Issue Description

Police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, and his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, are attending a showing of the film, Gorgunta. Suddenly, the theater is attacked by a giant, synthetic horse. Allen, as the Flash, aids in evacuating the theater, before it collapses under the massive steed's assault. When the Flash closes in to confront the horse, the crowd is astonished at what happens next. In Coast City, the Green Lantern is alerted to the Flash's peril. The Green Lantern travels to Central City, and confronts the horse. His power beam construct, however, dissipates before it can strike the horse. The horse seizes control of the power ring energy, reshaping it into a cannon, that shoots the Green Lantern out of the sky.

The Flash races the Green Lantern out of the horse's path, before he can be trampled to death. The Flash re-engages the horse, only to have his super-speed attack turned back on him again. The Green Lantern tries an indirect attack, hurling a large boulder at the horse. The rock shatters on the horse's hide, but does manage to break the horse's collar off. Inspecting the collar, the two heroes learn the horse originated in the 25th century. Journeying 500 years into the future, the two heroes learn that the "Syntho-Steed" was created by Eobard Thawne. The Syntho-Steeds were created to replace the now extinct horse in racing events. Thawne, though, is the Flash's greatest nemesis, Professor Zoom, also known as the Reverse Flash.

For creating the Syntho-Steeds, Thawne has been pardoned for all of his crimes. Thawne agrees to go back in time to aid the Flash in defeating the rampaging Syntho-Steed, with one condition. The Green Lantern must steal the priceless Raxalus Wings sculpture, and deliver it to Thawne. Though it violates his oath, the Green Lantern agrees to the crime, then beams the two speedsters back to the present. Within moments, crowds of onlookers see the Raxalus Wings sculpture launch itself into the sky. The Green Lantern is seconds away from taking possession of the sculpture, when he is thwarted by the Green Lantern of that era. The Green Lantern sends a power beam around the world, to strike his future counterpart in the back.

The Green Lantern quickly regains the sculpture, only to become caught in a power ring constructed cloud. Bombarded with emerald lighting, the Green Lantern loses his grip on the sculpture. Seeding the cloud, the Green Lantern creates a torrential downpour, that momentarily incapacitates his foe. Grabbing the statue on the run, the Green Lantern flees, only to be disintegrated by the future Green Lantern. The Flash and Professor Zoom run down the Syntho-Steed. Again, their super-speed powered attack is turned against them. The Flash merges his molecules with Professor Zoom, joining them together. Their super-speed powers combined, the two speedsters are able to fell the Syntho-Steed.

Stomping on the Syntho-Steed at super-speed, the Flash and Professor Zoom generate enough heat to melt the Syntho-Steed down into slag. True to his word, the Green Lantern delivers the Raxalus Wings to Professor Zoom. The moment Professor Zoom takes possession of the statue, it disintegrates. As the Raxalus Wings were yellow, the one color the Green Lantern's ring cannot affect, the Green Lantern could not protect the sculpture from the ravages of time travel. Professor Zoom accidentally confesses to sending the Syntho-Steed back in time, as a scheme to force the Green Lantern to steal the Raxalus Wings sculpture for him. The Flash removes Professor Zoom's costume from him, depriving him of his super-speed powers.

Professor Zoom is returned to the authorities of the 25th Century. Green Lantern reveals that he set his ring to return him to the present, the moment he was struck by his future counterpart's ring beam, thus escaping his seeming fate.

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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