Issue Description

"Beyond The Speed Of Life!"

Captain Boomerang and the Trickster close in on the fallen form of their nemesis, the Flash. Weapons at the ready, the Trickster discovers that the Flash is already dead. Moments prior, the Flash had received a mental image of Captain Boomerang and the Trickster's whereabouts. As the Flash closed in on them, the villains also received a mental image of the Flash's route.With a rope stretched taut between them, the Rogues tripped the Flash, causing him to violently skid to a stop, face down on the ground.

What the Rogues could not see was that the Flash was caught up in the slipstream of an object moving even faster than him. So fast is the object moving, that the Flash exceeds the speed of life, and breaks through the life barrier. The object turns out to be a kind of guardian, tasked with patrolling the outer edges of the life barrier. A horrific creature, known only as the "Devourer", is consuming it's way into the Flash's universe. The Sentry has carried the Flash into the life dimension, to aid in the struggle against the Devourer.

Back on earth, Captain Boomerang keeps the Trickster from unmasking the Flash's lifeless body. The two Rogues begin arguing over who is truly responsible for murdering the Flash. Their debate is interrupted by the Super-Gorilla, Grodd. It was Grodd who projected the mental images that brought about the Flash's confrontation with Captain Boomerang and the Trickster. Grodd had planned for the Rogues to do his dirty work for him. All the risks would be on them. Captain Boomerang and the Trickster attack Grodd.

The Rogues prove to be no match for the Super-Gorilla. The Flash perceives the Devourer in different fashions, first seeing it as an enormous rat, then a flame-thrower. A giant ram then a Tyrannosaur. Once the Flash finally hits upon the correct super-speed motions to defeat the Devourer, the creature takes on the appearance of the Flash's wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West. From the Flash's point of view, it seems as if he's killing his wife, but the Devourer's last ditch psychological tactic fails.

The Flash doesn't falter in his efforts to destroy the Devourer. The Sentry returns the Flash's astral self back to the mortal realm, where it is reunited with his body. The Flash revives just as Grodd is psychically forcing Captain Boomerang and the Trickster to turn their weapons on one another. Vibrating at super-human speed, the Flash drives Grodd into the ground, then mericilessly beats him into unconsciousness. Captain Boomerang and the Trickster surrender peacefully.

Coincidence Can Kill!

Wally West stumbles across a bank robbery in progress. West activates the hidden spring that releases his KId Flash costume from his ring. Instead of his costume, though, the ring releases anesthetic gas, that knocks West out. Upon recovery, West realizes that he accidentally swapped rings with his laboratory partner, George, when they were in the wash room. Wearing a spare costume, West, as Kid Flash, gets on George's trail. As George's ambition has always been to take down a big fish in the criminal underworld, George has arranged to meet with a syndicate leader.

George activates the gas projector in "his" ring, only to see Kid Flash's costume spring out. The criminals, believing George to be Kid Flash, level their guns at him. Kid Flash disarms the crooks, then beats them all into unconsciousness. To protect his secret identity, Kid Flash allows George to believe that the gas in his ring slowly seeped out, and that Kid Flash threw the other costume into the room as a distraction.

The Elongated Man's Undersea Trap!

This story was originally published in The Flash #119 (March, 1961). A plot synopsis for this story can be found at the link.

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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