Issue Description

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, is leaving police headquarters when he receives word about a robbery. Allen investigates, as the Flash. Arriving on the scene, the Flash sees a rainbow illuminating the roof of the Centrex Art Museum. Inside the museum, the Flash encounters two security guards, incapacitated by grief. The Flash encounters the culprit behind their condition, the Rainbow Raider. The Flash manages to dodge the Rainbow Raider's attack, then tackles him to the floor. The Rainbow Raider counters by reflecting black beams, from his goggles, off a mirror, into the Flash's back. With the Flash momentarily stunned, the Rainbow Raider escapes.

Central City police officers fare no better in stopping the Rainbow Raider from escaping. Inside the museum, the officers note that the Rainbow Raider has signed his name, in place of one of the stolen paintings. The Flash races home. The black beams that struck him have bled out every trace of color in both his body and uniform, leaving him white as chalk. In his secret lair, on the outskirts of Central City, the Rainbow Raider reflects on his past. The Rainbow Raider, as Roy G. Bivolo, had been a child prodigy, with a talent for painting. He was also completely color-blind. His inability to see colors ruined his artistic aspirations.

His father, a gifted optometrist, vowed to find away to compensate for his son's condition. On his death bed, Bivolo's father presented him with a pair of "Prisma-Goggles". Bivolo thought the googles would finally allow him to see colors, but found that his world was still painted in shades of grey. Accidentally brushing his fingers over a trigger, Bivolo was startled to see the goggles emit a rainbow. Bivolo soon discovered that he could ride the rainbow. Pouring over his father's notes, Bivolo learned that the Prisma-Goggles could also emit any single color of the rainbow, affecting the corresponding emotional state of his victims. Blue would instill overwhelming sadness. Red would instill murderous fury.

Bivolo realizes that the "compensation" his father offered was not regarding his eyesight, but his lifestyle. Bivolo becomes the Rainbow Raider, and sets out to steal the great works of art, solely out of spite. If he cannot enjoy them due to his color-blindedness, then no one else shall gaze upon them either. Fiona Webb delivers a piece of mail to Allen. Still chalk-white, Allen has Webb slide the missive under his door, so as not to reveal his condition to her. Allen covers his body in flesh tone make-up, then dyes his hair blonde. Though his appearance is a little off, it's normal enough looking to allow him to go to work.

Arriving an hour and ten minutes late draws a lecture form Allen's new boss, police captain Darryl Frye. Allen overhears a television broadcast regarding the opening of the new Skytop Art Gallery. Realizing that it's a perfect target for the Rainbow Raider, Allen goes into action, as the Flash. Sure enough, the Rainbow Raider has struck again. His red beams of rage have whipped the patrons up into a murderous fury, causing a full blown riot. Racing up the side of a building and onto the Rainbow Raider's rainbow bridge, the Flash closes on his quarry. The Rainbow Raider blinds the Flash with a dazzling display of light, causing the Flash to fall from the rainbow bridge.

The Flash plummets into a junk yard, saving himself by vibrating his molecules into intangibility. As the Flash exits the car he fell through, he notices that his body is no longer chalk-white. Instead it has become an emerald green, the same color as the car. Testing out a theory, the Flash vibrates through a yellow school bus, and adds that color to his hue. Vibrating through multiple vehicles, the Flash picks up all the colors of the rainbow. Returning his molecular vibrations to normal, the Flash returns to his normal pigmentation. After dodging the Rainbow Raider's attack, the Flash buries his foe in the junkyard, before removing the Rainbow Raider's weaponized goggles. The Flash's newest foe has met his defeat.

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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