Issue Description

Flash tangles with a strange alien who literally comes apart like a puzzle.

Battle Against The Breakaway Bandit!

A mysterious object lands in Central City. As it begins to spin, it emits beams of light, which transforms the citizens into whirling wisps of energy. The faster the machine spins, the farther it's beams of light reach, inciting a panicked exodus from Central City. Enter the Flash. The Scarlet Speedster runs counterclockwise to the machine's rotating arms, creating a whirlwind that begins to slow it down. The machine stops, briefly, but resumes spinning before the Flash can act. The Flash uses the same maneuver to halt the device, then, still moving at super-human speed, batters it to pieces with his bare hands. Unfortunately, the device's destruction does not restore the afflicted populace to normal. The Flash receives word that another mysterious device has landed in Hokkaido.

This device emits a powerful sucking force that is drawing civilians into it's maw. The Flash generates a powerful opposing wind force, that tears the motor out of the device. It's victims, though, are not recovered. The Flash receives word that yet another mysterious device has landed in Madrid. En route to Madrid, the Flash comes under laser fire, from an alien craft. The Flash fakes taking a direct hit, then vibrates, invisibly, aboard the ship. Taking the pilot by surprise, the Flash literally punches his head off. Horrified at the accidental decapitation of his foe, the Flash freezes just long enough for the headless alien to blast him into unconsciousness. The Flash awakens in an energy pyramid. His captor identifies himself as Zedubon Zarr, an alien gunrunner.

Having recently pilfered an armory on Xorcer, Zarr discovered that, as a security measure against theft, the weapons were programmed to automatically activate, after a measured lapse of time. Endanger of becoming a victim to the very weapons he had stolen, Zarr jettisoned them over Earth. By the time Zarr had determined a way to get around the Xorcer anti-theft protocols, the Flash had already destroyed two of the weapons. Zarr, though, sees the Flash as a way of recouping his lost profits, by selling the Flash, himself, as a weapon. While Zarr busies himself collecting the Xorcer weapons strewn about Earth, the Flash resumes his civilian identity, that of police forensics scientist, Barry Allen.

Once Zarr discovers Allen within the energy pyramid, Allen convinces Zarr that the Flash teleported out, by changing places with Allen. Zarr releases Allen on the condition that Allen leads him to the Flash. Moving faster than the eye can see, Allen dons his Flash uniform, as soon as Zarr shuts down the pyramid. The Flash attacks Zarr, but finds that he cannot land a single blow. Zarr possesses the uncanny ability to detach any of his body parts from one another, while still maintaining complete control over them. Soon the Flash finds himself battling against multiple pieces of Zarr, all working in unison against him. The Flash seals Zarr's lower extremities in Zarr's ship, then binds Zarr's arms about his torso.

The Flash grabs Zarr's disembodied head, only to receive a powerful electric shock, projected through Zarr's hair. Stamping his feet at super-speed, the Flash builds up a cushion of compressed air, lifting him off the ground. No longer grounded, the electric current from Zarr's hair passes harmlessly through the Flash. The Flash squeezes Zarr's hair (in actuality his brain) until Zarr passes out. The Flash knots Zarr's hair together to keep him in an unconscious state. A Xorcer space patrol ship arrives to take Zarr into custody. After restoring the human victims of their weapons, the Xorcer patrolman tells the Flash that one day, Earth, too, will only design non-lethal weapons. When Earth outlaws war, it will take it's rightful place among the civilizations of the universe.

The One-Man Justice League!

While relaxing at home, police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, hears a news bulletin regarding a robbery by the Land-Sea-Air Gang. Allen activates his costume ring, to go into action as the Flash, only to see the Green Lantern's costume emerge from the ring. Quickly ascertaining that he's lost his super-speed powers, Allen just as quickly learns he has a working power ring. Allen corrals one of the gang's helicopters, using the power ring. As Allen closes in on the gang, he suddenly finds himself wearing Hawkman's costume. Allen use the anti-gravity power of Hawkman's Nth metal wings to destroy the gang's getaway car.

Allen begins brawling with the gang, until he's floored by a lucky punch. As Allen hits the ground, his costume changes again, to that of Aquaman. Unbeknownst to Allen,the evil scientific genius, Professor Ivo, is using the Flash's aura to steal and absorb the powers of the individual members of the Justice League of America. Unbeknownst to Ivo, he has not actually succeeded in duplicating the Flash's aura, but is using the Flash's actual aura to effect his power thefts. Thus, Allen is briefly gaining the same powers, as Ivo draws them into himself. Allen pursues the Land-Sea-Air Gang, as Aquaman. Allen commands the marine life to clog up the rotors on the gang's getaway boat with seaweed.

As Allen boards their vessel, the gang opens up on him. Allen is saved when he suddenly transforms into the Atom. Unfamiliar with using the Atom's size and weight controls, Allen finds the gang getting the better of him. Having failed to take into account Superman's invulnerability, Ivo overloads his power theft machines, until they explode. With the destruction of the device, Allen, once more, becomes the Flash. In short order, the Flash takes down the Land-Sea-Air Gang. Ivo lies in the rubble of his laboratory, his fate unknown.

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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