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Kid Flash is the name of two fictional characters, both superheroes, in the DC Comics universe.
The original Kid Flash, Wallace "Wally" West was introduced in The Flash #110 (1959). West, the nephew by marriage of Barry Allen (The Flash), gained the Flash's powers through an accident similar to that which had empowered Allen. He adopted the Kid Flash identity, becoming the Flash's partner and a member of the Teen Titans for years. He originally wore an identical costume to his mentor, but it eventually changed to a predominately yellow one with red leggings and left his hair exposed. Following Allen's death, West adopted the Flash identity himself in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 and was given his own series, beginning with The Flash vol. 2 #1 (1987). As of 2004 he is the current holder of the title of The Flash.
Bart "Impulse" Allen, now known as Kid Flash, from Impulse #2. Art by Humberto Ramos. The second Kid Flash, Bartholemew "Bart" Allen, was originally known as Impulse; he first appeared in The Flash vol. 2 #91 (1994). He is the hyperactive grandson of Barry Allen, who spent several of the last years of his life living with his wife in the 30th century. Bart is the son of Barry's son Don, one of the infamous Tornado Twins and Meloni Thawne, the daughter of the unscrupulous President of Earth, and descendent of Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash.
He was raised by a virtual reality machine, leaving him ill-equipped to deal with reality. Eventually his grandmother (Iris Allen) took back in time to the present, where he became the ward of the Flash (Wally West) and the retired superhero Max Mercury. He was one of the primary members of the Young Justice team. Following Max's disappearance, he was taken in by Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash) and his wife.
Bart has proven to have some abilities other speedsters don't. For a while he had the ability to produce "scouts", speed-force avatars he could send through the timestream. He has also proven resistant to alterations in the time stream. Most recently, it has been discovered that, unlike previous Flashes, he can permenantly recall "speed-reading".
Following the breakup of Young Justice, Bart joined the new Teen Titans, where, after being temporarily wounded by Deathstroke the Terminator, he decided to reinvent himself as the new Kid Flash.
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