Blackmon - Flash (second series) Annual 4 (1991) - Craig Brasfield and Andrew Pepoy
• Power Girl - Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #6 (January 1991) - Bart Sears
• Christina - Flash (second series) #50 (May 1991) - Greg LaRocque and José Marzan, Jr.
• Linda Park - Flash Secret Files (November 1997) - Phil Jimenez
• Monica Mayne (Brunette) Flash (second series) #123 (March 1997) - Paul Ryan & John Nyberg
• Monica Mayne (Blonde) Flash (second series) Annual #10 (1997) - Dick Giordano and either José Marzan, Jr., Keith Champagne or Ken Branch
• Angela Margolin - Flash #146 (March 1999) - Paul Pelletier and Vince Russell