Can the Flash run or walk on water?

Question

The reason I ask is because no matter how fast he can move, he needs something to push against.

I am assuming that he can, as hitting water at great speeds gives it the property of concrete, so to speak. But I want to know whether he has done it or not?

I admit to not having watched much of the new show, but wasn't there some silliness where he was running up the inside of a cyclone cloud or somesuch? — Radhil, Apr 27 '17 at 12:43
Have you never seen those youtube videos of people driving dirt bikes across pools?! For flash I think moving on water would be child's play regardless of what we have seen... Quicksilver in the x-men movies also moved fast enough to "climb" falling debris; I would say that is even less to "push against" — Odin1806, Apr 27 '17 at 13:44
At high enough speeds, it is possible to waterski without any skis. Not just "possible", but lots of people do it. — T.E.D., Apr 27 '17 at 15:33
I am voting to close as too broad because it's not clear what medium we are asking about. The comics? The 1990 TV show? The 2014 TV show? The DC Animated Universe? The DC Cinematic universe? Something else? Not only that, but it doesn't say which Flash. Jay Garrick? Barry Allen? Wally West? Bart Allen? Because of this vagueness, we are getting answers that only address one particular incarnation of the Flash. — Thunderforge, Apr 27 '17 at 16:18
@Thunderforge Every Flash can run on water - otherwise they're just a glorified Usain Bolt (no offence meant to anyone) — Gallifreyan, Apr 27 '17 at 16:25
@Radhil If you're talking about a scene from the show, there was a cyclone with lots of building debris being whipped up by the winds, and he was essentially running and jumping from piece to piece. Though he has once or twice used his ability to spin his arms like mini cyclones in order to slow his descent or another person's descent as they are falling. — TylerH, Apr 27 '17 at 19:35
I voted to close, not because it's too broad, but because if you google "flash run on water" or several variations of that, it's literally the top results. We used to have a "no research done" reason for closing, but I guess that's gone now. — Omegacron, Apr 27 '17 at 19:48
@Omegacron: Agreed. Any trivial amount of research should have revealed this answer. Here. Or here. Or here. And this is just from animated TV shows and movies. I'm sure the comics are loaded with examples. — Ellesedil, Apr 28 '17 at 18:05
@Omegacron Note, the hover-text for the down vote arrow reads "This questions does not show any research effort...". Close votes and downvotes are different. Closing means it doesn't belong here. This question is on-topic, even if it is poorly researched. — David Starkey, Apr 28 '17 at 18:35
@DavidStarkey - gotcha. Close vote retracted then. In my defense, though, "No research" used to be a close reason. — Omegacron, Apr 28 '17 at 19:03
@Omegacron I'm not 100% sure, but I think this meta might be where it was over-turned. — David Starkey, Apr 28 '17 at 20:15
I distinctly remember Barry Allen running on top of clouds - in a Flash comic that must have been from the late Fifties or early Sixties - so merely running on water should be a doddle for him. — , May 01 '17 at 19:07

score 51 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 27 '17 at 12:55

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I'm not sure if he's ever been depicted as doing so in the current series. [EDIT: Yes he has, thanks to Gallifreyan] However, he was shown doing so in Ep1 of the 1990 series.

Regardless of whether he has been shown as doing so or not, it is extremely likely that he can based on real world physics and examples. The Basicliscus Lizard can run on water

...at a velocity of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) per second for approximately 4.5 meters (15 feet)...

It is calculated here that to run on water you would have to run at approximately 30m/s, or around three times faster than Usain Bolt. Is the Flash more than three times faster than the Lightning Bolt? The Flash has been depicted as running at at least Mach 1 which is 343 m/s.

So yes, the Flash could run on water.

answered Apr 27 '17 at 12:55

Darren

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Aren’t their some iterations of the Flash that can outrun light? – KRyan Apr 27 '17 at 17:40
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Several iterations of the flash have run much faster than light. See https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/5928/can-the-flash-run-faster-than-light – Bob G Apr 27 '17 at 18:26
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running too fast (not even getting remotely close to light) should put him in orbit pretty quickly (basically escape velocity + whatever is necessary to beat air resistance) – njzk2 Apr 27 '17 at 20:09
I'm pretty sure the Flash ran on water in at least one Justice League book. Also, he at one point learned to vibrate his individual molecules fast enough to walk through solid walls. – mbomb007 Apr 27 '17 at 21:14
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@njzk2 The Speed Force is basically a "Get out of physics free" card for all of the logical flaws with super speed, though; it canonically makes speedsters immune to, for example, bursting into flames from the friction, among other things. So, it likely includes a super-anchoring effect to keep them from catapulting off into the void. – Justin Time - Reinstate Monica Apr 27 '17 at 21:20
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I remember seeing part of an animated cartoon in which the Flash runs around the earth to punch someone. In the sequence, running on water is included. – fyrepenguin Apr 28 '17 at 07:20
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@JustinTime How dare you link to something other than the relevant XKCD What If when talking about friction vs. a relativistic speed item. – jpmc26 Apr 28 '17 at 09:33

score 28 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 27 '17 at 13:21

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Yes, the Flash can run on water, much like the common basilisk.

I can't speak for the comics, but in the TV series it first happened in S1E5:

edited Apr 27 '17 at 13:21

Gallifreyan

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answered Apr 27 '17 at 12:58

Werrf

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Wait, is he setting the water on fire as he runs? – mattdm Apr 27 '17 at 14:13
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@mattdm, don't think so -- it appears to be the standard snap/crackle/pop as he runs – bedwyr Apr 27 '17 at 15:06
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This QA is proof that this site is the best site in the SO network :) – Fattie Apr 27 '17 at 18:03

score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 09 '20 at 09:58

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Yes, on Superman Vol. 1 199 The Flash races around the globe against Superman, as you can see he is able to run over water

edited Aug 09 '20 at 09:58

TheLethalCarrot

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answered May 01 '17 at 07:53

Cesar Canassa

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score 1 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 09 '20 at 09:53

Without reading the other answers I am going to say yes strictly going off the TV show. In the TV show Barry is seen running on water in the first season. All he needed to do was run over 600 MPH.

There are also certain times where we see Barry go into "Flashpoint" where he runs so fast everything around him freezes. Putting that in mind that would also mean the H20 molecules would also stop moving so you could not run a shower or jump in a pool. Why? Because the water cant separate. The covalent bonds could not break. Just as some people have taken photos of the water on swimmers faces before the surface tension is broken, that is when time is still moving at its normal speed. If the Flash is going so fast the everything freezes, while he could just walk on water the same way he would walk on the ground.

Can the Flash run or walk on water?

4 Answers4