Issue Description

The Flash rescues a little girl, who has leapt off the ledge of her building, to save her cat. As the Flash makes his way back up the building, to return the girl, and her cat, home, he sees the Mirror Master, standing in the window of a lower apartment. After returning the girl to her mother, the Flash races back down the building, then creates a powerful sucking vacuum, at super-human speed, to draw the Mirror Master out. Instead of the Mirror Master, an old man, still in bed, is pulled out of his window. Realizing the Mirror Master was merely a reflection, the Flash returns his hapless victim, along with his belongings, back into the apartment.

Spying the Mirror Master on the street, the Flash gives chase. Incredibly, the image of the Mirror Master is able to stay ahead of the Flash. The Flash is led to an abandoned windmill, where he finds not only the Mirror Master waiting for him, but Captain Cold, the Pied Piper, the Trickster, and the Weather Wizard, as well. The Flash's Rogues' Gallery begin applauding the Scarlet Speedster. Before the Flash can react, he is frozen in place by Captain Cold. The Pied PIper hands the Flash an honorary Roscoe Award, named after the Flash's deceased enemy Roscoe Dillon, infamously known as the Top. The Rogues are awarding the Flash for forcing them to become greater villains.

The Flash finally gets his molecules moving, then collapses the windmill with a super-speed generated hurricane. When the debris cloud clears, however, the Rogues are nowhere to be found. Returning home, the Flash, as police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, is surprised to see that his houseguest, Stacy Conwell, has returned from her studies abroad, in Europe. Allen is even more surprised to see Conwell practicing black magic rituals, in her bedroom. Hearing the sounds of his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, coming home, Allen races to intercept her, before she sees what Conwell is doing. After greeting his wife, Allen's attention is drawn to the television newscast.

The evening news gives a different account of the little girl's earlier rescue, one which doesn't indicate any involvement at all by the Flash. Allen is too outraged to notice West and Conwell's reunion. Suddenly, Allen feels himself being drawn beneath the surface of the Earth, to a deep underground cavern. There, he is confronted by Mazdan, an old enemy, from the future. Allen, as the Flash, brings the cavern crumbling down around Mazdan, before spinning his opponent at incredible velocity. Mazdan, though, reveals that Allen is still in his kitchen, and that their entire encounter is merely an illusion projected directly into Allen's mind.

Allen points out his Roscoe Award, sitting on the kitchen counter, to West and Conwell, but neither woman sees anything. Allen retires to the couch, left wondering how to determine between reality and Mazdan's illusions. Allen is torn from his reverie by the alarm from his Justice League of America signal device. Answering the call, the Flash encounters the Trickster, apparently in the midst of digging up hidden loot. The Trickster attempts to flee, with a rocket-propelled shovel, but the Flash brings him down with a super-speed generated dirt-tornado. The Flash carries the Trickster along with him, to his rendezvous with the Justice League of America.

The Flash meets up with Aquaman and Hawkman. The two heroes join hands with the Flash, then begin singing and dancing. As they cavort around, Hawkman becomes a dancing hawk and Aquaman, a dancing fish. The Flash realizes the whole scenario has been another of Mazdan's illusions. With no way to determine truth from fiction, the Flash falls to his knees, utterly defeated. The Trickster arrives at the abandoned Ajax Warehouse, to report his encounter with the Flash. The Rogues used the Mirror Master's teleport-lens to escape the windmill. The Trickster reveals that it isn't the Roscoe Award that is driving the Flash insane, though it is true that only the Flash can see it. Realizing their arch-nemesis is at an extreme disadvantage, the Rogues gear up to take their scheme to the next level.

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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