Issue Description

The Flash helps out on a movie set when Steve Palmer, an actor playing Flash, is in danger.

The Doomed Scarecrow!

Reporter Iris West is on assignment in Hollywood. The Flash, also in Hollywood to consult on the filming of a Flash movie, consents to an interview.West is surprised that the Flash isn't actually starring in his own film. During the course of the interview, West hits upon the idea of inviting her boyfriend, police forensics scientist Barry Allen, out to Hollywood. Unbeknownst to West, Allen is also the Flash. As West goes to phone Allen, the Flash bolts out of the restaurant, races across country, and arrives in Allen's apartment in time to answer the call. The Flash, as Allen, consents to spending his vacation, in California, with West.Then, the Flash races back to the restaurant.

The Flash gets back to their booth, before West can return to the table. When West criticizes Allen's chronic tardiness, the Flash enters into a friendly wager with West, guaranteeing that Allen won't be late for his date with West. The Flash returns to the set of the movie, concerned over several attempts on the life of the film's star, Steve Palmer. In the projection room, the Flash watches the latest dailies for the film. In a sequence called "The Doomed Scarecrow", the Flash himself steps in for the filming, The Flash uses his super-speed to stop incendiary bullets from igniting a scarecrow, filled with hidden evidence. The Flash takes Palmer's place in the film, in order to catch the would-be killer.

As all of Palmer's mysterious "accidents" have revolved around equipment failure, suspicion falls first on the prop man, Hank Walters. Rather than bother with special effects and film trickery, the Flash opts to actually use his powers in his portrayal of himself. The Flash is called, along with several extras, to film the "mine scene". While the Flash goes over the script with the extras, an explosion causes a real collapse in the mine. Moving at super-human speed, the Flash quickly digs a tunnel to the surface, before the air runs out underground. Returning to his trailer, the Flash is hit from behind, and wakes up bound in ropes.The would-be killer turns out to be Palmer himself.

Palmer rigged all of his "accidents" in the hopes of getting the Flash to take his place in the film. When the mine collapse failed to kill the Flash, Palmer hid in the Flash's trailer to ambush him. Palmer intends to replace the Flash, cashing in on the Flash's name to make millions through endorsements. Palmer, and his men, are about to gun the Flash down, when West comes knocking at the Flash's trailer door. Their attention drawn to the door, the Flash uses the distraction to vibrate out of the ropes. The Flash attacks Palmer, and his men, quickly taking them all out. At the Brown Derby, West seemingly wins their bet, when Allen fails to appear. The Flash departs. West walks to her booth to discover Allen sitting there, waiting for her. The Flash has won the bet, after all.

The Midnight Peril!

To gain entry into the Eta Pi Fraternity, of Blue Valley High School, Wally West and Peter Willard are required to stay, in a reputably haunted house, until Midnight. Nervously talking to get his mind off ghosts, Willard reveals that while he may believe in ghosts, he doesn't believe in Kid Flash. Willard cites a recent incident at the school, where Kid Flash supposedly played every instrument in the school's orchestra at the same time. West assures Willard that Kid Flash did, in fact, perform that particular feat. The sound of chains clanking heralds the arrival of a pair of ghosts, who chase the boys out of the house.

Willard runs screaming into the darkness, but West returns to the house, as Kid Flash. Moving faster than the eye can see, Kid Flash discovers the "ghosts" are really a couple of crooks, using the "haunted" house as a hideout. Covering himself with a sheet, Kid Flash, moving at super-speed, creates the illusion that the house is actually full of ghosts. The two crooks tear off into the night, with Kid Flash pursuing them. Kid Flash herds the two crooks towards the nearest police station. Kid Flash heads off to look for Willard.

In the darkness, Willard has caught his foot between two stones, at the base of a hill. A lightning bolt strikes the top of the hill, starting a landslide of earth and stones. Responding to Willard's cries of distress, Kid Flash races across the face of the hill, deflecting all the stones away from Willard. Once Kid Flash frees Willard's leg, he returns to the house, as West. Willard returns, as well. Once the midnight hour has struck, the two boys have earned their pace in the Eta Pit Fraternity.

The Flash (1959)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

The Flash Volume 1, (continued from Flash Comics).

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Starring Barry Allen as the Flash and Wally West as Kid Flash. After 4 try-out issues of "Show case" - the first being #4, which is widely accepted as being the comic that launched the Silver Age - the Flash returned to star in his own title with #105 in 1959. The numbering of the title continued from the Golden Age "Flash Comics," which had come to an end as Super Heroes went out of fashion in the early 1950's. When Police scientist Barry Allen was doused with a variety of chemicals along with a bolt of lightning, the accident endowed him with Super Speed, and he donned the famous red Flash uniform we are all familiar with. Barry was seeing reporter Iris Allen, and to ensure he kept his identity as the Flash a secret from his girlfriend, he always turned up late for their dates. During his Showcase appearances, the Flash had battled the first of what was to become his rogues gallery when he clashed with Captain Cold, and his range of costumed opponents was about expand almost as rapidly as his uniform expanded from his ring when it came into contact with air. In his opening issue, the Flash battled the Mirror Master, and in the following issue, readers were introduced to Gorilla Grodd, Solovar, and the inhabitants of Gorilla City in a trilogy of tales that ran through issues #106 - 108. Also starring in #106 was another costumed villain, the Pied Piper. The Mirror Master obviously proved a hit with fans as he was back in #109 for a re-match and in #110 the Flash encountered the Weather Wizard for the first time. The Trickster brought his tricks to Central City in Flash #113, while Captain Cold returned in #114 and another Captain - this time Captain Boomerang debuted in #117.

However, it wasn't just super villains the Flash was encountering in the early issues of his own series. In #110, Kid Flash made his debut, when Wally West was caught in a freak duplicate of the accident that had given Barry his super speed. Wally's original costume was a duplicate of Barry's (only smaller of course) but sidekicks were "in" at the time and Wally would often feature in back up stories in the Flash as well as sometimes teaming up with his mentor - such as in #120. Later (#135) Wally would receive his more familiar yellow and red costume, which would serve him for the best part of two decades. Shortly after the introduction of Kid Flash, the Flash encountered Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man in #112. At first, Barry thought the Elongated Man was a criminal, but by the end of the lead story in this issue, Ralph was exonerated, and the two men became firm friends. Editor Julius Schwartz was developing a number of friendships across the books he edited and chief among them was a friendship between Green Lantern and the Flash. The two first teamed up in Green Lantern #13 and the friendship was cemented during several shared adventures including the ones in Flash #131 and #143.

The most far reaching team -up of Barry's career was to come about in the classic Flash #123, "Flash of Two Worlds" in which the Scarlet Speedster met his "hero" Jay Garrick, the original Flash from the Golden Age of comics, and the concept of Earth Two was launched. Subsequent team ups between the two Flashes included the reintroduction of the Justice Society of America in #137's "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain," as the heroes pitted their wits against Vandal Savage. In the meantime, the villains just kept coming, as Abra Kadabra - a magician from the future made his debut in #128, Heat Wave made things hot for the Flash in #140, and the Top put him in a spin in # 141. However, it was the introduction of Eobard Thawne - the Reverse Flash (or Professor Zoom) in #140 that would have the most far reaching and long lasting effect upon Barry Allen's future.

When Barry and Iris finally got around to tying the knot, (#165), the Reverse Flash tried to take his place at the altar. Although Barry foiled his arch -foe on this occasion, history would repeat itself later in the series. After the death of Iris (accidentally shot at a costume ball), Barry was about to get re-married. Thawne was about to kill his fiance, but in order to prevent that happening, Barry snapped the neck of his enemy - an event which led to the two-year plus "Trial of the Flash," which concluded the series and led to the seeming demise of Barry Allen in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

With science-based stories by the likes of Gardner Fox, John Broome, and Robert Kanigher, and the sleek angular artistic lines provided by Carmine Infantino, the Flash became one of the most popular and attractive books in the DC line throughout the Silver Age and indeed its impressive 246 issue run. The series ended with issue 350 and was continued a little more over a year into The Flash Volume 2.

Collected EditionsFlash Archives Vol. 1 (#105-108)Flash Omnibus (#105-132)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 1 (#105-111)Flash Archives Vol. 2 (#109-116)Flash Archives Vol. 3 (#117-124)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 2 (#120-140)Flash Archives Vol. 4 (#125-132)Flash Archives Vol. 5 (#133-141)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 3 (#141-161)Flash Archives Vol. 6 (#142-150)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 4 (#162-184)Absolute Green Lantern/Green Arrow (#217-219 & 226)Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (#323-7, 329-336, 340-350)

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