Issue Description

Police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, and his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, are out shopping. While West browses in a jewelry store, Allen spends some time, out on the street, taking pictures with his new camera. Allen is stunned to see his old childhood sweetheart, Daphne Dean, step before his lens. Allen is drawn away, from pursuing Dean, by West's screams, coming from the jewelry store. Allen investigates, as the Flash. Inside the jewelry store, the Flash confronts his old arch-nemesis, Heat Wave. Heat Wave's Hot Rod Distortion Beam disorients the Flash, causing him to stumble and fall. Heat Wave levels his weapon on the Flash.

Rather than getting up off the floor, the Flash rolls, at super-speed, into Heat Wave, rendering the fiery felon unconscious. Intent on getting back to Dean, the Flash doesn't wait around to be thanked. Dean, though, is long gone. Back at home, the Flash, as Allen, reminisces about Dean, with West. Dean's doctor calls on the Allens. Dean has recently suffered a bout of amnesia. As Dean has no family to speak of, it is the doctor's hope that her close relationship with Allen will aid in Dean regaining her memory. Allen readily agrees to spend time with Dean, though West seems a tinge jealous over the matter. The Allens' next-door neighbor, Barney Sands, watches Heat Wave's arrest on television.

Sands imagines a second encounter at the jewelry store, one wherein the Flash loses a fight with Sands' latest creation, Master Villain. Sands' older brother, Larry, enters the room, breaking Sands from his reverie. Sands shows his brother his latest illustration, a full figure study of Master Villain. Dean arrives at the Allens' home. Unbeknownst to dean, she does not arrive alone. An invisible, gaseous alien has traveled with her, seeking new experiences. The alien is drawn to Sands' powerful imagination. With Sands fast asleep at his drawing table, the alien infuses itself with the drawing of Master Villain. Sands awakens for dinner, never noticing that his Master Villain drawing is gone.

The Allens escort Dean around Central City. Suddenly, a trio of police officers goes hurtling through the air over their heads. Allen, moving faster than the eye can see, puts on his Flash costume, then vibrates down through the street, into the sewer. Having plotted the officers' trajectory, the Flash races along underground, before burrowing his way up into a nearby park. There, the Flash generates an air cushion, at super-human speed, to break the officers' fall. The officers inform the Flash that a new criminal, calling himself "Master Villain", is attacking police headquarters. Sands returns to his drawing board to discover the absence of his drawing. The Flash confronts Master Villain.

His new adversary opens by slamming his fists together, generating a massive thunderbolt. The Flash barely manages to dodge the lethal lighting strike. Master Villain leaps into the air, and literally stomps police headquarters flat. The Flash charges Master Villain, only to be possessed by his newest adversary. Master Villain forces the Flash to run, ever faster, in place, in an attempt to exhaust the Scarlet Speedster. The moment Master Villain relaxes his control, the Flash begins spinning like a top. Unable to cope with the dizzying effects brought on by the Flash's centrifugal force, Master Villain exits the Flash's body. With Master Villain still reeling, the Flash tries to put him out.

The Scarlet Speedster is so exhausted though, that his blow is incredibly feeble. Master Villain flees, leaving the Flash to puzzle over the criminal's childlike speech patterns. Dean places a phone call, and indicates that her scheme is going according to plan. Allen completely believes in her "amnesia". After hearing reports of the Flash's battle with Master Villain, Sands sits down at his drawing board, and begins to draw the only hero who could possibly bring Master Villain to justice.

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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