Issue Description

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, and his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, are en route to Allen's parent's house, in Fallville. Unbeknownst to the happy couple, they are being shadowed by the Golden Glider. A tree falls in front of their car. A second tree topples towards their car. Allen vibrates the molecules of himself, West, and the entire car, into intangibility, allowing the tree to pass harmlessly through them. Allen and West investigate, and discover that the trees have been burned through with a laser. Realizing that they're probably under observation, Allen and West slowly return to their car, and resume their journey.

Having seen Allen's display of super-human speed, the Golden Glider confirms that Allen is, in fact, the Flash. Allen and West try to put their troubles aside, while visiting with Allen's parents, Henry and Nora. That night, a large, glowing diamond appears in Allen's bedroom. While Allen, as the Flash, follows the diamond into the woods, West makes excuses for his absence to his parents. The Flash trails the diamond to the Golden Glider, who reveals she knows his secret identity. The Flash charges the Golden Glider, only to find his mass increased a thousandfold, by her ruby. The Flash sinks deep into the ground, until he has sank deep enough to escape the ruby's power.

Returning to the surface, the Flash collapses from the sudden shifts in his mass. An opal, left by the Golden Glider, fills the Flash's mind with images of his parents, who have suddenly been stricken with a terrible malady. Upon revival, the Flash shakes the images off as nothing but a dream. Upon returning to his parent's home, however, he finds medical personal standing out in the yard. The Flash, as Allen, confronts his parents, and confirms his worst fears. They are sick, as is Allen's wife. The Golden Glider appears in a holographic prism, to taunt Allen, and inform him that an impenetrable force field surrounds the house, keeping the medics at bay.

Allen can come and go as he pleases, but no one else can get in or out. Allen's parents, and his wife, slip into a coma. Allen, as the Flash, heads back into the woods to confront the Golden Glider. Flushing her out, the Flash races at super-speed, creating a downdraft of compressed air, to draw her to the ground. The Golden Glider bombards the Flash with rapidly expanding pearls. After dispatching the threat of the pearls, the Flash rams the Golden Glider off her ice-trail. Taking ahold of her, the Flash races the Golden Glider straight towards the force field, in an attempt to force her to reverse the Allen's condition. The Golden Glider calls the Flash's bluff.

At the last moment, the Flash casts the Golden Glider aside. Realizing the Golden Glider's weapons are all designed with a jewel-motif, the Flash removes all the jewelry from his parent's house. Nothing changes in his parent's, or West's condition. The Flash spies jewels encrusting West's initials on her suitcase. The Flash sets the molecules of the suitcase vibrating so violently that it disintegrates. West, and Allen's parents, immediately recover. Allen, though, finds a scrap of cloth, left by the Golden Glider, warning of her next appearance.

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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