Issue Description

"Steal, Flash, Steal!"

Tim Scott, reporter for "On The Spot" news, covers the latest clash between the Flash and his nemesis, the Mirror Master. After an epic clash, the Flash flees. Scott comments on the ongoing mystery as to why the two adversaries have seemingly switched roles. This is the third time the Flash has committed a crime that the Mirror Master, who is, himself, a wanted fugitive for escaping prison, failed to stop. Scott airs footage of the Flash's prior two escapes from the Mirror Master. The Mirror Master, it seems, is no better a hero, than he was a villain.

Despite their role reversal, the Flash still comes out on top, In reality, this is all part of a larger scheme of the Mirror Master, to finally defeat the Flash once and for all. Phoning in a tip, the Mirror Master had lead the Flash into a Hall of Mirrors. There, the Flash was brainwashed into believing that he had always been a master thief. As the Flash's heroic nature struggles against his criminal brainwashing, the MIrror Master notices that he comes closer and closer to, finally, defeating his old foe. Having failed to convince her husband that he's not in his right mind, Picture News Reporter, Iris West, enlists the aid of Flash Museum curator, Dexter Myles, to restore the Flash's mind.

The Flash makes a move to rob the Emerald Exposition, only to find the Mirror Master waiting for him. Before the Mirror Master can bring his newest mirror weapon to bear, Heat Wave burns his way in, through the ceiling. Despite his protestations that the Mirror Master is the hero, Heat Wave attacks the Flash. With Heat Wave's intrusion ruining his gambit, the Mirror Master opts to flee, before the police arrive. Heat Wave offers the Flash a truce, until they've dealt with the Mirror Master. Literally running on the beam from Heat Wave's gun, the Flash races into the sky, in pursuit of the Mirror Master.

Bringing his old foe down to Earth, the Flash turns the Mirror Master over to the authorities. The Flash whisks "Heat Wave" away to the Flash Museum, where the fiery felon's identity is revealed to be Myles. The Flash doesn't have the heart to reveal that he had already broken Mirror Master's conditioning, before Myles arrived, impersonating Heat Wave. The Flash had noticed that the Mirror Master was always tense around the police, while the Flash remained calm, indicating that they were behaving opposite to their true nature.

"To Kill A Star!"

The Green Lantern has thwarted three of the six "Holy" tasks of the Ravagers Of Olys. At the behest of one of the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lantern heads to the planet, Jotham. The Guardian urges the Green Lantern to take one of the Ravager's ships with him to Jotham. Before the Guardian can explain why, cosmic storm radiation disrupts his transmission.

After recharging his power ring, the Green Lantern tows the derelict Ravager ship to Jotham. The Ravagers of Olys fire on the Green Lantern, as a distraction, while missiles are fired into the Jotham sun. The Green Lantern uses the derelict ship to block the Ravagers' weapons' fire. The intense gravity of the Jotham sun bends the Green Lantern's power beam away from the fleeing Ravagers.

A quick check with his power ring confirms that the Jotham sun is cooling down. The Green Lantern confers with the ruling body of Jotham, in the hopes that they have a nuclear weapon capable of re-igniting their sun. The Jotham do not. Using his power ring, the Green Lantern modifies the derelict ship's reactors into the kind of bomb he needs to re-ignite the Jotham sun. The mission accomplished, the Green Lantern passes out from exhaustion.

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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