SPEEDFORCE Lightning Colors Explained:

The depiction of lightning surrounding a speedster has been a topic of discussion for a very long time since we have seen a different colors of the lightning in the Flash TV show but how does it differ from the depiction of the lightning color in the comics.

IN COMICS:

Someone tweeted to Brett Booth, the former Flash artist and current Titans artist, asking about the different colors of speedforce lightning. This is what he said:

"the closer you get to the light speed the color shifts. So the red being the slowest. Blue and indigo are  fastest."

This is called blueshift. Blueshift refers to the shifting in the color of light in the visible spectrum as the wavelength decreases and frequency increases.

new 52 Barry with red lightning

DC Rebirth Flash with yellow lightning

I went to discuss this because this all makes sense as the speedster increases his speed, his lightning changes color, that is, lightning shifts towards blue or indigo. If one notice that in the start of the new 52, Barry had lightning of color red surrounding him but now in new DC rebirth, he has lightning of color yellow. Some may argue that this is done for aesthetics. But the shift can represent that Barry is getting faster and thus being more intoned with the speedforce. For knowing more about speedforce, click here.

In the "Out of Time" comic-arc, the future version of Barry has blue lightning which not only indicates that he is faster than the present Barry but also can further tap into Speedforce.

Wally West, the ginger one, who recently returned in the DC rebirth has white lightning to his new design, which makes sense as he spent a lot of time in the speedforce and can access it more than anyone else. This makes him the fastest version of the flash. 

This also holds up as the new Flash villain, Godspeed, has white lightning surrounding him as he observed speed of many speedsters making him much faster than Barry Allen. 

If you want to read the whole conversation with Brett Booth, click here.

IN TV SHOW:

The color of lightning generated by the speedster shows the type of connection, the speedster has with the speedforce.

1. Yellow: This lightning is generated by speedsters with a pure or natural connection to the Speedforce. This is seen from Barry Allen, Jay Garrick, Jesse Quick and Wally West and also formerly from Hunter Zolomon and Eliza Harmon.

Barry's Lightning

2. Red: This lightning is strongly implied to the result of an individual having a corrupted or negative connection to the speedforce. This is supported by Eobard stating to have replicated the reaction that gave Barry his powers, yet claims the essence of his powers is the exact opposite to the Flash's. This is seen from Eobard Thawne and Edward Clariss. Also, speedsters such as Hunter who are taken by Time Wraiths into the Speed Force also have their lightning turned red.

Reverse Flash's Lightning

3. Blue: Blue lightning generation is the result of an individual speedster who artificially develops/boosts a connection through a strong enough usage of the "Velocity". While greatly increasing the user's speed, it also comes with lethal/life-threatening side-effects as seen with speedsters like Hunter Zolomon and Eliza Harmon.

Zoom's Lightning

4. White:  White lightning is uniquely generated by the original speedster and the self-proclaimed "God of Speed" Savitar. It is currently unknown the nature of his coloration is a result of his extraordinarily long and potent connection to the Speed Force.

Savitar's Lightning