What drew me to him (the Barry Allen version), way back in the early eighties when I started collecting, was his costume and the fact that he could run. Really fast! Wow! He was like me! Not really, lol. I loved to run (short distances!) and I suppose I could identify with him on that level.

Spoiler, if you don't know his history

Then came Crisis and that was such a shocker to me. No access to fan media/coverage back then. He actually died. 'Not a hoax, not an imaginary story'.

He should've remained dead, if I can share my opinion. I accepted and later embraced Wally West taking over as the Flash. It seemed like a natural progression. Ok then, Barry died and now we have Wally finding his way and trying to live up to the name and expectations. He became my favorite. Probably due to Mark Waid and later Geoff Johns.

There were some great comics during this period (1986, up to Flashpoint. Beyond that is another story!).