Can The Flash Get Drunk?

Contains mild spoilers for "The Flash"

Being the Flash comes bundled with an incredibly competitive benefits package. You get Metahuman superspeed, a cool costume, and to hang out with Batman — sometimes. (Sorry, it's a case-by-case thing, as he doesn't really do friends.) But beneath the glamor of chillin' in the Batcave with Alfred and the boys, there's a glaring downside because being the Flash comes inexorably linked with an insatiable metabolism. After all, speed requires energy and energy requires fuel. Often, that means that no food is ever enough. That's right, the Flash's real arch-nemesis isn't the Reverse Flash, it's his grocery bill. While that might seem like plenty to tackle, that super metabolism comes with another curious side effect ... it makes getting drunk very, very difficult.

In "The Flash," DC's latest blockbuster feature with a complicated ending, there's an end credit sequence showing Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) going to a bar with Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa). Their actual time in the bar is kept offscreen but audiences are treated to the pair leaving. Barry is seen holding Arthuer up because the ol' super mermaid is sloshed. But Barry is stone-cold sober, or at least he claims to be. Barry mentions that his hyper metabolism prevents him from getting drunk. Since his demeanor is so calm, it's easy to believe him. 

Still, the question is fun to ask –- can the Flash get drunk?

The short answer is yes, the Flash can get drunk. The slightly longer answer is that it depends on the situation, the media, and whether or not the story calls for it. In Season 1, Episode 5 of The CW's "The Flash," Barry Allen (Grant Gustin, a.k.a. the best live-action Flash) reveals to Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) that he can't get drunk. Unlike Ezra Miller's Barry, Gustin's Barry offers evidence. He downs five shots in as many seconds ... and nothing happens. In this version of "The Flash," it's Caitlin who makes the connection between Barry's forced sobriety and his metabolism. It's also Caitlin who discovers a solution. Later in the episode, she produces what she describes as a "500 proof" shot. 

And, it works! But only briefly. Barry claims to feel the buzz and then immediately after claims that the feeling's gone. For context, the standard proof of Vodka, any Vodka, really, is 40% ABV (Alcohol by Volume). Caitlin's magic shot was over five times stronger than that and it still wasn't enough to let the poor guy enjoy a little time head empty, no thoughts.

Later, in Season 4, Episode 5, it's shown that Cisco and Caitlin have made serious strides in their super brewing. Barry gets drunk for a prolonged period — long enough to cause trouble for his friends by publicly proclaiming he's the Flash. Now, Cisco never provides an exact proof for the beverage he gave Barry but if Caitlin's 500 proof could barely keep him down for a handful of seconds, then Cisco's concoction was easily in the thousands.

That pretty much sums up the Flash's relationship with alcohol in most media. Yes, it's technically possible for him to get drunk but the barrier to entry is so hilariously high that it's almost never worth the effort. Seriously, who's keeping a 5000-proof bottle of gin in their cabinet? Sorry, it's just not feasible. But there is another beverage that causes similar effects to the Flash, and it's much easier to acquire. The Flash can't handle his coffee. The bitter, bitter bean juice doesn't cause Barry to lose his mental faculties but it does cause him to lose control over his powers. In "The Flash #3," a comic issue that hit shelves back in 2002, Barry admits that caffeine doesn't work for him the same way that it does for everyone else.

Well, it does ... and that's the problem. The caffeine in coffee is such a powerful stimulant that it kicks the Flash's powers into overdrive and he loses control. As written by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, Barry drank a quad-shot espresso and accidentally discovered how to phase his molecules. In other words, he tumbled through four consecutive floors like the world's heaviest ghost before landing in a men's locker room. On the bright side, he learned how to walk through walls. On the less bright side, he could have just as easily fallen straight through to the center of the earth, where he would have been boiled alive. And that's a far worse fate than a hangover, don't you think?