Being a superhero is hard work, and it is made harder by the way superheroes are perceived. To the masses, a superhero is someone who, along with great power, has all but perfected being alive. They don't make big mistakes, and if they do make them, they just travel through time and fix what they did. To many, superheroes appear to be infallible when most of the time they are very much human, and they make very human decisions.
In all of DC Comics, there may be no more a human hero than the Flashes. Both Barry Allen and Wally West are the quintessential blue-collar heroes. They have great power, but they are incredibly human in ways that many of their peers can't begin to imagine. In a world of billionaires, aliens, and magic users, the Flashes are really just regular mid-western guys, and as regular guys, they have made some terrible decisions that have caused a lot of pain.
10 Barry Married Iris West Without Telling Her He Was Flash
When you enter into a committed relationship, the most important thing is honesty. That honesty increases when the committed relationship reaches the level of marriage; at that point, there should be no big secrets between the two lovers. This, apparently, wasn't something Barry Allen believed.
Barry married Iris West, the love of his life, without ever telling her that he was Flash, or that her nephew Wally was Kid Flash. The only reason Iris found out that Barry was living a secret life as a superhero was because he talks in his sleep and revealed the truth on their honeymoon. That's a messed-up secret to keep from your spouse.
9 Wally Ignored Frances Kane
Maybe there's something about being a speedster and not treating the women in your life well. Golden Age speedster Johnny Quick was not a great husband to Liberty Belle, Max Mercury didn't reveal his true self to his daughter for quite a long time, and Barry Allied to Iris all the way to the alter.
For Wally West, the first major sign of disrespect towards women was his relationship with Frances Kane, also known as Magenta. Frances' powers were driving her mad, but Wally wanted her to keep using them so they could be a super-powered couple. After they broke up, Wally all but forgot about Frances until she showed up and tried to kill him, having been driven over the edge by her powers. All those years, Waly could have done more to help her, but he was too caught up in himself.
8 Barry Had Top's Mind Erased
As seen in the controversial story Identity Crisis, there was a period where the Justice League really got into erasing people's minds. Along with Zatanna using her powers to mindwipe Doctor Light and Batman, Flash called in a favor and had the magical member of the JLA do the same to his old nemesis, the Top.
Zatanna didn't just wipe Top's mind, she turned him into a hero, which led to Top using his own powers to make the Flash's Rogues reform. When the guilt of his past as a criminal started to eat away at Top, he took it out on the Rogues, nearly killing a number of them. All because Flash made a horrific choice.
7 Wally Erased The Minds Of Everyone In The Universe
One-upping what Barry Allen and the Justice League had done, Wally West had the minds of everyone in the universe wiped so that they would forget his true identity. When Wally was young, he revealed his name to the world, but after Zoom attacked his wife, Linda Park, killing their unborn children in the process, Wally turned to Spectre to make the world forget who he was. Wally's actions came from a place of grief, but the decision to mess with the minds of literally every living thing in the universe for your personal safety is not a heroic thing to do.
6 Barry Killed Reverse-Flash
On the subject of acting out in grief, that was exactly what Barry Allen did when he killed Reverse-Flash. Years after Reverse-Flash had murdered Iris West, Barry Allen had managed to once again find love in the arms of Fiona Webb. When Reverse-Flash learned about his enemy's upcoming nuptials, he planned to ruin the big day by killing Webb. In the ensuing fight, Barry Allen snapped Reverse-Flash's neck, killing the villain from the future instantly. In the trial, even Wally West had to admit on the stand that Barry had used excessive force.
5 Wally Used Jesse Quick To Mess With Bart
In another case of a Flash being quite disrespectful to women, when Wally West learned that he was slowly being pulled into the Speed Force, he selected Jesse Quick, the daughter of Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle, to be his successor. For Jesse, this was a major moment, and one she was honored to be chosen for.
Sadly, it was all a ruse. In reality, Wally had hoped that by selecting Jesse as the next Flash, it would give Bart Allen, the grandson of Barry and Iris, the kick in the pants he needed to start taking the superhero life seriously. Instead, all Wally ended up doing was hurting Jesse's feelings.
4 Barry Created Flashpoint
Being a Flash, Barry Allen was well aware of the dangers of time travel when he decided to go back to his childhood and stop the murder of his mother. Despite knowing that one small change - best known as the "Butterfly Effect" theory - could drastically alter the course of history, Barry did what he wanted to make his life better, and in return, all of reality was rewritten into a colossal hellscape.
By saving his mother, Barry Allen created a reality where a young Bruce Wayne was murdered and his father became Batman while his mother became Joker, the Atlanteans and Amazons were at war, and Superman was being used as a government test subject. Flashpoint only made things worse for everyone.
3 Wally Dumped Bart On Max Mercury
Bart Allen is best known as the teen hero Impulse, a name he was given by his uncle Wally West. Bart was sent from the 31st century to the present because his speed powers were making him age at a rapid pace and Iris believed only Wally could save him. Wally stopped the speed aging and then quickly dumped Bart on Max Mercury for training.
Considering that Wally started off as a sidekick himself, his decision not to take on Bart is bad karma, but what makes it worse is that his aunt Iris specifically asked him to help make Bart a hero and he tossed it off.
2 Barry Didn't Help Wally Find His Family
The Flashes like to talk a lot about "family" but they aren't very good at acting like a family. While Wally ditching Bart was lame, it's nothing compared to what Barry did to Wally.
When Wally returned from being trapped in the Speed Force in DC Rebirth, he discovered that his children were still lost in the ether. Wally turned to Barry for help, but Barry continued to push Wally's pleas away. Imagine being Wally West as you turn to your uncle and hero for help finding your missing children and his answer is always "we'll get around to it." This may be the least heroic thing Barry Allen has ever done.
1 Wally Trapped His Foes In Horrific Prisons
The Flash Family knows the importance of keeping what they do separate from the judicial system. They can stop the super criminals, but it is not their place to decide the punishment. That is why the moments where the Flashes break that boundary are so disconcerting.
Wally West crossed that boundary twice. After Inertia killed Bart Allen, Wally trapped the villain in a state of living suspension - meaning that he was aware of every moment while being completely unable to move or speak. In the case of Zoom, Wally trapped his foe in their most painful memories; the death of his father-in-law and his wife leaving him.
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