Issue Description

Flash learns about an assassination attempt prior to a scheduled speaking engagement at a police symposium in Central City; crooks capture Flash in ice.

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, boards a bus, traveling from Borderville to Central City. Allen is being tailed by Tips, a criminal in the employ of the Frog. Onboard the coach, Allen "accidentally" reveals his Flash costume, when his suitcase briefly pops open. In Central City, Tips reports to the Frog that the man he has been following all week might be Allen, or he might just be an unemployed actor. Allen gets into his car, and comes face-to-face with himself. The crooks tail Allen to the police symposium, where the Flash will be giving a lecture. Tips follows the Flash into the symposium, while the Frog continues following Allen's car.

The Frog sends his henchmen, Li'l Moe and Slice, into a parking garage to collect Allen. The two thugs just miss getting their hands on Allen, who escapes them in the elevator. When the elevator returns to the parking garage, the crooks find a lifelike rubber mask, of Barry Allen's face, on the elevator floor. Picture News reporter, Iris West, joins the Flash at the police symposium. With whispered words, she reveals that she was the "Barry Allen", who picked up Allen at the bus terminal. Somehow, the Frog has learned that Barry Allen is the Flash, thus a ruse has been played out to sow doubt in the crooks' minds. An assassin, disguised as a waiter, shoots the Flash.

The second the Flash hears the explosion of the expanding gases in the gun barrel, he begins vibrating at super-speed, so that the bullet passes harmlessly through him. Tips guns down the assassin, then identifies himself as a Borderville detective. Suspicious, the Flash tails Tips. Giving himself away in the stairwell, the Flash finds himself being fired upon by Tips. The Flash tackles Tips, landing in the hotel kitchen. Tips pies the Flash, blinding him, then covers the floor in pies. The Flash skids across the kitchen floor. Tips pours scalding hot coffee on the Flash's face, then sprays him down with a hose from the sink.

Tips produces an instant-icer, and freezes the Flash solid, in a block of ice. Tips informs the Frog that he has taken care of the Flash. Tips demonstrates the instant-icer by flash-freezing a doorman. With their sole obstacle out of the way, the Frog embarks on his latest criminal enterprise. Li'l Moe, and Slice, beat down a cargo handler, and a security guard, at a local airfield, and take their places. As a shipment of rare palladium arrives, the crooks steal it, and load it into their own plane. Using his complete molecular mastery over his own body, the Flash is able to break free from his icy encasement. By vibrating at the same frequency as the instant-icer, the Flash is able to track the crooks down at the airfield.

Tips tries to freeze the Flash again, only to see the Flash turn the instant-icer against him. With the Flash vibrating into intangibility to avoid their gunfire, L'il Moe suddenly releases all of his ammo onto the ground. The Flash slips on the rolling bullets, giving the crooks the opportunity to run the Flash over, with their plane. At the last second, the Flash rolls out of the way. Leaping onto the plane, the Flash manipulates the plane's rudder, causing it to crash. After defeating the Frog, L'il Moe, and Slice, the Flash returns to the police symposium to deliver his speech.

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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