Speed Battle: Sonic vs the Flash (SEGA vs DC)

[FantasticMrRobb]

Hey all,

So, I'm just going to get right on it. Who do you think is faster? Sonic or the Flash? Please state your reasons too.

You have the fairly infamous stuff around the internet like One Minute Melee's no research battle:

or Sonic hating IGN's Twitter question

But here's the thing, I may always be on Sonic's side, but besides pure speculation, I don't feel like anybody has ever actually had a convincing argument stating that the Flash is faster than Sonic.

I may just be hard headed when it comes to anyone being faster than Sonic, like I said it could just be me, but I honestly don't see it.

I've heard people say that the Flash can outrun time, but hasn't Sonic messed with time travel before? I'm mostly referring to Sonic CD with the Past and Future posts. I even remember some old Sonic comic where Sonic ran so fast he stopped time.

Right? I mean, I know my facts when it comes to Sonic, I've always felt like, but come on now. I always feel like there's an answer when it comes to "the Flash can do 'this'".

Here's my biggest argument, and bare with me because it makes sense. The reason I've never felt like anyone I've spoke with or read about could make a convincing argument about this is because well... Sonic doesn't really have a speed cap. At least, not that I know of.

I can remember an issue of the Sonic comics where he strained, and then there's that time in Colors when he was trying to outrun that black hole/explosion/whatever it was. But I've never actually seen any solid information of Sonic having a cap to his speed.

Again, something else to support this; from what all I've seen, Sonic has never had to go his "full" speed, if he does have a limit, that is.

So, let's discuss this. Who do you think is faster? Sonic or the Flash? Why did you choose who you chose? Do you have an argument? Let's hear it.

[GoldfishGroup]

The Flash can travel so fast, he can go back in time. Sonic requires a power-up signpost.

The Flash can run faster than the speed of light, canon Sonic clearly can't or he probably would've by now.

The Sonic comics aren't canon.

[Detective Kaito]

Depends on which Sonic we're talking about here. Any version of Sonic doesn't stand a chance to almost any version of The Flash, with the exception of Archie Sonic.

Archie Sonic would be debatable Post-Genesis Wave since he hasn't displayed any insane speed feats yet, but Pre-Genesis Wave could probably give The Flash a challenge.

The Sonic CD time travel thing is just a gameplay mechanic, we've literally never seen Video Game Sonic time travel again without the help of some sort of machine or item. The Light Speed Dash is probably debatable as a game mechanic too.

The only version of The Flash I see losing to Sonic is the live action one for the The Flash TV Show.

We don't know Sonic's true speed. For all we know, Sonic could probably travel from one end of the universe to another without trying. lol

[Mauro Fonseca]

The Flash.

People who keep asking this, I have to assume, don't actually read The Flash.

The whole point of the character by this point is "think the fastest thing you can. Speedforce goes faster".

[Diogenes]

I don't know enough about the Flash to comment on every iteration of the character, but some of the stuff I've heard is basically reality-warping, while Sonic is usually just "very fast". Even if we brought in Super Sonic, I don't think there's any real comparison; the versions of the Flash I've heard of still massively outclass him.

And I'm fine with that. Sonic doesn't have to be the fastest thing in all of fiction to be interesting. Honestly it's probably better if he isn't; it keeps situations a bit more grounded, it allows for some amount of tension regarding Sonic getting somewhere on time, and it's not like you can design a game around moving at light speed or something. Even the traditional interpretation of him being able to run at the speed of sound is kind of pushing it in my eyes.

[Shadowlax]

The flash. No question, hell sonic isn't arguably the fastest thing in his own canon because there is some jerk who can just teleport which is, by nature of the concept of teleportation is faster. 

This isn't a contest, even if you try to include the context, the flash has talked about moving at speeds that sonic couldn't even dream of moving at , moving at speeds with out power ups that has actually killed him.

This isn't just about running either, the flash doesn't just move fast. The flash... IS fast. Sonic has to run primarily to go fast, that's his deal, its momentum based. The flash can just move on his day to day , at speeds so high that people can't even notice. When sonic moves, you notice, there was something there. The flash could just leave and come back in the middle of conversations, with out the other person noticing at all. The flash had conversations with superman so fast that it was perceived by beings not on their speed level that time was stopped. He is so fast that he can vibrate the molecules in his body to phase through walls, he moves so fast if he was to ever become evil like proffesor zoom, he could kill you by literally ruining the structure of your molecules in your body. The flash is so fast that he has impromto super strength because of how much momentum he can carry how fast he is. The flash is so fast that he moves not by miles per hour but by what percentage of the speed of light he's moving at, and i don't mean up to 100%. I mean beyond 100%. The flash is so fast that he can change timelines and cause new time lines to be born, the flash is so fast that he found an entire other dimension where he houses horrors, because outside of very specific cases, wouldn't even be fast enough to escape it.

There is no argument, the closet thing that sonic could ever get to a fraction of a percentage to any speed the flash ever got to, is super sonic, and again, shadow can teleport, making him effectively fast that any type of movement that sonic could even made with all of his might because literally manipulating time and space, to move fast, its folding reality to be at another point. And flash moves so fast that despite not actually having the power of teleportation, he can emulate the powers of stuff like chaos control, because he is so goddamn fast. 

Sonic's not even fast that super man, sonic's not even fast than marvel's quick silver.

The flash is so fast, that there is a meme comparing his speed to magic, because he goes unexplainibly fast. 

9 hours ago, Detective Kaito said:

We don't know Sonic's true speed. For all we know, Sonic could probably travel from one end of the universe to another without trying. lol

 

We do, he can only go so fast. The chaos emeralds make him faster, but only by so much. Weve seen it because in times of distress he needed to move as fast as possible from one area to another to solve a problem. 

You know your character lost a race, where his speed as being the fastest thing is questionable. The only people who can question the speed of the flash, are other flashes and the roman god mercury. Who the first Flash Jay garric is based on and kind of exists in the comics,not going to go too deep into that long story short there are several pantheon's of gods in DC comics and they aren't aliens like marvel they are actually gods. Except for all father and Darksied who are actually both and their patheons, because jack kirby went to DC for a time, and then left and left before he could finish doing what he needed to do with those characters. Rambling!

Point is, sonic goes fast, flash is fast.

To get morbid. If you cut sonic's legs off, that's it. That's where his speed comes from really. Its apart of his design, he runs. If you cut off the flashes legs, he could still vibrate so fast he could he could leave this reality.  

[Detective Kaito]

2 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

We do, he can only go so fast. The chaos emeralds make him faster, but only by so much. Weve seen it because in times of distress he needed to move as fast as possible from one area to another to solve a problem.

I'm strictly talking about Video Game Sonic here, but I don't remember Sonic ever really going "full speed" in any instance in the games.

[Shadowlax]

24 minutes ago, Detective Kaito said:

I'm strictly talking about Video Game Sonic here, but I don't remember Sonic ever really going "full speed" in any instance in the games.

Yeah, he does. You think he's jogging when he's life is in danger and everything is on the line, yeah he boats but there are times when other peoples lives are reliant on his speed, and he isn't going astronomically fast, he goes as fast as he usually does. I think someone mentioned above, if sonic could go anywhere near the flashes speed we would have seen it. It would have literally solved problems, sonic going fast has no down sides for him and doesn't hurt him. 

Unlike the flash, and another character in sonic shadow. Who using full power, actually puts them in a vulnerable state, the flash is a character who actively doesn't run as fast as he can because he can die. Shadow is a character who holds back because he might hurt someone, and he might also die. 

Sonic doesn't have that, he has no reason to hold back, he can only go so fast. And that's ok, sonic does need to be the fastest thing ever, and he isn't. There are situations where peoples lives are in danger, that if he could go faster than that, he would look like a complete and utter asshole if he didn't. Furthermore if we are talking about the flash, again if sonic was anywhere near that fast he would have powers that would come with that. He does not, all he has is momentum and depending on which game, causing wind via momentum or kicking up fire. The flash is so fast that he vibrate himself through walls. 

You think if sonic could move that fast he couldn't have just vibrated himself out of the multiple times he was placed in some sort of prison? No, hell, there are times where sonic is placed in something he literally can't break out of an needs help.  Someone who can run to the ends of the universe in the span of a second would break out of anything, but he can't.

All we can use is the data presented before us, and the data presented before us in game is he's fast, just... not that fast. 

We have decades of flash comics to suggest that, he is one of the  the fastest , moving things, in media . 

[FantasticMrRobb]

But what are you going off of though? Not to put it so plainly, but again Sonic has never shown himself having a limit, let's see some references.

Also, to be fair, if Sonic went fast enough and solved the problem like that *snaps*, then there really wouldn't be much of a game to play would there be?

My biggest argument of Sonic against Flash is that Sonic, as of right now I believe, has no limit. It's actually possible that Sonic could very well indeed touch the ends of the universe before the blink of an eye. But, he's never really had much of a reason to go that fast. I think a reason for him not going a certain speed, a lot of times, is strictly for story or whatnot. Heck, Sonic even made a joke-like remark about going light speed in the DS version of Colors.

Just because Sonic hasn't, doesn't mean he can't. Plain and simple.

[Detective Kaito]

On 4/20/2017 at 6:00 PM, Shadowlax said:

Unlike the flash, and another character in sonic shadow. Who using full power, actually puts them in a vulnerable state, the flash is a character who actively doesn't run as fast as he can because he can die. Shadow is a character who holds back because he might hurt someone, and he might also die. 

Sonic doesn't have that, he has no reason to hold back, he can only go so fast. And that's ok, sonic does need to be the fastest thing ever, and he isn't. There are situations where peoples lives are in danger, that if he could go faster than that, he would look like a complete and utter asshole if he didn't. Furthermore if we are talking about the flash, again if sonic was anywhere near that fast he would have powers that would come with that. He does not, all he has is momentum and depending on which game, causing wind via momentum or kicking up fire.

This series is kinda inconsistent with Sonic's feats. If Sonic went too fast in the a City, Nature, or something, he'd cause utter ruin in it and would most likely hurt someone.

Quote

The flash is so fast that he vibrate himself through walls. 

You think if sonic could move that fast he couldn't have just vibrated himself out of the multiple times he was placed in some sort of prison? No, hell, there are times where sonic is placed in something he literally can't break out of an needs help.  Someone who can run to the ends of the universe in the span of a second would break out of anything, but he can't.

I'd like to introduce you to the Sonic Heal. http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Heal

"When performing Sonic Heal, the user closes his eyes and stands firmly in one spot. The user then vibrates his molecules at supersonic speed, healing any physical damage the user may have received."

Sonic apparently can vibrate his molecules, I assume he doesn't do it for story purposes (let's be honest, phasing through walls and enemies is OP) and because the writers are very inconsistent with Sonic and just don't care about his feats.

I know this maybe doesn't count, but in Sonic X, Sonic was able to break through his prison without any issues. Sonic can destroy multiple strong robots with one spin jump, so a prison isn't really a challenge.

I agree that the Flash is faster that almost any version of Sonic, but I'm just saying that Sonic's full potential won't be realized in the games for story and gameplay purposes.

[Shadowlax]

56 minutes ago, Detective Kaito said:

This series is kinda inconsistent with Sonic's feats. If Sonic went too fast in the a City, Nature, or something, he'd cause utter ruin in it and would most likely hurt someone.

I'd like to introduce you to the Sonic Heal.

"When performing Sonic Heal, the user closes his eyes and stands firmly in one spot. The user then vibrates his molecules at supersonic speed, healing any physical damage the user may have received."

Sonic apparently can vibrate his molecules, I assume he doesn't do it for story purposes (let's be honest, phasing through walls and enemies is OP) and because the writers are very inconsistent with Sonic and just don't care about his feats.

I know this maybe doesn't count, but in Sonic X, Sonic was able to break through his prison without any issues. Sonic can destroy multiple strong robots with one spin jump, so a prison isn't really a challenge.

I agree that the Flash is faster that almost any version of Sonic, but I'm just saying that Sonic's full potential won't be realized in the games for story and gameplay purposes.

Shorter explanation: card probably not canon. Nothing in that game is referenced outside of Emrl and even then he isn't what he was. Furthermore, like many of the cards in that game, there are powers the characters don't actually have and never show up again. Tails doesn't have roaming mechanized hands ready to fly out of the ground. 

Next, X doesn't count.

Next, sonic's potential can be speculated upon, sure, but in the realm of speculation they have left. To put it bluntly sonic's namesake is a give away of the fact that he can't go that fast. Its the blue blur, meaning you can perceive his movement. To go that fast, you wouldn't be able to. 

[Darth InVaders]

There are different versions of Sonic and different versions of the Flash... so the answer not only depends on which version of the 2 characters we are considering, but it also depends on situations.

For example, the most well known versions of the characters are the main game Sonic and the main comic Barry Allen Flash. However there are several different TV versions of the characters (SatAM, AoSTH, X, Boom, Flash TV 1990 & 2014), Sonic has some comic book versions (Archie, ArchieX, ArchieBoom, Fleetway), Flash has movie versions, Sonic is supposed to get a movie version soon, and so on. Each version is canon to itself and not to the other versions.

Furthermore, there are situations where the character's speed is faster than normal. For example, in several Sonic continuities, Sonic can use Chaos Emeralds to increase his speed and in the games he has power ups that can help him momentarily reach light speed (the Light Speed Shoes and the Ancient Light). The new TV show Flash can use a tachyon enhancement device to run faster.

So if we are talking only about the most well known versions of the characters in their base form with no enhancements, I don't know as much about main comic Flash as I know about main game Sonic. But I do know Sonic is mostly described as "supersonic" (faster than sound) which means his speed falls within the supersonic range (Mach 1.2 to 5) - except for one instance where he was described as "hypersonic" which would mean he is within the hypersonic range (Mach 5 to 10), however "hypersonic" was only used once over 15 years ago. I also know without a shadow of a doubt, despite my limited knowledge of him, that the Flash is superluminal (faster than light), which means he can go the equivalent of Mach 874,635.6.

Yea, base Sonic's speed does not have anything on Flash's speed.

6 hours ago, Shadowlax said:

The flash. No question, hell sonic isn't arguably the fastest thing in his own canon because there is some jerk who can just teleport which is, by nature of the concept of teleportation is faster. 

...

and again, shadow can teleport, making him effectively fast that any type of movement that sonic could even made with all of his might because literally manipulating time and space, to move fast, its folding reality to be at another point.

Not if you keep main game Shadow in base with no enhancements (i.e. no Chaos Emeralds), without those, Shadow cannot use his Chaos Control and is just as fast as Sonic (admittedly sources differ, most say "equal", a few say Sonic is faster, and there is just one that says Shadow is). Also Sonic can use Chaos Control just like Shadow.

[Shadowlax]

Shadow can teleport with out a chaos emerald. Along with his energy moves. 

Which is faster than running. Also sonic can, but is no where near proficient enough to use chaos abilities with out a chaos emerald. and even with one took a large amount of power. And heck given sega has gone an entirely different direction with the series, he might not be able to do that anymore. 

Chaos control, seems to just be time stop at this point. To which the flash can move so fast , he can stop time. Which even with chaos emerald, is something sonic can't do. 

Also no version of sonic can outrun the flash, like none. 

[Darth InVaders]

2 minutes ago, Shadowlax said:

Shadow can teleport with out a chaos emerald. 

Which is faster than running. Also sonic can, but is no where near proficient enough to use chaos abilities with out a chaos emerald. and even with one took a large amount of power. 

Chaos control, seems to just be time stop at this point. To which the flash can move so fast , he can stop time. Which even with chaos emerald, is something sonic can't do. 

Also no version of sonic can outrun the flash, like none. 

You're mixing up Boom Shadow with the original main game Shadow. Shadow requires a Chaos Emerald to be close by to draw power from to use Chaos Control. Chaos Control is more than time stop, it can warp time and space to decrease the distance between 2 points which is what you are referring to as a "teleport". Shadow cannot "teleport" without using Chaos Control or one of the series teleportation devices (the Star Trek-ish transporters that have appeared in SA2, Battle, 06, and a few others)

[Shadowlax]

23 minutes ago, Darth InVaders said:

You're mixing up Boom Shadow with the original main game Shadow. Shadow requires a Chaos Emerald to be close by to draw power from to use Chaos Control. Chaos Control is more than time stop, it can warp time and space to decrease the distance between 2 points which is what you are referring to as a "teleport". Shadow cannot "teleport" without using Chaos Control or one of the series teleportation devices (the Star Trek-ish transporters that have appeared in SA2, Battle, 06, and a few others)

I'm not. 

Shadow has teleported several times in game with out using a chaos emerald. 

And while the post reboot comics aren't explicit canon, they are held to a hell of a lot more scrutiny, and are allowed to explore the characters. To which shadow teleports miles through space with out a chaos emerald, and does chaos spear, and chaos blast with out a chaos ermald. 

The only power, at this point specifically needed to use chaos control, is time stop. that is " chaos control " at this point. Hell its the only thing he says " chaos control" for. 

Its funny you mention boom though. Now boom isn't canon by any stretch. But even in boom, guess what, the only power shadow can't use is... time stop. Guess what doesn't exist in the world of sonic boom, you guessed it, chaos emeralds. Wow that's an oddly specific detail, that aligns with how his powers work all the time, its almost as if that's how his powers worked in the games, and in the comic, and in all other material because chaos control refers to time stop at this point and nothing else. 

Its almost as if they have design documents that they use to keep those elements consistent between characters so they can have a recognizable brand. 

Also i'm using the term teleport instead of " manipulating time and space, to be someplace else" is a much cooler sounding thing, if I call it teleportation people will understand what i'm talking about instead of having to type that out. He's going from one place in space, to another instantaneously, that's a teleport. 

[Darth InVaders]

Just now, Shadowlax said:

I'm not. 

Shadow has teleported several times in game with out using a chaos emerald. 

And while the post reboot comics aren't explicit canon, they are held to a hell of a lot more scrutiny, and are allowed to explore the characters. To which shadow teleports miles through space with out a chaos emerald, and does chaos spear, and chaos blast with out a chaos ermald. 

The only power, at this point specifically needed to use chaos control, is time stop. that is " chaos control " at this point. Hell its the only thing he says " chaos control" for. 

Its funny you mention boom though. Now boom isn't canon by any stretch. But even in boom, guess what, the only power shadow can't use is... time stop. 

Huh, its almost as if there are consistent rules for characters that transcend canon. 

I am aware of Archie Shadow not needing an Emerald, I thought you were mixing up game characters from the main games and Boom games - however Archie is not canon to the games in any way shape or form just like Boom. If you want to argue that Archie is somehow evidence of game Shadow's abilities, I'll bring up Sonic X TV, where there is no argument that Shadow only teleports by Chaos Control which in turn needs an Emerald close by - Sonic X had more direct involvement by Sonic Team and Iizuka himself than Archie ever had.

Shadow has never clearly teleported in any game canon cutscene without an Emerald. There is only one cutscene I can think of that would support your argument - his opening movie in Sonic06, but it is too ambiguous as it could have easily been a simple use of his speed (a so called "flash step" of super speed popularized in anime). So since there is no other evidence (since gameplay is a weak source that cannot change canon - for evidence see Amy suddenly developing Chameleon-like invisibility abilities in Sonic06 or the Extra Life system) and you cannot prove that it was not a speed dash, the status quo must therefore be assumed to win: Shadow only teleports by warping time and space with Chaos Control. And your claim that Chaos Control is only time stop is such bull - Sonic & Shadow have entered and exited areas via clear Chaos Control that can only be done by teleporting through walls.

[Detective Kaito]

On 4/20/2017 at 8:24 PM, Shadowlax said:

Shorter explanation: card probably not canon. Nothing in that game is referenced outside of Emrl and even then he isn't what he was. Furthermore, like many of the cards in that game, there are powers the characters don't actually have and never show up again. Tails doesn't have roaming mechanized hands ready to fly out of the ground. 

Even if only one game says he can use it and we only see it once doesn't mean he can't use it anymore. In canon, Sonic has only used Chaos Control once in the games. Only once (Sonic 06 wiped itself from existance so it doesn't count, even with Sonic Generations' fuckery). Doesn't mean that Sonic can't use it anymore, he just doesn't cause teleportation would be a stupid ability to have in a platformer.

 

They reference Emerl in future games like you said, that's enough to consider Sonic Battle canon.

 

A healing ability is useless in a traditional Sonic game, that's why we don't see it (or any other one) in other games. Sonic Battle was the last Sonic Fighitng game we've ever had.

[Diogenes]

On 4/20/2017 at 0:52 PM, FantasticMrRobb said:

My biggest argument of Sonic against Flash is that Sonic, as of right now I believe, has no limit. It's actually possible that Sonic could very well indeed touch the ends of the universe before the blink of an eye. But, he's never really had much of a reason to go that fast. I think a reason for him not going a certain speed, a lot of times, is strictly for story or whatnot. Heck, Sonic even made a joke-like remark about going light speed in the DS version of Colors.

Just because Sonic hasn't, doesn't mean he can't. Plain and simple.

This is not an argument, this is nonsense. If you're going to start giving him credit for abilities he's never shown simply because they haven't proven that he can't, then I'm going to believe that Sonic can fly, turn his arms into snakes, and shit golden eggs. Sonic is, in fact, omnipotent, and just decides not to use all of his powers, and no one can prove otherwise.

On 4/20/2017 at 0:53 PM, Detective Kaito said:

I'd like to introduce you to the Sonic Heal.

It's just a goofy explanation for a healing ability in a spinoff where every character had one. It's not meant to be taken seriously, any more than Cream healing herself with just the purity of her heart or Knuckles summoning meteors.

[Detective Kaito]

3 hours ago, Diogenes said:

It's just a goofy explanation for a healing ability in a spinoff where every character had one. It's not meant to be taken seriously, any more than Cream healing herself with just the purity of her heart or Knuckles summoning meteors.

Some of them are stupid, but there are also ones which are believable. Shadow healing himself with Chaos Control or Chaos healing himself with water aren't really too far fetched. Sonic healing himself by vibrating his molecules does make a lot of sense.

[Diogenes]

Chaos healing himself with water makes sense enough. Although the game says he uses "water elementals", which are...what, exactly? Shadow healing himself with Chaos Control...not so much, unless it's something like rewinding time on his body back to before it was damaged, which doesn't fit with any other interpretation of Chaos Control that we've seen.

Sonic healing himself by vibrating his molecules? That doesn't even make sense at a basic level, even before you get into whether or not Sonic is canonically able to do that. I'm pretty sure making molecules vibrate faster is just heating something up in physics terms, and you can't just heat someone back to good health. And AFAIK the game itself doesn't even describe it like that, the skill's description just says it "heals damage with supersonic speed." And I don't know if it's supposed to mean "heals very quickly" (which it doesn't, at least not compared to some other characters) or just "heals because of fast", which is basically nonsense.

 

[Shadowlax]

2 hours ago, Detective Kaito said:

Some of them are stupid, but there are also ones which are believable. Shadow healing himself with Chaos Control or Chaos healing himself with water aren't really too far fetched. Sonic healing himself by vibrating his molecules does make a lot of sense.

Chaos control healing shadow , I mean makes sense. But would imply shadow has the powers to also rewind time, which is... while an amazing power something that he has never been shown to do ever. 

Much like molecule vibration healing ( although that makes less sense) , is just a power he doesn't actually have used in a spin off game to balance the game. 

[FantasticMrRobb]

9 hours ago, Diogenes said:

This is not an argument, this is nonsense. If you're going to start giving him credit for abilities he's never shown simply because they haven't proven that he can't, then I'm going to believe that Sonic can fly, turn his arms into snakes, and shit golden eggs. Sonic is, in fact, omnipotent, and just decides not to use all of his powers, and no one can prove otherwise.

No, it is a valid argument because I have yet to be proven otherwise. I know it's kind of a cheap shot, but I'm not wrong here whether you like it or not. Sonic hasn't shown he can run a million times light speed because he's never needed to, and I'm very well convinced of that. Just because I have a point, is no reason to go off making no sense.

[Diogenes]

Then who's to say the Flash can't run a million and one times the speed of light? If you point to some story where he could only run twice the speed of light or whatever, well, obviously he was just holding back, and you can't prove otherwise.

That's the level you're dragging this down to. Everyone is omnipotent, because even though you can't prove it, no one can disprove it either. It's the death of logical arguments.

[Kellan]

Just now, FantasticMrRobb said:

No, it is an argument because it can't be proven wrong. I know it's kind of a cheap shot, but I'm not wrong. Sonic hasn't shown he can run a million times light speed because he's never needed to, and I'm very well convinced of that. Just because I have a point, is no reason to go off making no sense.

What you have is a "No Limits Fallacy". Even if we've never seen Sonic's top speed (which is already a bit of a stretch), that does not mean that we're allowed to assume that his top speed is whatever we want it to be. Until there is evidence otherwise, Sonic's top speed is assumed to be his his, well, top speed. No more, no less.

[Pawn]

Flash runs waaaay faster on a regular basis and as far as I'm concerned it only works against him as a character. The TV series is constantly having to bring in speedster villains to match him because it's hard to take a battle with anyone slower seriously long-term and I think it only serves to make the whole story feel repetitive.

Sonic being slower, but still fast enough to be entertaining, on the other hand allows for a greater variety of confrontations.

But sure, Flash 'wins' and all that.