Top 10 Fastest Superheroes

#10: Supergirl

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Kara Zor-El, a.k.a. Supergirl, shares a lot of similarities with her Kryptonian cousin Superman, in that she's pretty freakin' fast. In fact, her top speeds clock her at around 2 miles a second, which is slower than Clark, but more than fast enough for Supergirl to get the crime-fighting job done. Superman may be the Last Son of Krypton, but he isn't the only superhero faster than a speeding bullet.

If you've ever tried to follow a lightning bolt with your eyes as it streaks across the sky, then you can only imagine how fast that energy must be moving, right? Now, imagine a superhero with the power to move at such a speed, and you have an idea as to the abilities of our next entry, Living Lightning. Sure, Miguel Santos may have been a lesser known Avenger, but this doesn't change the fact that his superpowers enable him to travel over 61 miles a second, making him a valuable guy to have around in a fight.

#8: Thor

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Since we've already mentioned lightning, how about adding a little thunder into the mix? The God of Thunder, to be exact. Thor may be known for his immense power and endurance as a member of the Asgardian pantheon, but perhaps lesser mentioned is this superhero's incredible speed. He may not be technically faster than someone like Living Lightning, with top speeds being said to reach nearly seven miles per second, but would YOU want to go up against someone built like Thor, with a temper like Thor's and able to stick and move with this rate of speed? Yeah, we didn't think so.

They say that "in space, no one can hear you scream," but in the case of Norrin Radd, a.k.a. Silver Surfer, no one can see him move, either. That's because this former Herald of Galactus can actually fly faster than the speed of light, moving at over 186,000 miles per second. This is thanks largely to the Surfer's manipulation of the Power Cosmic, whereby he can actually fly so fast that we can bend space and time, even managing to take others with him during time traveling missions. And that's not even taking into account the other fringe benefits of the Power Cosmic, which include superhuman senses, strength, and endurance.

When it comes to fighting evil with the X-Men, having someone with super-speed on your side is good, but having two is even better. That's where Alpha Flight alumni Northstar and Aurora come in, as both are amongst the Marvel Universe's fastest superheroes. Northstar, in particular, can adapt the kinetic energy around him to move at rates approaching the speed of light, while also possessing the superhuman endurance and equilibrium necessary to safely maintain these speeds during battle. Although Aurora is slightly slower than her twin sibling, these two as a team are certainly bad news to any supervillain unfortunate enough to get in their way.

#5: Shazam

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Billy Batson may not possess super speed as a young boy, but he need only speak aloud the magic word "SHAZAM!" to be transformed into a god-like being formerly known as Captain Marvel who possesses incredible powers from the world of mythology. One of these powers is the speed of Mercury, the Roman messenger god, which allows Shazam to move so fast that he's able to travel safely through outer space, while also being undetected by the naked human eye. At the end of the day, Shazam is so fast that he gives Superman a run for his money, which is really saying something.

Quicksilver has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe for years now and has even appeared in two different film franchises within the MCU, proving that Pietro Maximoff's popularity isn't running away any time soon. Speaking of running, Maximoff's powers of super-speed have been clocked at Supergirl levels of around two and a half miles per second. Now, this may not be all that fast against some of the other light-speeding characters we've mentioned, but MCU iterations of Quicksilver more than make up for it in style. Want proof? Just watch Evan Peters' performance as the character in any of Fox's "X-Men" films. Fun stuff.

#3: Superman

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Speeding bullets have nothing on the Man of Steel. With speeds approaching over two thousand miles per second, Superman is the OG when it comes to comic characters with super-speed. Clark Kent has also used his abilities in unique and inventive ways, as well, such as the classic scene in the character's 1978 film adaptation which saw Superman actually turn back time by flying around the earth, in order to save his beloved Lois Lane from death. Forget for a moment that this is scientifically impossible, it's the sentiment of the act which speaks volumes not only for Supe's speed but his heart.

Some superheroes on this list simply possess super-speed as just one of their many incredible abilities. Marvel's Makkari is a bit different, however, as this character is obsessed with speed, to the point where it has actually lessened some of his other abilities. Makkari is an Eternal, and as such already possesses incredible strength and endurance. However, his dedication to focusing all of his Cosmic Energy to approach near light speeds has resulted in much of that strength being sapped away in the process. In Makkari's case, maybe it's better to do one thing and to do it well than to be a jack of all trades, master of none.

#1: The Flash

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Ultimately, we couldn't deny DC's iconic Scarlet Speedster the top spot. After all, what other superhero has been so closely associated with high-velocity action than The Flash? Jay Garrick, Wally West, Barry Allen and more have all taken up the mantle in the past, and as The Flash have all been able to exceed light speeds, sometimes moving so fast that their bodies can literally vibrate through solid matter and travel through time thanks to the Speed Force. Simply stated: The Flash IS super-speed. It defines him, making it a no-brainer to list him as our number one pick.