Issue Description

Abra Kadabra turns Flash into a puppet!

Plight Of The Puppet-Flash!

Using his advanced knowledge of future technology, Abra Kadabra is able to cobble together a mesmerizing device out of pots and pans, from the prison kitchen. Abra Kadabra uses this device to hypnotize the Governor into signing a pardon, releasing Abra Kadabra from prison. When news of Abra Kadabra's release reaches police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, he decides to investigate the matter, as the Flash. Staring out over Central City's skyline, from his luxurious penthouse apartment, Abra Kadabra finds inspiration for a new performance. A performance guaranteed to bestow upon him the fame and fortune he covets.

Allen attends the performance with his girlfriend, reporter Iris West. The performance turns out to be a puppet show, where a puppet of the Flash is humiliated by a puppet villain, called "Captain Creampuff". The show is an enormous hit, playing to sold-out crowds. Allen is none to thrilled with what he takes to be Abra Kadabra's attack on the Flash's credibility with the public. To counter Abra Kadabra's campaign of ridicule, the Flash steps up his efforts to rid Central City of crime. His relentless efforts to clean up the streets of Central City garner the Flash big headlines on a daily basis. So enamored are the citizens of Central City with the Flash's heroic deeds that attendance begins to drop off sharply for Abra Kadabra's puppet show.

In retaliation, Abra Kadabra papers Central City with posters advertising his show. As the Flash runs past one these posters, he is suddenly bathed in a strange radiation, that transforms him into a marionette. Abra Kadabra collects the Flash, and brings him back to the theater. After forcing the Flash to applaud Abra Kadabra's "brilliant feat", the Flash is placed into the puppet show. Completely unable to move, the Flash is humiliated, nightly, by "Captain Creampuff", to the rapturous amusement of Central City's inhabitants. Only the Flash's brain has been left unchanged by Abra Kadabra's future science, so that he may feel his humiliation.

Exercising his complete control of his own molecules, the Flash fires off extra molecules, from his brain, into his costume, causing it to inflate like a balloon. Breaking loose from his strings, the Flash slowly moves forward. Abra Kadabra is so taken aback by the spectacle that he allows the Flash to stumble, ploddingly, near enough to him to be knocked unconscious, Picking up Abra Kadabra's wand, the Flash reverses his transformation, restoring himself to normal. Abra Kadabra is returned to prison. Later, the Flash, as Allen, is hanging out with West, when she idly remarks that Allen and the Flash seem to hold to the same schedule. Allen readily admits to West that he is the Flash. West finds the notion ludicrous.

Secret Of The Handicapped Boys!

Kid Flash heads out to the Sunfield Camp For Handicapped Children, to perform feats of speed for their amusement. Each of his speed challenges have been dreamed up by the camp's children. After completing three challenges, to the amazement of his admirers, Kid Flash settles in for a day spent with the children. Over lunch, Kid Flash receives a note to meet three of the boys at a remote location. The three boys are the blind Harry Watkins, deaf Dave Dent, and mute Freddy Garson. All three boys know Kid Flash, in his civilian identity, Wally West. Now, they reveal that they know Kid Flash is West. Watkins recognized Kid Flash's voice as West's.

Dent's lipreading skills noticed the similarities in the way Kid Flash and West speak. Garson recognized Kid Flash's handwriting as West's. Before Kid Flash can react to their revelation, the platform two of the boys are standing on collapses, sending them falling down the cliffside. Kid Flash rescues the boys, returns them to the camp, and departs. The next day, West receives a small statue in the mail. It is of three monkeys. One which sees no evil. One which hears no evil. One which speaks no evil. West takes the gift as a sign that the three handicapped boys will keep the secret of his dual identity.

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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