Issue Description

The truth behind the death of Iris West revealed at last!

The moment the Flash materializes in the 20th Century, his Cosmic Treadmill explodes, seemingly disintegrating him. Watching the Flash's demise is Professor Zoom, the sinister Reverse Flash. Professor Zoom watches a security tape recording of Iris West Allen's murder, before keeping a scheduled rendezvous at the Powdered Milk factory, with his heroin ring. Having abandoned his life in the 25th Century, Professor Zoom has discovered that he has taken to the life of a criminal, and makes plans to take over the heroin trade. Leaving the factory for his base of operations, Professor Zoom tasks his hirelings to bring him a woman whose features favor West Allen's.

Professor Zoom instructs a cosmetic surgeon to alter this woman's appearance, without her consent, until she is a dead ringer for West Allen. Having seen to his operations, Professor Zoom, out of sheer vanity, makes an historical record of his actions. Upon first arriving in the 20th Century, Professor Zoom approached West Allen, and professed his love for her. West Allen laughed in Professor Zoom's face. Professor Zoom issued her a 24-hour ultimatum, to love him or die, then hypnotically wiped her memory of their encounter. At the Whitlock Masquerade Ball, Professor Zoom approached West Allen, asking for her answer. West Allen slapped him in the face.

After hypnotically erasing her memory once again, Professor Zoom moved off, when the Green Lantern asked to dance with West Allen. A short time later, Professor Zoom followed West Allen, and the Flash, when they isolated themselves upstairs, in the Whitlock Manor. The Flash had been dosed with a lethal amount of heroin, and was beginning to feel it's effects. West Allen went to get the Flash a glass of water, and ran headlong into deranged murderer, Clive Yorkin. Moving so fast as to be invisible to the naked eye, Professor Zoom vibrated his hand into West Allen's head, and scrambled her brain, killing her. When the Flash staggered into the room, in response to West Allen's screams, Professor Zoom, still invisible, forcibly hurled Yorkin out the window.

The Flash succumbed to the heroin in his system, believing that Yorkin had murdered his wife. While Professor Zoom sleeps, a powerful tremor runs through the powdered milk factory. So great are the vibrations that the entire structure collapses into ruins. Professor Zoom awakens to the Flash's voice. The Flash now knows that Professor Zoom is West Allen's true murderer. The Flash survived the detonation of the Cosmic Treadmill by vibrating his molecules at super-human speed, into intangibility, then dispersing them, before the explosion could strike him. Exercising his complete control over every molecule of his body, the Flash then put himself back together, though the process took several hours.

After dismantling Professor Zoom's heroin operation, the Flash has come to exact vengeance on his arch-nemesis. Professor Zoom flees, with the Flash in hot pursuit. Racing across the Pacific Ocean, Professor Zoom kicks up enough sea water, in his wake, to knock the Flash off his feet. Professor Zoom reaches his Time-Tripper, with plans to return to his native 25th Century. The Flash, though, is right on his heels. After mercilessly beating Professor Zoom senseless, the Flash activates the Time-Tripper, to return Professor Zoom to the proper authorities, in his time.

Professor Zoom, though, has rigged the controls to only work for him. Instead of traveling 500 years into the future, to Professor Zoom's time, the Time-Tripper begins moving, rapidly, backwards in time. With the Time-Tripper programmed to travel beyond the beginning of time itself, the Flash makes a desperate gamble, and leaps out into the time stream, leaving Professor Zoom to his doom.

Note: This issue contains the Hostess Superhero Ad, Batman and Professor Plutonium.

The Flash (1959)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

The Flash Volume 1, (continued from Flash Comics).

House Ad

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)

Please first Sign In before leaving a review.

Status: Not in Collection