Issue Description

Hal visits and has dinner with Barry and Iris; Hal hits it off with Olivia, from a rival toy company; Flash and Green Lantern battle aliens called the Mogrians.

Traveling toy salesman, Hal Jordan, visits his friends, police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, and his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, in Central City. West has set up Jordan on something of a blind date, for dinner. The trio are joined by Jordan's rival toy seller, Olivia Reynolds. Though Jordan is harboring some hard feelings towards Reynolds, for beating him on a sales contract, Jordan makes the best of it. Surprisingly, Jordan finds Reynolds very engaging, a big change from their previous encounter. To find out why, Jordan uses his power ring, invisibly, to probe Reynolds thoughts.

Immediately, Jordan's probe feeds back on him. Jordan and Allen excuse themselves from the dinner table, to discuss the Reynolds situation. Outside, on the street, the pair see an alien space craft landing in the city. Allen and Jordan investigate, as the Flash and the Green Lantern. A robot invasion force releases horrific bug-eyed monsters on the heroic duo. With every blow the heroes land, the creatures divide into two. Changing tactics, the two heroes opt to cease their attack, revealing the creatures to be mere illusion.

While the Flash deals with the robot army, the Green Lantern inspects their weaponry, and discovers that their guns are mere toys. The robot army links arms, generating a powerful energy pulse that renders the two heroes unconscious. Onboard the alien craft, the historian, Glabr, makes a record of his mission in the ship's log. Long ago, Glabr's race found themselves losing the very essence of their life energy. A brilliant scientist, Jygr, determined that certain beings, on other worlds, could generate enough life essence, from their subconscious minds, to sustain their race.

Reynolds has been discovered to possess this "U-MInd". As it is imperative that the possessor never know of the power their own minds possess, it was actually Glabr who repelled Jordan's mind probe, earlier that evening. Glabr then staged the alien invasion to keep the two heroes occupied, while they finished their tests on Reynolds' U-Mind. Glabr is interrupted by one of the robot soldiers, known as Mogrians. The Mogrian informs Glabr's home world, Lengly, that they are rebelling. Glabr is pushed to the side, as the Mogrians set about building machines to mass produce themselves.

Green Lantern, as Jordan, wakes up next to the Flash's empty costume. Suddenly, the Flash, as Allen rounds the corner, wearing Green Lantern's costume. Glabr approaches the two heroes and explains the entire situation to them. After putting their proper uniforms on, the Flash and the Green Lantern are just about to confront the Mogrians, when they realize they no longer have their powers. Glabr realizes that it is Reynold's U-Mind which has robbed them of their powers, and only she can restore them. Glabr attempts to telepathically access Reynolds' U-Mind, only to find that she is a prisoner of the Mogrians.

The Flash and the Green lantern add their will power to Glabr's, and make contact with Reynolds' subconscious. Glabr gently persuades Reynolds' U-Mind to restore the two heroes. The Flash and the Green Lantern storm the alien ship, and engage the Mogrians in combat. With their production factory destroyed, and the Mogrian army in defeat, Glabr is able to take command of his vessel, and depart the Earth. Green Lantern erases Reynolds memories of her part in the adventure, so that the Lenglyns can continue to draw their life essence from her U-Mind. Back at the Allens, Jordan and Reynolds join the happily married couple for a game of bridge.

The Flash (1959)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

The Flash Volume 1, (continued from Flash Comics).

House Ad

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)

Please first Sign In before leaving a review.

Status: Not in Collection