Issue Description

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, is plagued by nightmares, born of his recent troubles. Allen watches the Picture News broadcast which sums up his current situation. After Allen's failure to capture the Golden Glider, as the Flash, a new hero appeared, the Ringmaster, who succeeded where the Flash had failed. The Golden Glider was quick to escape from police custody, an escape that the Flash failed to stop. The denizens of Central City have embraced the Ringmaster as their new champion, eschewing their current protector, the Flash. To make matters worse, Allen's wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West, has left Allen, and begun an affair with the Ringmaster.

At the end of the broadcast, the reporter covering the story suggests that, perhaps, it's time for the Flash to retire. Allen works out his frustrations by running, at super-human speed, on his cosmic treadmill. Suddenly, the Picture News broadcast is interrupted by the Golden Glider, who taunts Allen with the misery she has brought to his life. Allen is, once again, plagued by nightmares. The next morning, West calls on the Ringmaster, in his civilian identity of writer, Beau Baer. Unbeknownst to the two lovers, they are being observed, invisibly, by the Golden Glider. A motorcyclist and a skateboarder are saved from collision, by the Flash and the Ringmaster, who have formed a partnership, to bring the Golden Glider to justice.

At lunch, in mid-conversation, the Flash, and the Ringmaster, are attacked by the Golden Glider. The Golden Glider hits the two heroes with a deadly snowfall. The contact of each fallen snowflake instills intense pain in the heroes' nervous systems. The Ringmaster is thrown clear of the snow field by the propulsion of his "retro-rings". The Flash vibrates his molecules, at super-human speed, becoming insubstantial enough to pass below the street. The Golden Glider presses the attack on the Ringmaster. The Flash resurfaces behind her, and divests the Golden Glider of her skates. Anticipating this tactic, the Golden Glider has rigged her skates to drive the Flash into the ground.

Once again, the Flash vibrates his molecules to pass harmlessly through the street, a tactic the Golden Glider has also anticipated. The skates also vibrate, interlocking the molecules of the Flash's hands with the skates. The only way to stop his downward plunge through the Earth is to stop vibrating, which would kill the Flash instantly as he materialized within solid rock. The Ringmaster snares the Golden Glider with his paralyzing ring. Slowly, inexorably, the Flash manages to moves his arms, so that the skate will propel him back to the surface. The Flash reaches out to shake the Ringmaster's hand, congratulating him on his victory over the Golden Glider.

Due to the skates influence over the Flash, his molecules have not entirely ceased their vibrations. The Ringmaster begins shaking uncontrollably. The intense vibrations pass through the Ringmaster, down the chain to his paralytic ring, freeing the Golden Glider. Before the Flash can reach her, the Golden Glider teleports away in a cloud of smoke. Outraged onlookers demand the Flash retire, holding his bungling accountable for the Golden Glider's escape. That night, the Flash, as Allen, takes their request to heart. Packaging up his Flash costume, Allen sends his uniform to police headquarters, with a taped message declaring his retirement.

Hearing a woman's voice calling out to him, Allen races out at, super-speed, to greet his estranged wife, West. Allen is crestfallen to discover that it is merely his young houseguest, Stacy Conwell. To keep Conwell from learning his secret identity, Allen speeds up until he is moving faster than the eye can see. Conwell never knows that Allen was ever there. While watching West and the Ringmaster in another amorous embrace, the Golden Glider realizes that she has fallen in love with the Ringmaster. The Golden Glider makes plans to remove her rival for the Ringmaster's affections, by manipulating Allen into murdering West.

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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