Wally West believes lightning is the only way to become a speedster -- but there are far more ways to do so than he is aware of.
The following contains spoilers for The Flash: 2022 Annual #1, on sale now from DC Comics.
The origin story of the Flash has become fairly well known. After being doused in a unique concoction of chemicals, Barry Allen was struck by lightning was transformed into the Fastest Man Alive. Not long after, his nephew Wally West recreated those same conditions and was also struck by lightning, turning him into his highspeed sidekick and, later, successor.
Lightning has created a number of speedsters over the years, and the most prominent ones think that's the only way to become a speedster, as shown in The Flash: 2022 Annual #1 (by Jeremy Adams, Serg Acuna, Matt Herms and AW's Justin Birch). Both Wally and his cousin Wallace were sure that Linda Park gained her newfound speed from a bolt of lightning. They even seemed shocked when they realized she didn't. However, despite popular belief, most speedsters are created by other means.
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Perhaps the most obvious, especially considering the ending of this issue, is inheriting the powers. A great number of speedsters in the DC Universe have gained their abilities because of their parents or grandparents. Wally's twins Jai and Irey both gained access to the Speed Force because of their dad, which also resulted in a rather complicated upbringing. Then, of course, the grandson of Barry Allen and Young Justice member Impulse gained his speedster abilities through genetics, too. Maybe even Linda has, in a roundabout way. The final pages of this annual teased that her newfound powers were obtained through her pregnancy -- using the powers of her unborn baby.
Whilst inheriting these powers seem like an obvious alternative way to become a speedster, there are plenty of other wilder ways of doing so. Perhaps the most well-known is the Speed Force formula used by Justice Society heroes Johnny Quick and his daughter Jesse. By reciting this formula -- 3X2(9YZ)4A -- anyone can gain access to the Speed Force. Johnny was the one who discovered it and Jesse carried on his legacy.
The link between science and speed runs deeper than the classic Quick formula though. Interestingly enough, the original Flash, Jay Garrick, wasn't struck by lightning either. However, the chemical element of the origins of Barry and Wally was present. As a student, Jay was conducting an experiment to purify hard water. When he accidentally inhaled the hard water vapors, he was knocked out and, upon waking, found he could run at superhuman speeds. The various scientific ways of gaining speed don't stop there either. A few villains realized this too. Speed Demon used a steroid injected by his suit of armor to give himself speed, and Vandal Savage created the Velocity 9 drug, which can give anyone speed. However, neither of those methods grants their users access to the Speed Force.
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Becoming a speedster without access to the Speed Force isn't uncommon either. A major Flash villain's abilities have a wildly different origin. Hunter Zolomon attempted to use the cosmic treadmill to undo everything that had gone wrong in his life after Wally West refused to change time for him. In Zolomon's attempt, the treadmill exploded. The accident changed his connection to time, allowing him to alter his own personal time frame. By shifting himself either forward or backward in time at will, it granted him a unique version of super speed, which he used to become Zoom. This was actually the original origin of Eobard Thawne, aka Reverse Flash, before the Negative Speed Force was established.
Time travel was actually used for the origin of another future Flash, although not in the same way as Zoom. John Fox, the Flash of the 27th century, was sent on a mission back through time to recruit a 20th century Flash to save the future. Although he failed, his journey through time doused him in tachyons, and they turned him into a speedster. This would be perhaps the most unusual origin if Max Mercury hadn't gained his connection through the Speed Force from a Native American shaman who drew a lightning bolt on his chest in the early 1800s.
Clearly, there are many ways to become a speedster. Being struck by a bolt of lightning is by no means the most common, or even the most interesting. Some transformations are even steeped in mystery, like Max Mercury being drawn to the Speed Force by mysticism. With all the aforementioned examples, it's entirely possible there are other speedster origins waiting to be uncovered.
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