The Flash movie is finally coming out this week, so we’re going to celebrate comic book speedsters! Super speed is a classic super power, so it only makes sense that I take a good, long look at all the other super speedy superheroes out there in comic book land. What better way to honor the Fastest Man Alive?

There will be plenty of restrictions to this list. I only want to focus on characters whose main deal is super speed. Superman has super speed among his powers, but he doesn’t count. (Also, in my opinion, the Fast is faster than Superman.) Also, I don’t want to use any of the Flash’s sidekicks, allies or villains. They all have super speed, and would take up the list entirely. I want this list to be about other speedsters, ones who don’t get the movies or get much focus. The unsung speedsters of the comic book world, if you will!

So join me after the jump for six of the slickest speedsters in all of comic books!

Honorable Mention: Quicksilver

Marvel’s top speedster deserves at least an honorable mention. Again, anybody who knows comics knows Quicksilver is the super speed guy at Marvel, and I don’t want this list to be too obvious. So let’s just get it out of the way that Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff, is a mutant (or maybe not?) with the power of super speed. He’s been part of the larger family of X-Men, he’s been an Avenger, he was once the son of Magneto. The dude has had a long, storied career at super speed.

Honorable Mention 2: Whiz Kid

Look, Whiz Kid doesn’t matter. But I always thought she was a neat idea, and I promised myself that if I ever made a speedsters list, I would look her up and include her. Whiz Kid is from Dan Slott’s famous She-Hulk comic from 2004, where she joins the law firm of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway. And there’s a single, throwaway gag where Whiz Kid shows up and reveals that they employ speedsters in the mailroom for quick legal document delivers. I have always loved that idea, so here she is, Whiz Kid, the speedster who only made a single appearance (or maybe more? I don’t remember the whole comic).

Wait, hold that thought. I Googled her after writing that paragraph. Seems that Slott brought her back for the Initiative and had her join the Liberteens in Pennsylvania, after registering with the Superhuman Registration Act. Then she was killed off-panel during Secret Invasion?! My innocence has been forever shattered.

6. Más y Menos

Más y Menos are a pair of Spanish-speaking siblings from Guatemala who gain super speed whenever they’re in contact with one another. They originated in the Teen Titans animated series, then eventually made the jump to comics, albeit briefly. They joined and quit the comic book Teen Titans during the “missing year” after Infinite Crisis, and have barely appeared since. I’m surprised, because they’re pretty cool, and would make good comic book Teen Titans, I should think.

5. Red Rush

The Invincible Universe is often as full of characters as any other comic book universe. It helps when they’re simply knock-offs of the existing Justice League. Red Rush was the Invincible Universe’s version of the Flash, until the events of the first few issues, of course. He made it into the cartoon series, so at least he had that going for him.

4. Makkari

Makkari is the Eternal with super speed at Marvel. He’s long been a male character in the comics, being one of the fastest characters in the known universe. Then they switched him to a lady in the movie, which is perfectly fine by me, because who really cares about the details of the Eternals?

3. Speed

Speed is one of the Scarlet Witch’s twins, reincarnated and given new life because of a whole thing. His brother, Wiccan, is probably more famous. Together they were part of the Young Avengers, and while Wiccan has gone on to do some awesome stuff, Speed is usually on the sidelines. I think he’s dating Prodigy of the X-Men. He also has an MCU appearance, and that’s nothing to scoff at.

2. Speed Demon

Speed Demon has a really insane story at Marvel Comics. If you didn’t already know, Marvel has a team called the Squadron Supreme that acts as their own knock-off version of the Justice League. There’s Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, Princess Power and more, including Flash knock-off, the Whizzer (more on him in a sec). The Squadron Supreme exist in their own alternate universe within the larger Marvel Multiverse, doing their own thing. And they were once encountered by the Grandmaster, who returned to the regular MU and created the Squadron Sinister to take on the Avengers. The Squadron Sinister were knock-offs of the Squadron Supreme. Grandmaster turned scientist James Sanders into his version of the Whizzer. And when all of that was over and Sanders maintained his super speed, he picked a new name — Speed Demon — and went on to become a Spider-Man villain. Good place for him.

1. The Whizzer

If you thought Speed Demon was convoluted, wait until you hear about the Whizzer! This one is a doozy! OK, so, the Whizzer first appeared in comics in 1941. He and his father were framed for murder, so they fled to Africa, where Whizzer — real name Robert Frank — was nearly bitten by a cobra, only to be saved by a mongoose. His dad then injected Robert with mongoose blood to save him from a sickness, and that mongoose blood gave him super speed. Whizzer became a costumed superhero and was eventually invited to join the Invaders, which was Captain America’s WWII fighting squadron against the Nazis! He stayed a superhero through the 20th century before eventually dying in his old age.

It doesn’t end there! Because as mentioned before, the Whizzer was also part of the Squadron Sinister, who became Speed Demon. And that Whizzer was based off an alternate reality Whizzer who was part of the Squadron Supreme. Except that I didn’t mentioned earlier that the Squadron Sinister were created and published years before the Squadron Supreme! Writers decided to make a legit Squadron Supreme team after the characters first appeared as the Squadron Sinister, and they came up with the story after the fact! This Whizzer is a fella named Stanley Stewart, who got his powers from a weird fog. Because why not.

So Marvel has had at least three version of the Whizzer, and that’s just the ones named Whizzer. There’s also an alternate alternate reality of the Squadron Supreme where Stanley Stewart is called The Blur! And he should also be on this list!

Or what about the fact that Whizzer appeared in the old Spider-Man animated series from the 90s! Or that a live action version of the Whizzer appeared on the Jessica Jones TV show! There his name was Robert Coleman, and he got his powers in a similar way to how Jessica Jones got her powers! It’s never ending!

Or it is ending. Right now.

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