All 9 The Flash actors ranked from worst to best

2. John Wesley Shipp

Appeared in: The Flash (1990), The Flash (2014), Elseworlds, Crisis On Infinite Earths

A legendary performer of the screen, John Wesley Shipp was the first actor to headline his own TV series as the Scarlet Speedster back in 1990 when he portrayed the Barry Allen iteration in CBS’ The Flash.

With his impressive physique and comic-accurate outfit, Shipp certainly looked the part – but he also played the part really, really well. He was a formidable Barry Allen that commanded our attention when on-screens and he played the heroic role very convincingly, ensuring that even the colorful villains of the delightfully cartoonish show took him seriously.

The fact that he’s had prominent roles in the 2014 series of The Flash is a testament to just how important he is to the character’s legacy and it was wonderful to see him portray both Henry Allen and the original Flash himself, Jay Garrick. And it’s hard to fully sum up just how awe-inspiring it was to see him reprise his original role as ’90s Flash (a.k.a. The Flash of Earth-90) in the Arrowverse when he played significant roles in both the Elseworlds and Crisis On Infinite Earths crossovers.

The definitive Flash for so many people, John Wesley Shipp is a legend in every sense of the word, and his classic interpretation of the Scarlet Speedster will live on in history as one of – if not the – greatest of all time. And with that, we tip our Jay Garrick helmets to him!