Issue Description

Rokk and Sorban, two aliens who once encountered Superman and Batman, force Superman and The Flash to a rematch race.

The police receive an anonymous tip that the Weather Wizard is preparing to attack Central City's power station. Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, responds, as the Flash. Wielding a lightning rod he's prepared, for just such an occasion, the Flash races to install it at the power station, before the Weather Wizard's lightning bolt can strike. The lightning bolt, though, is intercepted by Superman. After defeating the Weather Wizard, the Flash demands to know why Superman intervened on his case. Superman replies that he was merely responding to the Flash's emergency signal. The Flash, however, sent no such signal. The next day, Superman, as Daily Planet reporter, Clark Kent, spies a gangland execution about to go down.

Kent changes into his Superman costume, and hurls himself in front of the bullets. The bullets never strike him, though, as the Flash has already caught them all. After defeating the mobsters, Superman demands to know why the Flash has intervened on his case. The Flash replies that he was merely responding to Superman's emergency signal. Superman, however, sent no such signal. The two heroes receive an emergency signal to convene at the headquarters of the Justice League of America. Upon arrival, the entire team is assembled. No member, though, sent any such signal. The culprits are revealed to be Rokk and Sorban, alien gamblers from the planet Ventura. Having drawn on a previous bet to determine who was faster, the Flash or Superman, the Venturans have decided to force the two heroes to race again.

At stake, is the destruction of either Central City or Metropolis, depending on who wins the race. Having heard enough, the Green Lantern lunges at the Venturans, only to be immobilized by bands of yellow energy. J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, is imprisoned inside a cage of fire. Wonder Woman is bound by her own lasso. Aquaman is paralyzed by his own shower. The remaining members, including team mascot, Snapper Carr, also find themselves bound by bands of yellow energy. The Venturans provide the Flash with an aura of breathable air, so that he can race against Superman, in outer space. Nearing a solar system surrounding a red star, Superman is forced to veer off, giving up valuable ground to the Flash. On his detour, Superman passes Ventura.

Scanning the planet's surface, Superman spies an enormous erupting volcano. Something else catches the Man of Steel's eye, that changes the nature of the race.The Flash encounters a derelict space craft. Boarding it to offer aid to it's alien crew, the Flash stumbles into a trap. Within moments, the Flash begins to suffocate. All at once, oxygen begins to surround the space around him. Revived, the Flash quickly vibrates out of the craft. The alien vessel turns out to actually be an alien plant, that lures it's victims to it with lifelike illusions, so that it may breathe in expelled carbon dioxide. When Sorban expresses outrage that the Flash has escaped the plant's deathtrap, the Green Lantern grows suspicious of his motivations. Afterall, Sorban is betting on the Flash to win.

Superman catches up with the Flash and signals him to end the race. Believing that Superman is trying to trick him, the Flash refuses. Before Superman can fully state his case, a kryptonite meteor shower drives him away. Using the meteors as stepping stones, the Flash proceeds down the race course. Suddenly, Rokk and Sorban are attacked by Superman. The Venturans quickly expose Superman to Gold Kryptonite, forever removing his super-powers. Superman, though, turns out to be the Martian Manhunter. J'onn J'onzz took on Superman's form to escape the flame cage, only to be revealed, by exposure to the Gold Kryptonite. Though the Martian Manhunter will never be able to assume Superman's form again, he is able to quickly use Martian science to transform the gold kryptonite to lead, before he can be put back into the flame cage.

The last meteor the Flash uses as a stepping stone turns out to have the properties of quicksand. Superman knocks the Flash into the atmosphere of a nearby world, causing the meteor to burn up in re-entry, freeing the Flash. Once more Superman attempts to convince the Flash to end the race, but the Scarlet Speedster, again, refuses. The Flash is suddenly attacked by a pair of alien patrol ships. Superman disables them with his heat vision. The effort to stay ahead of the Man of Steel has exhausted the Flash. Realizing that Superman never tires, the Flash throws in the towel. Taking respite on a nearby planet, the despondent Flash despairs over the inevitable destruction of Central City, when Superman wins the race.

Suddenly, the Flash receives a most amazing message. Superman is caught in a powerful space vortex. Using his heat vision, Superman burns a distress call in front of the Flash. The Scarlet Speedster rescues Superman, then both men finish the race. Depending on the angle of the monitors, it is impossible to tell for certain which man wins the race. Some monitors show Superman. Others indicate the Flash. Returning to Justice League of America headquarters, Superman and the Flash take down Rokk and Sorban, who are revealed to actually be Professor Zoom and Abra Kadabra. Superman realized the Venturans were imposters when he spied the real Rokk and Sorban on Ventura.

The Green Lantern used the full reserve of his power ring, to boost Aquaman's telepathic power to command sea life, to get a message to the Flash, via alien fish, that the race was rigged. With the two villains defeated, the Justice League of America is left to debate just who the victor of the race was, Superman or the Flash.

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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