Issue Description

The Reverse Flash teams up with Mr. Element.

Police Forensics Scientist, Barry Allen, and his girlfriend, Picture News Reporter, Iris West, are meeting Al Desmond, and his fiancee, Rita, for dinner. Desmond once terrorized Central City as both the villainous Mr. Element, as well as the nefarious Doctor Alchemy. Having paid his debt to society, Desmond has reformed. At dinner, Desmond complains of a sudden headache, and departs for home. Trancelike, he finds himself, instead, returning to his criminal lair. Uncovering his old laboratory equipment, Desmond mixes up a batch of chemicals, with volatile results. As the smoke clears, Desmond finds himself facing Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash. Having taken control of Desmond's mind, Professor Zoom telepathically explains his presence in the 20th century.

After losing the Flash costume that gave him his incredible super-speed, Professor Zoom became obsessed with regaining his powers. Professor Zoom discovered an element, that he dubbed "Element Z", that gave him super-human speed. Element Z, however, proved to be too unstable to maintain his powers for more than a few moments. Searching the history books, Professor Zoom learned that Desmond is the only chemist brilliant enough to stabilize Element Z. Desmond, though, refuses. His brilliance is too tied to the criminal side of his mind. Undeterred, Professor Zoom telepathically forces Desmond to don his Mr. Element costume, and to resume his criminal career. Desmond, as Mr. Element, strikes at the Egyptian Museum, intent on stealing the Horus Scarab.

After taking out the guards with a block of pure sodium, Mr. Element reaches for the Horus Scarab, but finds he cannot take it. The Flash arrives on the scene, crestfallen to discover that Desmond has resumed his criminal career. Mr. Element stops the Flash with a web of crystal iron, which impedes the Scarlet Speedster's forward motion, before snapping him back, hard, into the wall. When the Flash revives, Mr. Element is gone, but the Horus Scarab remains. Mr. Element returns to Professor Zoom empty-handed. Professor Zoom doubles his efforts to return Mr. Element to his criminal ways. Mr. Element is commanded to rob the Federal Treasury building. Mr. Element uses heated zirconium to literally burn through the brick walls of the treasury building.

This time, Mr. Element does take the loot, but, still resisting Professor Zoom's mind control, he walks very slowly back to the hideout. The Flash closes in on Mr. Element, at the exact same moment that Professor Zoom is racing to his aid. The two super-speedsters violently collide with one another. Professor Zoom recovers first, and lays the Flash out with a telepathic force blast. Resigned to the fact that Professor Zoom has once more made him a criminal, Mr. Element sets about to stabilizing Element Z. As Professor Zoom had hoped, Mr. Element is successful in purifying and stabilizing Element Z. Wearing Element Z in a necklace around his neck, Professor Zoom is thrilled to regain his super-speed powers.

Having gotten what he wanted, Professor Zoom takes his leave of Mr. Element. Following the residual trail the Flash leaves, when moving at super-speed, Professor Zoom tracks down the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill, to return to his era. The Flash arrives just as Professor Zoom fades away. Without wasting a moment, the Flash pursues Professor Zoom, into the future. Professor Zoom issues the government an ultimatum, to pay him a billion in credits, lest he uses his powers to release every single criminal from the world's prisons. To prove his threat, Professor Zoom releases an old convict buddy, Foxy. Learning of Professor Zoom's scheme, the Flash begins patrolling prisons, until he encounters his adversary.

An epic battle ensues, with each combatant moving at incredible velocity. Ultimately, the Flash's greater super-speed experience wins the day. With the Element Z removed from Professor Zoom's necklace, the Reverse Flash finds himself without powers anew. After Professor Zoom has been incarcerated, the Flash returns to his proper era, The Flash learns that Mr. Element returned all of the stolen money. Once the Flash has revealed that Mr. Element was the helpless victim of Professor Zoom, criminal charges are dropped. Allen and West join Desmond, and his fiancee, again, for dinner. Desmond voices his fears of having another "headache". With Professor Zoom safely behind bars in the 25th Century, Allen knows those fears are groundless.

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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