Issue Description

The Top Is Alive And Well In Henry Allen!

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, visits his mother, Nora, in the hospital. Later, Detective Frank Curtis confronts Allan, with photographs of Allan's father, Professor Henry Allen, clearly having an affair with a younger woman. Allen refuses to believe it. Entering his apartment, Allen walks right into a death trap. Vibrating his molecules, at super-human speed, into intangibility, Allen evades the spring-loaded blade. Building up immense heat friction, Allen vaporizes the spring-loaded drill, then shatters the spiked balls. A pre-recorded tape, from Allen's father, reveals himself to be the culprit.

Taking a closer look at Curtis' photographs, Allen recognizes the young woman, his father is having an affair with, as Lisa Snart, the notorious Golden Glider. Allen confronts Snart, in the Central City lock-up, but garners no new information. Working in the laboratory with his assistant, Patty Spivot, Allen finds the outside corridor filling with gas. Allen, as the Flash, expels the gas, out of a window, revealing a top-shaped delivery device. The Flash races to Snart's cell, only to find a sonic-emitting top has shattered the outside wall. Snart is gone. The Flash easily catches up to Snart.

Professor Henry Allen accosts the Flash, dressed in the costume of the long-deceased Top. The Flash begins violently shaking Snart, at super-human speed, demanding to know what she's done to his father. The Flash is brought down by an electro-top, allowing Snart and Professor Allen to flee the scene. Outside Allen's mother's hospital room, Allen is accosted by Jack Morgan, the man responsible for the automobile accident, that put Allen's parents in the hospital. Morgan reveals that Allen's father was dead at the scene, but Morgan was able to revive him, through cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Allen, as the Flash, visits the Institute For Paranormal Phenomena. There the Flash confirms his hypothesis that while his father lay dead, the ghost of the Top took possession of his body. Back at home, the Flash, as Allen, is contacted by the Golden Glider, via one of her special gemstones. Allen, as the Flash, follows the jewel, into another death trap. Locked into a centrifugal treadmill, the Flash is forced to run, at ever increasing speed, as it spins. The Top possessed Professor Allen holds a gun to his head. Using the centrifugal force as a boost to his own super-human speed, the Flash breaks loose from the treadmill.

Before the bullet can leave the chamber, the Flash fuses the barrel shut, with super-speed generated friction heat. The strain of his exertions prove too much for the Flash, who keels over from a heart attack. The Golden Glider sees the Flash's spirit rising from his body. The Top abandons Professor Allen's body, to take possession of the Flash. The Golden Glider embraces the Flash passionately, only to discover that he faked his death. After the Flash subdues the Golden Glider, he checks on Professor Allen. Sure enough, when the Top abandoned Professor Allen's body, Professor Allen's spirit was able to reclaim it anew. Upon regaining consciousness, Professor Allen's first thought is of his wife, confirming for the Flash that his father has truly come home.

"The Hyena Syndrome!"

Firestorm, the Nuclear Man, lies unconscious, in the path of an oncoming garbage scow. Professor Martin Stein tries to wrest control of Firestorm to no avail. His psychic efforts, though, prove enough to rouse Firestorm back to consciousness. Firestorm destroys the scow as he blasts his way through it, then restores it to it's original condition, with his atomic restructuring powers. Firestorm recovers Summer Day's diary, which he lost in his battle with the Hyena.

Day's sister, Doreen, finds her sprawled out on her bed, burning with fever. The information Firestorm garners from Day's diary chills him to the bone. He immediately races for Day's home. Doreen returns to her sister bedroom, with a cold compress and a glass of water, Doreen is puzzled by the absence of light, as she enters the room, Suddenly, the bedroom door slams shut behind Doreen, as she is confronted by the Hyena.

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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