Issue Description

Mirror Master plans some spectacular crimes after he busts out of prison so he can raise his standing in the prison newspaper's "Most Successful Criminal Poll."

The Mirror Master's Invincible Bodyguards!

Police Forensics Scientist, Barry Allen, is led to the office of a self-help guru, by his girlfriend, reporter Iris West. While in the office, Allen overhears a news bulletin, regarding the Mirror Master's escape from prison. Allen sneaks out of the office, to investigate the case, as the Flash. Led to the Mirror Master's cell by the prison's warden, the Flash determines how the Mirror Master escaped. The Mirror Master drew a bolt of lightning into a bucket of sand, with a loose piece of wire. The lightning bolt fused the sand into glass, which the Mirror Master then ground and polished into a mirror. With a mirror in his possession, escape was child's play.

Unbeknownst to the Flash, the Mirror Master's motivation for escaping was due to his poor showing in a poll of most successful criminals, published in the prison's paper. Prior to beginning his newest criminal campaign, the Mirror Master creates two mirror bodyguards to protect him from the Flash. The Mirror Master strikes first at a downtown salon. When the Flash arrives on the scene, the Mirror Master quickly activates his mirror bodyguards. The mirror images blast the Flash into unconsciousness. Upon recovering, the Flash attunes his inner vibrations to the same frequency the Mirror Master used to create his mirror bodyguards.

In this way, the Flash is able to track the Mirror Master back to his hidden lair. Checking his standing in the prison newspaper, the Mirror Master is overjoyed that, once again, he tops the list of Central City's most successful criminals. Storming the Mirror Master's lair, the Flash uses his mastery over his molecular structure to split off his own duplicates. While the Flash's duplicates engage the mirror bodyguards, the Flash, himself , takes down the Mirror Master. By the time the Mirror Master is incarcerated, his standing in the prison poll has hit rock bottom. Over dinner, West chastises Allen for running out on her. Much to Allen's chagrin, West has enrolled him in the self-help course.

"Barry Allen-- You're The Flash!-- And I Can Prove It!"

At work in his laboratory, Police Forensics Scientist, Barry Allen, comes across a note in his own handwriting. A note that he has no recollection of writing. The note instructs Allen to journey to the state penitentiary, and introduce himself to Rod Pagin. Allen arrives just as Pagin is being released on parole. Trancelike, Allen introduces himself. Pagin thanks Allen, then reveals that he knows Allen is the Flash. Pagin agrees to keep Allen's identity a secret, as long as Allen doesn't interfere, as the Flash, in Pagin's criminal activities. Despite the danger, the Flash still goes on patrol that night. Though he foils several crimes, none were committed by Pagin.

Arriving late at the scene of a burglary, the Flash finds a note from Pagin, thanking him for holding to their arrangement. Over the next three nights, Pagin burglarizes three more jewelry stores. Allen attends a charity ball, with his girlfriend, reporter Iris West. Allen and West have worked out a mind reading trick to raise money. While Allen performs blindfolded, "guessing" the items West garners from the audience, he realizes that Pagin's crimes are taunting him. The first letter in the name of each of the jewelry stores Pagin has robbed almost spells out "Flash". Only the last letter is missing. Moving faster than the eye can see, Allen leaves the stage, checks the phone book for all the jewelry stores in Central City that start with the letter "H", and nabs Pagin.

After carrying Pagin to jail, Allen gets back on stage, having only been absent for 10 seconds. Pagin holds a press conference to reveal the Flash's identity. Outing the Flash as Allen, though, only garners Pagin ridicule. Allen was seen to be on stage, at the charity ball, during the time the Flash nabbed Pagin. The master thief determines that he must have hypnotized Allen by mistake, instead of the Flash, at his trial. Thus, it was Allen who came to see him at his release, instead of the Flash, in his secret identity. West informs Allen that their act raised over $10,000.00 for charity. Their act was of even more value, though, to Allen, as it aided in protecting his secret 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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