CW's The Flash: 10 Basic Mistakes Barry Allen Keeps Making | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

In the Arrowverse, Oliver Queen may have been the first hero when he made his debut as Green Arrow, but Barry Allen - The Flash - quickly took the top spot and became the de facto leader of the heroes. With his fast thinking, science background, and giant heart, Flash had all the qualities needed to not just be a hero, but a leader of heroes.

Still, Barry Allen is just human, no matter how fast he can run. And like all humans, he has his foibles. And as a leader of both Team Flash and the other superheroes of the Arrowverse, the imperfections of Barry Allen tend to stand out more, especially since his mistakes can not only cost lives but change all of reality in the blink of an eye. While Barry has grown over the years, there are still some areas he needs to work on.

10 Barry Is Too Trusting

A big part of being a superhero is keeping your civilian identity secret, and while Barry has yet to just go on TV and reveal himself to the world, he's also pretty bad at keeping his two worlds separated. At first, Barry was so careful with his secret identity that he didn't even tell Iris West, the woman he grew up with and loved, but as time has gone on, Barry has become far laxer with the secret, revealing the truth not only to old friends but new ones like Chunk and villains like Bloodwork. Barry needs to keep his mask on more often if he wants to keep his family safe.

9 But Barry Also Has Issues Trusting His Team

While Barry seems to reveal his identity to anyone who happens to walk by S.T.A.R. Labs, he continues to have issues trusting those closest to him with what he really thinks or feels. Time and again, Barry has held back information from Team Flash members like Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow because he worries that they won't handle it well.

All this leads to is the members of Team Flash eventually learning what Barry was trying to hide and becoming understandably upset at Barry about it. Sure enough, this tends to cause rifts within the team, opening them up to attacks that they would otherwise be able to handle with ease.

8 Barry Wants To Make Everything Perfect

Barry Allen is a perfectionist. There is a part of him that seems to believe that if he can make everything just right, the murder of his mom will be erased and his family will be back together. This pushes Barry to make everything perfect, which leads to him becoming hyperfocused on specific trees while missing the woods around him.

If Barry could learn to accept that there is no such thing as "perfect" he would not only enjoy his own life more, he would be a better hero to the people who need him. And he would probably stop breaking the timestream all the time too.

7 Barry Doesn't Use His Head

Barry Allen is one of the smartest people in the Arrowverse. He is a genius-level scientist who will one day create Gideon, the very AI system that helps the Legends of Tomorrow get around and have their own wacky adventures. The problem is that Barry rarely uses his mind when it comes to his missions. He relies too heavily on Cisco or Caitlin to handle the big brain stuff while he runs around punching people. For old school fans of Barry Allen, this is doubly sad, since the comic version of the character is well known for his "Flash Facts."

6 Barry Doubts Himself

Barry Allen is full of heart, full of smarts, and full of doubt. A man of great empathy and compassion as well as a perfectionist, Barry tends to take things to heart and ruminates on every mistake he makes. This makes Flash doubt himself more than he should, which can sometimes lead to him hesitating in the moment.

More than one villain has escaped from Flash's grasp because Barry questioned his own feelings or plans. This same issue has led to Barry taking advice from people he should know not to trust, including Reverse-Flash.

5 Barry Can't Keep His Emotions Out Of His Decisions

Barry's big heart means he tends to act based on feeling instead of fact, and this has led him down some dangerous paths over the years. The most notable time this happened was when Barry decided to change the past and save his mother. Barry knew that by doing this he would change the present, but he let his emotions overpower his brain and the Flashpoint timeline was created.

Even when Barry tried to change things back, his actions left a mark. In the new timeline, Cisco's brother was dead and John Diggle's daughter became his son. Still, that lesson hasn't stopped Barry from acting based on emotion - he did it again while trying to save Iris from the Mirror World, nearly leaving Kamilla Hwang and David Singh trapped there.

4 Barry Takes On Too Much

Barry Allen is the lead - and maybe only - Crime Scene Investigator for the Central City Police. He also runs S.T.A.R. Labs, a failing business left to him by his greatest enemy. And as if that wasn't enough, he's also the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive (most of the time). Even with his speed powers, all of these responsibilities are more than any single person should have to handle.

And none of that includes his position as leader of whatever the superhero team that exists post-Crisis on Infinite Earths is called. Sure, they haven't had to get together for another major event yet, but now that the heroes have a base and a cool table, it's only a matter of time. All of these responsibilities are too much for someone in their early 30s.

3 Barry Doesn't Communicate Well

Perhaps it is because he has three jobs, or maybe it is because his speed powers make him think faster than others, but whatever the case is, Barry is not a good communicator. As mentioned before, Barry tends to keep information from his teammates, which leads to problems, but he also struggles to just talk to them from time to time.

All too often, Barry will know what needs to be done, but he can't seem to get everyone else to see it the way he does. He also has issues taking criticism from his friends, often running off when they point out his lesser personality traits instead of listening to their issues.

2 Barry Can't Relax

Again, this could be because of his three jobs, but Barry Allen never has time to relax. Even his vacations are done at superspeed - he'll pick up Iris and head to Ibiza for a night, running them there and back. Keeping Central City - and the world - keeps Barry on his toes all year round, 24/7, leaving him little time to do anything else.

And while he never openly complains about it, it is clear that the constant stress of big bads and Speed Force problems weigh on Barry. He may be superhuman, but he isn't Superman, and without learning to relax every now and then, Barry could burn out.

1 Barry Never Finishes Anything

All the running around has created a serious problem for Barry - he never actually gets things done. As mentioned before, Barry is supposed to create Gideon, the powerful AI system that becomes very important in the future, but he hasn't even started it yet. S.T.A.R. Labs was supposed to be turned into a place for the public - and is the future home of the Flash Museum - but Barry hasn't even fixed the torn-up roof that has been sitting around since the first season. If Barry doesn't start making headway in the things he's supposed to have done, it could have major consequences for the future of the Arrowverse.

NEXT: The Flash: Every Main Character Who Has 'Died' On The Show

Next 10 Cartoons That Were Canceled Before Their Time

Related Topics

About The Author

Derek Faraci (389 Articles Published)

Born and raised in New York, Derek Faraci moved to Los Angeles in 2001 where he worked as a freelance writer before taking a position at Activision where he worked on many successful franchises including Spider-Man, Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero. In October 2009, Derek left Activision to join Scientifically Proven Entertainment. Since joining SPE, Derek has worked on Man vs. Wild: The Game and the film Sucker directed by Michael Manasseri. Given the option, Derek would spend all of his time watching movies and reading comics.