Issue Description

Grodd Puts the Squeeze On Flash!

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, is astonished to see his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, moving at super-human speed. Allen, investigating as the Flash, discovers that the entire populace of Central City is also moving at super-human speed. The Flash consults with a theoretical physicist, Doctor Torrence. From Torrence, the Flash learns that the accelerated citizens will live out their natural lives in a matter of hours. The Flash also discovers that Central City has been cut off from the rest of the world, by a citywide force field.

The Flash receives a telepathic message from the super-gorilla, Grodd, who takes credit for Central City's dilemma. Grood offers to reverse the time acceleration on Central City, in return for his release from prison. Reluctantly, the Flash breaks Grodd out of his cell, in Gorilla City, and carries him to Central City. True to his world, Grodd slows the citizens down to their normal rate. Grodd commandeers the broadcast networks of the world, and threatens to speed up time across the globe, unless he is made ruler of the Earth. The Flash receives word, from Torrence, that the accelerated time phenomena resulted from an extraordinary radiation burst from the sun.

Grodd had nothing to do with the once-in-a-lifetime event, merely taking advantage of it. The Flash confronts Grodd, in the mayor's offices, at City Hall. Grodd telekinetically draws the Flash into his grip, then crushes him, until all that's left is the Flash's uniform. In truth, the Flash vibrated out of his uniform, and Grodd's grasp. Hammering away at the simian super-villain, the Flash defeats Grodd, then carries him back to Gorilla City, for imprisonment. West waves away the reason why her husband was the only man unaffected by the speed-up, citing his extreme laziness as the probable cause.

Reprinted in Super-Heroes Battle Super-Gorillas #1.

The Machine-Made Robbery!

A trio of crooks trick the absent-minded Professor Ira West into allowing them access to his new computer. West demonstrates the prescient power of the computer by asking it to calculate the ideal mate for his wedded daughter, Picture News reporter, Iris West. The computer determines that the Flash is the perfect man for West's daughter. Unbeknownst to West, his daughter is actually already married to the Flash, in his civilian identity of police forensics scientist, Barry Allen. The crooks pay a small fee to lease West's computer, then depart.

After they've gone, West remembers that certain adjustments have to be periodically made, to keep the computer operating properly. West gets a message to the Flash, via police headquarters. West explains his dilemma in contacting the men who borrowed his computer. West spies one of the men across the street. The Flash heads out to intercept the man, eventually locating him inside a nearby building. Discovering that the man, along with his two associates, are in the process of robbing a vault, the Flash moves in to arrest them.

The Flash is seconds away from taking the thieves down, when a lucky cane strike fells him. The crooks flee, before the Flash can recover. While in pursuit of the criminals, the Flash finds himself running out of control, due to his head injury. Pulling himself together long enough to run their getaway car off the road, the Flash apprehends the three crooks. The Flash returns West's computer to him. West reveals that his computer chose the Flash as the ideal man for his daughter. The Flash reminds the absent-minded West that his daughter is already married. A knowing smile crosses the Flash's face, acknowledging that West's computer picked the right man.

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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