Issue Description

Prey For The Piper

The Pied Piper takes control over the minds of a helicopter crew. Their helicopter is carrying an enormous tribal gong, to the Centrex Museum. The Pied Piper orders the helicopter pilot to fly the gong into the steel skeleton, of an under-construction skyscraper. As luck would have it, police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, is on the street, and takes action, as the Flash. The gong is released into the center of the steel skeleton. As it impacts with the steel girders, a powerful sonic wave is released, incapacitating the steel workers. Vibrating at super-human speed, the Flash catches the gong, and vibrates it's molecules into intangibility.

Letting go of the gong, it rematerializes around two steel girders, stopping it's fall. During the entire calamity, the Pied Piper has been recording the sonic waves of the gong. A Picture News reporter, Marcy Dunphy, is abducted, right outside of Central City police headquarters. Dunphy was gathering information on Henry Darrow, the Pied Piper. The Pied Piper collects the sonic waves given off by an avalanche. Dunphy's abductors turn out to be Hazel and Osgood Rathaway. The Flash is alerted to a robbery, at the Centrex Museum, being carried out by the Pied Piper. The Rathaways give Dunphy some history on their son, Hartley.

Born deaf, the Rathaways spent untold sums on doctors to restore Hartley's hearing. Once accomplished, Hartley proved to have an aptitude for music. The Rathaways felt that young Hartley would add prestige to their name, perhaps by becoming a world-renouned symphony conductor. Hartley's interests, though, ran contrary to those dreams. The Flash easily penetrates the Pied Piper's sonic shield, surrounding the Centrex Museum. Upon doing so, however, the Flash's head starts ringing with the sound of a hundred bells. Momentarily incapacitated, the Flash is easy prey for the Pied Piper.

Hartley learned he could control the minds of other by playing certain sonic frequencies. Longing for a real challenge in his life, Hartley took on the mantle of the Pied Piper, and embarked on a life of crime. The Rathaways spent a small fortune covering up their son's criminal identity, to protect their family name. going so far as to have Hartley's name legally changed to "Henry Darrow". The Pied Piper converts the Flash's body into pure sound. With the Flash defeated, the Pied Piper completes his robbery, and walks calmly out of the museum. Protected by a sonic force field, the Pied Piper has nothing to fear from the police officers surrounding the museum.

The Rathaways abducted Dunphy, because her investigation was getting too close to uncovering the truth about the Rathaways' son. As if on cue, the Pied Piper enters the room. The Flash manages to hold himself together, long enough to ricochet off of several buildings, creating a series of echoes that eventually culminate in a sonic boom. Inexplicably, this action restores the Flash to normal. The Pied PIper turns his ill-gotten gains over to his parents, remittance for all the money they spent, trying to mold him into the man they wanted him to be. The Flash arrives and subdues the Pied Piper. The Rathaways break down. Dunphy's investigation has come to it's conclusion.

Twilight Of The Fifth Sun

Doctor Fate, and Inza Nelson, are being held captive by Totec, the Aztec God Of War. In reality, Totec is really Malferrazae, a Lord Of Chaos. Malferrazae mystically transports himself, and his captives, from the Boston Museum of Natural History to Mexico City. Malferrazae intend to bring about the destruction of the world, then to recreate it in his image.

Malferrazae mystically transforms Mexico City, and it's populace, to the way it appeared 400 years ago, when Malferrazae last walked the Earth. Mexico City has become the Aztec city, Tenochtitlan. Malferrazae transports Doctor Fate to the Aztec city, Coatepec, to face Malferrazae's re-animated legions of undead. Nelson is allowed to watch Doctor Fate's struggle with Malferrazae's forces.

Nelson silently berates herself for allowing her jealousy of her husband's shared life with the Lord Of Order, Nabu, as Doctor Fate, to bring them to this peril. Doctor Fate transforms the very sand beneath his feat into an epic monstrosity, that quickly subdues Malferrazae's legions. Drawn to Nelson's jealously, Malferrazae draws the powerful emotion from her, molding it into a horrific adversary, to send against Doctor Fate. As Nelson's jealousy is a part of her, should Doctor Fate destroy the creature, he will also be killing Nelson.

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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