Issue Description

Time-Schedule For Disaster!

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, excepts a wager from his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West. After another incident of his chronic tardiness, Allen sets out to prove he can maintain a proper schedule. After keeping his appointment at the bank, at exactly 11:30 a.m., Allen becomes aware that the very same bank was robbed, shortly after his departure. Allen investigates, as the Flash. Thanks to a new, cutting edge vault door, the robbers were thwarted in their attempt to rob the bank. Having lost time to investigate the attempted robbery, the Flash races to keep his next appointment on time. Recklessly racing at top speed through the streets of Central City, the Flash generates a powerful sonic boom that threatens to take out the bridge.

By racing in the opposite direction, the Flash counters the first sonic boom with a second. The Flash arrives for his appearance at the fairground, at precisely 12:15 p.m., only to find the circus animals stampeding. After hurriedly building cages around the lead elephants, the Flash digs out a deep trench to herd the rest of the stampeding animals together. Meanwhile, the would-be bank robbers, led by criminal mastermind, Cypher. set in motion a plan to get through the vault door. Arriving at precisely 1:00 p.m., the Flash makes his appearance at a charity benefit. For his performance, the Flash begins a routine featuring every tap dance and soft-shoe step ever recorded, all done in a matter of seconds.

Unbeknownst to the Flash, Cypher has rigged the platform the Flash is dancing on, to transfer his super-speed vibrations to a special gun. Using said gun, Cypher is able to channel the power of the Flash's super-speed vibrations into the vault door, destroying it. Unfortunately for Cypher, the Flash notices that the platform has been tampered with, and tracks the gang back to the bank. In virtually no time at all, the Flash has thwarted the robbery, and turned the bank robbers over to the authorities. The Flash, as Allen returns home, precisely at 2:00 p.m, winning his bet with his wife. West, anticipating Allen's arrival at least a half hour later, informs her husband that she had a surprise party planned for him, and she needs him to depart, and, upon his return, feign surprise.

Death-Threat On Titan!

Having discovered his name on an assassin's list, the Green Lantern consults with one of the Guardians Of The Universe on his next move. The Guardian reveals that the other victims were all Green Lanterns. Furthermore, their particular rings all contained ore mined on one of the moon's of Saturn, Titan. In orbit over Titan, the Green Lantern is attacked by an ancient Conn satellite. Overwhelmed and bound by the satellite, the Green Lantern is turned over to the alien assassin. Feigning unconsciousness, the Green Lantern waits until his bonds have been removed, to attack his would-be killers.

Though he fights valiantly, the Green Lantern is defeated. Upon awakening, the Green Lantern is told that the alien killers were exiled to Titan by the Guardians of the Universe, and forced to mine ore for the power rings. The aliens discovered that the unrefined ore could be used to neutralize both power rings, and power batteries. Having collected power rings from their previous victims, as well as the Green Lantern, the aliens intend to use the ore to drain the central power battery on Oa. Without the battery powering their life support systems, the Guardians of the Universe will die.

The Green Lantern manages to push enough of his will power into a piece of ore to blast through his bonds. With the element of surprise on his side, the Green Lantern defeats the alien killers. With his power ring back in his possession, the Green Lantern uses it to create a memorial to the whistle blower in the alien killers' organization, who tipped the Green Lantern off to their scheme.

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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