The Evolution Of Flash Costumes Over The Years

By The Comic Professor

Flash costumes have gone through multiples transformations over the years. Back in the day, whenever the evolution of superhero costumes over the course of various movie and TV adaptations came up in conversations, the first name on everyone’s mind used to be either one of Batman, Superman or Spider-Man. However, over the last decade, with superhero genre making rapid strides in live-action movies and TV shows, other costumes such as Iron Man and Flash costumes are brought up in discussions as well.

About thirty years ago, when a lot of Superman and Batman movies were being made, no one ever thought that it was possible to bring a character like The Flash to the big screen, let alone the small screen. In the years since we have had three different versions of Barry Allen introduced to us, and each one of those has had very different versions of Flash’s costume.

First ever Flash comic book.

The Flash made his debut into the world of comics in the year 1940. However, it was the Golden Age version or the Jay Garrick version of The Flash that was running around Central City saving lives and not Barry Allen. Central City’s very own “Scarlet Speedster” made his first appearance in the comics in the year 1956 and became an instant favorite among the fans. The character brought something new to the table and so did its costume. The Flash costume in the comics was simple, yet elegant. The Flash boasted a red costume with bits of yellow throughout the costume including his belt and his boots and an emblem on the chest with the infamous Flash logo on it.

Wesley Shipp in 1990 Flash Costume

The first live-action adaptation of The Flash came in the year 1990 with John Wesley Shipp playing the titular character. Nowadays, John Wesley Shipp is known for playing Henry Allen and Jay Garrick in 2014’s The Flash series. But there was a time when he used to be Barry Allen himself. Among the three versions of The Flash, the costume for Shipp’s version was probably the most comic book accurate one. However, there was one distinct difference between this version of the costume and the one from the comics. John Wesley Shipp’s Flash didn’t have yellow boots like in the comics.

Comic book Flash vs. 2014 CW Flash Costume

After John Wesley Shipp’s The Flash went off the air in 1991, there were absolutely zero live-action Flash movies or TV shows for over two decades. In the year 2014, however, The Flash once again made his way on to the small screen as a part of The CW’s Arrowverse. This time around it was Grant Gustin who took charge as Barry Allen. Gustin’s Flash costume had a bit darker red tone to it which made it look very different from the comics. Just like John Wesley Shipp’s costume Grant Gustin’s costume didn’t have yellow boots. The costume from The Flash (2014) has had a few minor changes made to it over the course of three seasons. However, the overall look of the costume remained the same. The most prominent one of those changes is probably the color of the background on the Flash emblem on his chest changing from maroon to white.

Justice League Flash costume preview

While Grant Gustin still remains The Flash on the small screen, we are all set to get a new Flash on the big screen with Justice League releasing later this year. Ezra Miller might be the third actor to play Flash, but he is the first actor to play it on the big screen. We did get a small glimpse of Ezra Miller in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice last year. However, it was when the trailer for Justice League was released at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, that we got to see the new Flash costume for the first time in all its glory. Ezra Miller’s costume is in no way similar to that in the comics. Miller’s costume is made of metal unlike any costume that Barry Allen has ever worn. The emblem on the chest of this costume looks nothing like the original Flash logo. And just like the other two versions, yellow boots failed to be a part of this costume as well. Ezra Miller appeared in a small cameo in 2016’s Suicide Squad in his full Flash costume. This version of the costume will be next seen in Justice League and the solo The Flash movie.

In spite of the fact that Ezra Miller’s costume looks the best, it is not true to the comics. With the very little resources that TV shows have compared to movies, the costume department of The Flash (2014) has done an excellent job. John Wesley Shipp’s costume is probably the least fancy one. That is because the costume was made 27 years back. When you look at it that way, John Wesley Shipp’s is not that bad. Shipp’s costume is also true to the comics unlike the other two.