Fans of speedsters in pop culture are feasting well these days now that The Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog have both seen cinematic adaptations. But just which one of these fantastical heroes is faster?
Truly, there is no definitive answer to this question since both characters are from different universes with different rules. For instance, Barry Allen receives his powers from something called the Speed Force, a concept that is absent from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Ultimately, it is merely a subjective argument who would win in a race, but we can nevertheless break down each of their abilities to see what’s what.
Abilities and limitations
Both Sonic and Barry Allen can move so fast that the world around them appear to be moving in slow-motion, with the films Zack Snyder’s Justice League and 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog both featuring scenes of this nature.
In the broader Sonic mythos, the hedgehog is able to exceed the speed of sound and, at times, run at or very near the speed of light. It’s even been hinted he may have the ability to exceed the speed of light, according to the Sonic the Hedgehog Wiki. Barry has also been known to run at the speed of light, as well.
Sonic has even used his speed to outrun the gravitational pull of a black hole, like in Sonic Colors, and to restore a corrupted timeline, a la Sonic Generations. Both of these incidents hint that his abilities could possibly manipulate the fabric of spacetime, but this ability has not been overtly established.
Who would win in a race?
When it comes to Barry Allen, however, it has been established that he can actually reverse the flow of time, entirely. In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Barry enters the Speed Force and reverses time in order to undo the destruction of the Earth. And Allen’s time-traveling abilities are further explored in the feature film starring Ezra Miller, The Flash. Plus, Barry has also been known to be able to travel to different dimensions, another one-up over Sonic.
Like I said, this debate boils down to my own subjective point of view. With that said, Flash’s ability to reverse the flow of time itself is an indicator, to me, that his speed is likely superior to Sonic’s. That’s just my take, but it has been teased that we may not have seen Sonic’s full-speed potential in the games just yet, meaning he could possibly hold his own against Flash, if push comes to shove. After all, Sonic is often called “the fastest thing alive,” so I have a feeling if there really was an epic race between the blue blur and Flash, it would be a neck-and-neck competition, that’s for sure.