Issue Description

Flash fears he has completely destroyed his home town.

At an observatory on Mt. Vista, near Central City, astronomers discover that two massive pulsars have converged, and are on a collision course with Earth. Iris Allen arrives to interview the the scientists just in time for them to discover that Central City is at ground zero for the impact. As the scientists panic, Iris rushes outside to contact Barry Allen, hoping that the Flash can save the city.

Barry rushes away from work, and as the Flash, creates an ionic updraft that seems to shield Central City from the impact, diverting the combined pulsars back into space. However, the exertion causes him to pass out. When he comes to, he finds a giant crater where Central City used to be. It appears that Flash has destroyed his city in attempting to save it.

While mourning the loss of Iris and the other residents of Central City, Flash "hears" a distress call coming from the crater, though it seems to exist only in his mind. He follows the signal and discovers what looks like a slightly larger-than-human mud creature. The creature attacks, and as Flash thinks about his strategy, he discovers that it is also reading his mind. By spinning into the ground at super-speed, Flash creates a quicksand pit to trap the creature. At that point, he discovers that the creature is actually just a mud-covered (but abnormally tall) human woman wearing a space suit.

The woman tells Flash her story. Her name is Zoral, and she comes from the year 4005. After some discussion, Flash and Zoral decide that Flash's super-speed rescue of Central City must have caused her and the city to switch times and places. Just then, Zoral's vibrational frequency starts to return to normal, which will cause her to return to her own time. Flash grabs her just in time, and is transported to 4005 along with her.

As the pair travels through time, Zoral explains to Flash that in her time, people's emotions are controlled by "anti-violence emitters" that prevent them from killing or even feeling strong emotions. Further, Zoral's boss Dr. Yom is working on a device called the quantum-time-shift-resolver, which will allow him to bring entire cities from the past into the future to serve as living museum exhibits. She suspects that he will take the appearance of Central City as proof that the device works.

When Flash and Zoral finally arrive in the future, they are immediately attacked by a patrol armed with anti-violence ray guns. As Flash struggles against one of the patrolmen, Zoral attempts to use her own pacifying gun to help Flash, but accidentally shoots him instead. The two of them are then taken prisoner, and brought before Dr. Yom. As they are being led in, Flash catches sight of Iris on a view screen broadcasting video from Central City, and the surge of emotion he feels overrides the effects of Zoral's anti-violence gun. He continues to act as if he has been pacified, though.

Just as Zoral suspected, Dr. Yom believes it was his device that brought Central City to 4005, and not the ionic vacuum Flash created. Zoral and Flash explain what really happened, and eventually Yom accepts their explanation. However, he reveals that scientists in 4005 are the only people not subjected to the anti-violence emitters. He is aware of Flash and the Cosmic Treadmill, and attempts to kill Flash so he can take the treadmill and integrate it into the quantum-time-shift-resolver.

Flash avoids Yom's attacks by slowing his molecular vibrations so that he slips backward in time to five minutes earlier, where he grabs Zoral's anti-violence gun and shoots Dr. Yom with it. Under the gun's effects, Yom realizes the immorality of his plans, and allows Flash to send Central City back to 1968. Flash and Zoral say their goodbyes, and Flash returns to his own time, where he and Iris are reunited.

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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