Issue Description

Through A Glass, Permanently!

Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, enters a discotheque, with his neighbor, Fiona Webb. Allen is astonished to see Samuel Scudder, the notorious Mirror Master, performing in a dance contest. Scudder, as the Mirror Master, puts the crowd in stasis, so he can steal a glittering disco globe. Allen, as the Flash, confronts the Mirror Master. The Mirror Master reflects a beam of solid light into the Flash's back, giving him time to escape, through a mirror, with the globe. The Flash vibrates through the mirror as well, ending up in a back alley.The Mirror Master has escaped.

In his secret lair, the Mirror Master speaks with Narcissa, a beautiful Atlantean woman trapped inside an ancient mirror. The Mirror Master has a plan to free her, by having the Flash take her place. The Flash, as Allen, analyzes the mirror the Mirror Master escaped through, with his assistant, Patty Spivot. Allen's analysis is inconclusive. The Mirror Master goes on a crime spree, always escaping the Flash through a mirror. To discern how the Mirror Master is pulling off his escapes, the Flash begins altering his vibratory frequency, each time he runs through a mirror.

The Mirror Master abducts the Mayor of Central City. The Flash tracks the Mirror Master back to Sol's Haberdasher, momentarily falling prey to one of the Mirror Master's illusions. The Flash is on the verge of apprehending the Mirror Master, when the villian informs the Flash that the mayor is in a death trap. The Mayor is on the verge of being incinerated, when the Flash arrives to rescue him. The Mirror Master, though, has taken the opportunity to escape. Back in his hidden lair, the Mirror Master listens to Narcissa's tale.

Narcissa escaped the sinking of Atlantis by transporting herself into an ancient mirror. The destruction of Atlantis, however, was so total that the machines needed to pull her back out were lost. The Mirror Master smuggled the ancient Atlantean mirror into the states, never suspecting that it contained the beautiful Narcissa. Falling in love with her, the Mirror Master used his extensive knowledge of mirrors to try to release her. Though the Mirror Master ultimately failed, he did learn how to teleport himself through mirrors. By triangulating the angle the Mirror Master entered the mirrors to escape, the Flash tracks the Mirror Master to the Wheating Glass Works.

The Mirror Master immediately leaps into a mirror to escape, but this time the Flash follows him. Knowing the Flash has hit upon the proper vibratory frequency to enter Narcissa's mirror, the Mirror Master begins to draw the Flash towards it. The Flash ceases vibrating, causing him to crash into the mirror, shattering it. With the love of his life lost, the Mirror Master falls to his knees, weeping inconsolably. Unaware of what has happened, the Flash tries to comfort the Mirror Master.

Apocalypse of The Fifth Sun!

Doctor Fate enters the Boston Museum of Natural History, finding two security guards preparing to sacrifice the curator, to the Aztec God, Totec. Inza Nelson tries writing a novel of her life, as the wife of Doctor Fate. Nelson has become increasingly unhappy with sharing her husband, Kent, with the Lord Of Order, Nabu. When Kent felt the call to action, Nelson tried, futilely, to convince Kent to abandon his role as Doctor Fate.

Kent, though, felt duty bound to put on the Helmet of Fate, and address the latest crisis. Nelson recalls Kent's history with Nabu. As a child, Kent had been taken on an archaeological expedition to the Valley Of Ur, by his father, Sven. Kent unwittingly freed Nabu from suspended animation, releasing a poison gas that killed Kent's father. Nabu took Kent under his wing, and trained him in the mystic arts.

At the end of Kent's apprenticeship, Nabu's mortal shell fell away, revealing his true appearance, as a Lord of Order. Nabu infused his essence into a golden helmet, which, when worn by Kent, transformed him into Doctor Fate. Unwilling to allow Kent to face the unknown danger alone, Nelson leaves the Tower of Fate, and drives to Boston.

With the sacrificial ritual complete, the stone statue of Totec comes to life, as the old God returns to the mortal world. Doctor Fate attempts to cast Totec out, but the old God is not so easily removed. Nelson enters the fray, quickly being subdued by Totec, who then uses Nelson to dispatch Doctor Fate. With both Nelson and Doctor Fate his prisoners, nothing remains to stop Totec from ushering in the apocalypse.

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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