Issue Description

The Flash desperately searches for his missing wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West. So intent is the Flash on his search, he inadvertently creates a monstrous tidal wave, with the wake from his super-speed. After rescuing all the swimmers he imperiled, the Flash dissipates the wave, before resuming his search. Meanwhile, on Earth-2, the Golden Age Flash is in the midst of a rescue of his own. He is joined by his Justice Society of America teammate, Doctor Fate. The Golden Age Flash has summoned Doctor Fate to assist in the treating of West. It is the Golden Age Flash who has abducted West. Along side his wife, Joan Williams, he is keeping West sequestered in his home.

To keep the Golden Age Flash's Earth-1 counterpart occupied, Doctor Fate casts the illusion of West around another girl. When the Flash, in his guise as police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, sees "West, he immediately races out to retrieve her. The Flash snatches "West" from the crowd. "West" repeatedly tells the Flash that she isn't his wife. Their argument is interrupted when an enormous, disembodied hand reaches out for them, from within the recently opened Putnam Tunnel. The hand slams the Flash into the ground, but the Scarlet Speedster merely vibrates his molecules fast enough to allow him to slip beneath the street.

The Flash circles around to the other end of Putnam Tunnel, to try to ambush the hand. As soon as the Flash enters, a second hand appears behind him. Caught between the two horrific hands, the Flash finds himself being bombarded with an enervating energy. The Flash races around and around the walls of the tunnel, spiraling out from the first hand's grasp. By the time he turns back to continue the conflict, the hands have vanished. Grabbing up "West" again, the Flash races her home. The Flash does everything in his power to convince "West" she is who he says she is, and that they are married.

Suddenly, the hand comes crashing through the wall. Fleeing with "West", the Flash runs headlong into the other hand. The Flash hurls "West" into the air, buries the hand with a tornado of rocks and soil, then catches "West" before she hits the ground, all without breaking his stride. The hands, though, are not so easily deterred, and soon, enough they are closing on the Flash, and "West", again. Doctor Fate fails to cure West of her affliction. The pestilence within her body, should it ever come in contact with the Flash's super-speed aura, would unleash a cataclysm of epic proportions. Doctor Fate removes the illusion of "West" he used to distract the Flash from his search, on Earth-1.

Only then does Doctor Fate realize that casting his spell across the dimensional void between the two Earths also created the ghostly hands. Worse, Doctor Fate cannot dissipate them. The Flash races towards the hands, veering off at the last second as they slam shut upon his after-image. The force of the hands' impact against one another dissipates them. Doctor Fate casts West into the 30th century, on Earth-1, where she hopes the advanced technology of that era can cure her. Using his Cosmic Treadmill, the Flash carries his search for West into the future, little suspecting that if he finds her, it could result in the end of the world.

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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