Issue Description

Flash tangles with a speedy samurai.

Daisho, a master swordsman, defeats a horde of Samuroids. At Baron Katana's command, Daisho hurls the one Samuroid corpse into the sea. Police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, and his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, arrive in Tokyo. Allen and West are greeted by Captain Hashi, a colleague of Allen's. Two men commandeer a fighter jet, on the airfield, and fire it's rockets at Allen, West , and Hashi. Allen, as the Flash, intercepts the rockets, moving so fast as to be invisible to the naked eye. The Flash neutralizes the invisible aura that protects him from the heat of friction, causing him to burst into flames.

The heat seeking rockets change course, locking on to the Flash's greater heat signature. The Flash leads the rockets back to the fighter jet, which is destroyed on impact. The Flash, as Allen, returns to West and Hashi, with neither even aware that he ever left their side. While Allen confers with Hashi about Baron Katana, Hashi's assistant, Tushi, shows West around the crime laboratory. Daisho raises concerns about shrimpers trolling the waters near Baron Katana's family stronghold, the Black Heron. The shrimpers haul up the dead Samuroid in their nets. Hashi is informed of the discovery.

West pulls Allen away from the investigation, insisting on a night on the town. After attending a sumo wrestling match, Allen takes West to meet his old college friend, Hideki Toshiro. Now a famed director in Japan, Toshiro is working on his latest Samurai picture. Toshiro is interested in doing some location shooting at the Black Heron, but has been unable to garner permission from the property's owner. A small police outpost, in Hokkaido, is attacked by a flying horde of Samuroids. The compliment of officers stationed there are slaughtered. Hashi is informed of the attack, believing it to be connected to the dead Samuroid found by the shrimpers.

Allen, West and Toshiro rendezvous back with Hashi. A cursory examination of the Samuroid reveals that it is not human at all, but rather a humanoid machine. It's armor is also completely impervious to gunfire. Toshiro points out the crest of the Black Heron on the armor, linking the Samuroid to the House of Kayido, and Baron Katana. Having heard enough, Allen decides to investigate on his own, as the Flash. Racing up the coastline, the Flash quickly reaches the Black Heron. His approach is picked up by Daisho. Determining the Flash's point of entry into his fortress, Baron Katana prepares a warm welcome for the Scarlet Speedster.

As the Flash prowls through the corridors of the Black Heron, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by a horde of Samuroids. Barely escaping the horde, the Flash finds himself confronted by Daisho. The two men engage in a fierce battle. Ultimately, Daisho is revealed to be a Samuroid himself, meaning he is all but impervious to harm. Baron Katana reveals himself to the Flash, as Daisho closes in for the kill. Hashi learns that Baron Katana is the landowner of the Black Heron, and prepares to head out to arrest him. When Hashi inquires as to Allen's whereabouts, West covers for him, placing her in a particularly tight spot.

West knows that Allen is already at the Black Heron, as the Flash. West fears his long absence means that the Flash is in trouble. Hashi, though, won't head to the Black Heron, and the Flash's rescue, without Allen. West is faced with the prospect of revealing Allen's identity as the Flash to Hashi and Toshiro, in order to get them to storm the Black Heron, and save the Flash's life.

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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