Issue Description

Capt. Cold's Cold, Cold Flame!

Professor Henry and Nora Allen are en route to Central City, to visit their son, police forensics scientist, Barry Allen. The Allens are run off the rode, narrowly avoiding a collision with another car. A trio of thieves commit a brazen daytime robbery. The thieves flee on their super-charged motorcycles. While the Flash takes down two of the thieves, the third man is stopped by Captain Cold. Though this is the tenth crime Captain Cold has thwarted, since earning his parole, the Flash still doesn't buy Captain Cold's conversion to good. The Flash, as Allen, is informed of his parent's car accident. At the hospital, Allen is told that his father will recover, but his mother has slipped into a coma.

Captain Cold, as Leonard Snart, spends time with the new love of his life, supermodel Myrna Troy. Allen's father blames himself for the accident. "Captain Cold" robs the Central City Jewelry Exchange. Upon returning home, "Captain Cold" is angrily confronted by Snart. Snart pulls back the hood on his uniform, revealing Troy. Snart has been betrayed. Troy committed the crimes, knowing Snart would take the fall. Dragging Troy by her hair, Snart makes plans to even the score. Allen learns of the jewel robbery. Allen, as the Flash, races over to Troy's estate, already surrounded by the S.W.A.T. team.

The Flash discovers Captain Cold and Troy, suspended in one of Captain Cold's death traps. A suicide note tells the Flash everything he needs to know. Unable to break through the bands of Captain Cold's "Cold Fire", the Flash vibrates, at super-human speed, deep into the Earth. Striking a pocket of magma, the molten rock is forced up to the surface, melting the "Cold-Fire" deathtrap. The Flash rushes Captain Cold, and Troy, to the hospital. Allen's father is released from the hospital. As Allen prepares his guest room for his father, he is unaware that his very own father is planning to murder him.

"Multiplex X Means Multiple-Choice...Death!"

Ronald Raymond is caught sketching in his notebook, during a lecture in English class. Raymond is asked to hand the notebook over, by his teacher. As Raymond reluctantly walks up to the front of the class, he is tripped by his classmate, Cliff Carmichael. The teacher intervenes to keep the two students from brawling. While all parties are distracted by the near altercation, Raymond's notebook disappears. The bell rings before the matter can be pursued further.

Out in the corridor, Doreen Day gives Raymond back his notebook. The two make plans to meet later, after Raymond's basketball practice. Professor Martin Stein works late, at Concordance Research Inc., to analyze the changes to his metabolism, since becoming one half of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man. Stein is assaulted by Multiplex. Stein has only recently become aware that Multiplex gained his powers in the same explosion that turned Stein, and Raymond, into Firestorm.

Multiplex has come to Concordance Research, Inc. to steal the prototype model of a new radar system. With Multiplex distracted, Stein initiates the transformation into Firestorm. At that moment, Raymond knocks himself unconscious, during basketball practice. This time when Firestorm forms, it is Stein who is in control, with Raymond acting as his subconscious. Stein is wholly unfamiliar with what action he should take as Firestorm. A problem he needs to resolve quickly, as Mulitplex moves in for the kill.

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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