Issue Description

"The Flash of 1000 Faces"

Picture News reporter, Iris West, and her husband, police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, are test driving the X-5, a prototype electric car. The Allens momentarily come to a stop, to allow a parade of Scottish bagpipers to pass. Moments later, a news bulletin comes over the radio, concerning a robbery being committed by a Scottish bagpiper. Allen investigates, as the Flash. Arriving on the scene, the Flash sees the Scotsman walking away from the bank, while the security guards dance to the music of his bagpipes. Quickly, the Flash reveals the Scotsman to be his arch-nemesis, the Pied Piper.

Playing a few notes on a hidden, miniature reed, the Pied Piper activates his newest musical weapon, the Psychic-Pipe. Under it's influence, the Flash's reaction time falls out of sync with his movements, causing him to trip over his own feet. With the Flash momentarily incapacitated, the Pied Piper escapes. Unbeknownst to the Pied Piper, the Psychic-Pipe has a greater effect on the Flash than just dulling his reaction time. The Flash also suffers a mental block that prevents him from removing his mask, as well as erasing all memory of who he is.

Suddenly, West races by, clearly no longer in control of the malfunctioning X-5. The Flash rescues her, but has no recollection of his relationship to her. The Flash spends the day at police headquarters, desperately trying to learn his real name. Realizing the Pied Piper must be causing this effect with a sonic weapon, the Flash attunes his vibratory frequency to match it, until he can see the waves emanating across the city. In this way, the Flash is able to track the sound waves back to the Psychic-Pipe's precise location. The Flash sets about dismantling the device.

Anticipating this action, the Pied Piper has booby-trapped the Psychic-Pipe. As soon as the Flash tampers with it, the Psychic Pipe explodes. With his foe defeated, the Pied Piper unmasks the Flash. To his astonishment, the Flash's face is vibrating so fast his features cannot be determined. Suddenly, the Flash leaps to his feet, and bombards the Pied Piper with debris from the Psychic-Pipe. After turning the Pied Piper over to the authorities, the Flash returns home for a reunion with the wife he now remembers.

"Green Arrow Is Dead!"

A bomb explodes in the basement of Oliver Queen's apartment building, retaliation for Queen's accidental slaying of a young sniper, as the Green Arrow. Investigating Queen's disappearance, the Green Lantern uses his power ring to create energy constructs, keeping the building from collapsing, until fire and rescue teams can arrive. Once they do, the Green Lantern collapses in exhaustion, just as the Black Canary arrives on the scene.

At that moment, Queen is flying the Arrowplane, his mind lost replaying the events of the sniper's death, at his hands. Queen pilots the Arrowplane into a mountainside, ejecting from the cockpit before impact. Queen wanders to a remote monastery, begging for help and forgiveness. After recharging his power ring, the Green Lantern resumes his search for Queen, first heading out to a rendezvous site with the Black Canary. The Black Canary, though, has momentarily abandoned the search for Queen.

Having come across a homegrown terrorist group, the Black Canary infiltrates their ranks. The Black Canary is discovered, and though she puts up a valiant fight, she is overcome by their greater numbers. The Black Canary is carried up to the rooftop, and thrown off. She is rescued by the Green Lantern, who also rounds up the terrorist group. Though the two heroes have accomplished a great deal, they are no closer to finding Queen.

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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