Flash (comics)

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The Flash is a DC Comics superhero. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (1940).

Once nicknamed the Scarlet Speedster, The Flash possesses "super-speed", which includes the ability to run and move extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes and violate certain laws of physics. Thus far, four different characters, each of whom somehow gained the power of "super-speed", have assumed the identity of the Flash: Jay Garrick (1940-present), Barry Allen (1956-86) and Wally West (1987-2006).

The second incarnation of the Flash is generally considered the first hero of the Silver Age of comic books and the superhero has remained one of DC‘s most popular ever since. Each version of the Flash has been a key member of either the Justice Society of America or the Justice League, DC’s all-star teams.

The Barry Allen version of the character was featured in a live action television series in 1990, starring John Wesley Shipp. The Wally West version of the Flash is featured in the animated series Justice League, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum.

Publication history

Golden Age

The Flash first appeared in the Golden Age Flash Comics #1 (1940), from All-American Publications, one of three companies that would eventually merge to form DC Comics. This Flash was Jay Garrick, a college student who gained his speed through the inhalation of hard water vapors (later retconned into heavy water vapors), and who wore a winged metal helmet reminiscent of the mythological Roman god Mercury. He is notable as the first super-speedster in comics, and one of the first to have a singular super-power as opposed to the multi-powered Superman.

Garrick was a popular character in the 1940s, supporting both Flash Comics and All-Flash Quarterly (later published bi-monthly as simply All-Flash); co-starring in Comic Cavalcade; and being a charter member of the Justice Society of America, the first superhero team, whose adventures ran in All Star Comics. With superheroers' post-war decline in popularity, Flash Comics was cancelled with issue #104 (1949). The Justice Society's final Golden Age story ran in All Star Comics #57 (1951; the title itself continued, as All Star Western).

Silver Age

In 1956, DC Comics successfully revived superheroes, ushering in what became known as the Silver Age of comic books. Rather than bringing back the same Golden Age heroes, as Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics, unsuccessfully tried to do, DC reimagined them as new characters for the modern age. The Flash was the first revival, in the aptly named tryout comic book Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956).

This new Flash was Barry Allen, a police scientist who gained super-speed when bathed by chemicals after a shelf of them was struck by lightning. He adopted the name The Flash after reading a comic book featuring the Golden Age Flash. After several more appearances in Showcase, Allen's character was given his own title, The Flash, the first issue of which was #105 (resuming where Flash Comics had left off).

The Silver Age Flash proved popular enough that several other Golden Age heroes were revived in new incarnations. A new superhero team, the Justice League of America, was also created, with the Flash as a charter member.

The Flashes of two worlds

The Flash also introduced a much-imitated plot device into superhero comics, when it was revealed that Garrick and Allen existed on fictional parallel worlds. Their powers allowed them to cross the dimensional boundary between worlds, and the men became good friends. The Flash of Two Worlds was the first crossover in which a Golden Age character met a Silver Age character. Soon, there were crossovers between the entire Justice League and the Justice Society; their respective teams began an annual get-together which endured from the early 1960s until the mid-1980s.

Allen's adventures continued in his own title until the advent of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Flash ended as a series with #350. Allen's life had become considerably confused in the early 1980s, and DC elected to end his adventures and pass the mantle on to another character. Allen died heroically in the issue #8 of the Crisis (1986), though thanks to his ability to travel through time, he would continue to appear occasionally in the years to come.

Modern Age

The third Flash was Wally West, who was introduced in Flash #110 (1959) as Kid Flash. West, Allen's nephew by marriage, gained the Flash's powers through an accident identical to Allen's. Adopting the identity of Kid Flash, he maintained membership in the Teen Titans for years. Following Allen's death, West adopted the Flash identity in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 and was given his own series, beginning with The Flash (2nd series) #1 in 1987. Many issues began Flash with the simultaneously glad and rueful catchphrase: "My name is Wally West, I'm the fastest man alive, I'm the Flash".

Coinciding with the Infinite Crisis miniseries and the consequent One Year Later jump in time in storytelling in the DC Universe, DC Comics cancelled The Flash (2nd series) in January 2006 at #230. A new series, to be called The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, was announced to begin in the summer of 2006, written by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo and drawn by Ken Lashley. It was not made clear who will be behind the mask at that time, but DC's Executive Editor Dan DiDio stated, "the costume will be very familiar".^[1]

The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 went on sale June 21st 2006. It is written by Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson; Art and cover by Ken Lashley; Variant cover by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert. Issues 2, 3, and 4 are slated for releases in July, August, and September 2006 respectively.^[2]

Who Wears the Ring?

Wally West is still missing from the events of Infinite Crisis. Though The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1 focuses mainly on Bart Allen, it is not conclusive that he is the new Flash. As of right now, the Flash's identity is a mystery.

Fictional biographies

While several other individuals have used the name Flash, these have lived either on other parallel worlds, or in the future. Garrick, Allen and West are the best-known exemplars of the identity.

Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick)

Jay Garrick was a college student in 1940 (suggesting he was born around 1922) who accidentally inhaled hard water vapors after falling asleep in his laboratory where he had been smoking (years later Garrick's origin story was retconned so that he inhaled vapor from heavy water, which was slightly more believable than the original version). As a result, he found that he could run at superhuman speed and had similarly fast reflexes. After a brief career as a college football star, he donned a red shirt with a lightning bolt and a stylized metal helmet with wings (based on images of the Roman god [Mercury]), and began to fight crime as the Flash. It was explained decades later that the helmet belonged to Jay's father, Joseph, who died in World War I when Jay was only ten. His first case involved battling the "Faultless Four", a group of blackmailers. In the early stories, it seemed to be widely known that Garrick was the Flash. It was later explained that Jay kept his identity secret without a mask by continually vibrating his body while in public so that any photograph of his face would be blurred.

Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen)

Barry Allen was a police scientist in 1956 with a reputation for being very slow, deliberate, and frequently late, which frustrated his fiancée, Iris West. One night, as he was preparing to leave work, a lightning bolt shattered a case full of chemicals and spilled them all over Allen. As a result, Allen found that he could run extremely fast and had matching reflexes. He donned a set of red tights sporting a lightning bolt (reminiscent of the original Captain Marvel), dubbed himself the Flash (after his childhood hero in the comic books, Jay Garrick), and became a crimefighter. In his civilian identity, he stored the costume in his ring, which could eject the compressed clothing when Allen needed it and suck it back in with the aid of a special gas that shrinks the suit.

Modern Age Flash (Wally West)

Wally West was the nephew of Iris West and Barry Allen by marriage, and was introduced in The Flash (1st series) #110 (1959). When West was about ten years old, he was visiting his uncle's police laboratory, and the freak accident that gave Allen his powers repeated itself, bathing West in electrically-charged chemicals. Now possessing the same powers as his uncle, West donned a copy of his uncle's outfit and became the young crimefighter Kid Flash. After the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, where Barry Allen was killed, Wally has taken over as the fastest man alive.

Current Flash (Bart Allen)

Bart Allen is the grandson of Silver Age Flash Barry Allen and his wife Iris. Bart suffered from accelerated aging and, as a result, was raised in a virtual reality machine until Iris rescued him and took him back in time to the present in order to get help from the Modern Age Flash Wally West. Bart was able to slow down his aging and took the name Impulse. When Impulse joined the latest incarnation of the Teen Titans, he was shot in the kneecap by Deathstroke and required reconstructive surgery. From both the tramua of the shooting and the feeling that nobody (not even Wally) really took him seriously, Bart went to the San Francisco Public Library and read every single book. He then changed his costume and took the mantle of Kid Flash.

During the events of Infinite Crisis, Bart, Wally, and Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick tried to stop Superboy-Prime by running him into the Speed Force. They were sucessful, but ended up somewhere in the future (Wally was also able to take his family with them). This resulted in the Speed Force disappearing. Some time later both Superboy-Prime and Bart returned. Bart was a few years older and was wearing his grandfather's costume. A vicious assault was led against the villain by the combined power of Earth's heroes and the Green Lantern Corps. This resulted in Bart using up the last of the residual speed in his body. Without the Speed Force, Bart seemed to be depowered and passed the mantle of the Flash back to the original, Jay Garrick.

However, it now seems that the Speed Force might not be gone after all and that Bart may still have a connection to it.

Powers & Abilities

All incarnations of the Flash can run and move their limbs at superhuman speeds, and possess superhuman reflexes. All possess an aura that prevents air friction from affecting their bodies and clothes while moving.

Barry Allen was believed to be the fastest of all known Flashes, and was known to have travelled faster than the "speed of thought". However, when Barry Allen pushed himself further (while imploding the Anti-Monitor's chief weapon during the Crisis on Infinite Earths) he appeared to waste away as he was converted into pure speed energy, travelled back in time, and was revealed to be the very bolt of lightning that gave him his powers. Barry Allen possessed several other abilities that Jay Garrick and Wally West have not always been able to duplicate. He could run on thick snow clouds and could travel through time and to other dimensions with the help of a "cosmic treadmill". Most unusual was Allen's complete control of his molecules, allowing him to vibrate through solid matter and, on one occasion when transformed into a mirror, "melt" himself and reform as a human to defeat his foe the Mirror Master.

Wally West has said more than once that Barry Allen was the Flash most experienced with time travel. However, Wally has been shown to have a connection to the Speed Force, an extradimensional energy source, which provides his powers and gives him several other abilities. While all speedsters are powered by the force, West mainlines the power from the force itself and cannot be cut off from the source, unlike the others. Wally has, on several occasions, sped faster than light and been pulled into and exited the Speed Force by his own volition. He can create his costume out of pure speed energy, and can either impart his high velocities to other people and objects already in motion or steal the velocity they possess. Jay Garrick also possesses this ability to some degree; he stole speed from Black Adam in order to defeat the villainous Johnny Sorrow, and he has threatened to steal Bart Allen's (formerly Impulse, currently the new Kid Flash) speed on at least one occasion when he was misbehaving. West can vibrate through objects; in the past, West would cause whatever he vibrated through to explode, but has recently shown this to be a controlled ability as he can pass through objects without any ensuing explosion. Although not nearly as precise as Allen when he used his cosmic treadmill, West has shown to be able to traverse time and dimensions with his own powers, like Allen in Showcase #4 in 1956. However, Wally now accelerates to the point that he is skirting the very edge of the Speed Force dimension, and can traverse along the timestream to specific points as they become visible, much like watching a movie in fast forward or reverse (however he must have a particular speedster's vibratory signature to search for and lock onto, or be very familiar with the vibration of that time period).

Occasionally, the top speeds of the Flashes are light speed, although Barry Allen and Wally West have been shown to have sped faster than light (as mentioned previously). On several occasions, the Flash has been shown in various races against Superman to determine which one is faster (or as part of a mutual effort to thwart some type of threat); these races, however, often resulted in ties (or indeterminate results). However, in recent races between Wally and Superman, West has been shown to be the faster of the two. It should, however, be noted that the Silver Age Superman was much faster than the current one.

Speedsters may at times use the ability to speed-read at incredible rates and in doing so, process vast amounts of information. Whatever knowledge they acquire in this manner is usually temporary, although the current Kid Flash seems to be the exception, though in earlier years, Max Mercury believed that Bart's speed learning would not stick.

Flashes and other super-speedsters also have the ability to speak to one another at a highly accelerated rate. This is often done to have private conversations in front of non-fast people (as when Flash speaks to Superman about his ability to serve both the Titans and the JLA in The Titans #2).

Awards

The comics and characters have been nominated for and won several awards over the years, including:

• 1961 Alley Award for Best Cover (Flash #123)
• 1961 Alley Award for Best Single Comic (Flash #123 by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino)
• 1963 Alley Award for Cross-Over of DC Heroes for The Brave and the Bold (with Hawkman)
• 1964 Alley Award for Best Short Story ("Doorway to the Unknown" in Flash #148 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino).

Appearances in other media

Early appearances

A version of the Flash guest-starred in the animated series, The Adventures of Aquaman in 1968. Flash appeared off and on in the animated series Super Friends throughout its run from 1973 to 1985.

In 1977 he appeared in the animated Legends of the Superheroes, voiced by actor Rod Haase.

The Flash 1990 series

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The Flash was a live action CBS television series that starred John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays. The Flash featured in the series was an amalgamation of the silver-age Flash, Barry Allen, and the modern-age Wally West. The only resemblances between the TV Barry Allen Flash and the comic book Barry Allen Flash were his name, his profession as a forensic scientist, and his love interest Iris (who is very short lived as a love interest in the television series). Most of the elements in the television show were taken directly from the main story line in the first Wally West Flash comic books: The STAR labs researcher Tina McGee, her and her husband's research into speed, her husband's allegedly fatal accident with their speed research, the Flash's ravenous appetite, heat problems (which were mitigated by the TV show Flash suit), and speed limit on the order of the speed of sound were all elements from the main Wally West comic book storyline.

The Flash's most famous villain in the series was the Trickster, played by Mark Hamill, which oddly foreshadowed Hamill's subsequent success at voicing the Joker in and, later, the Trickster in Justice League Unlimited . Captain Cold, played by Michael Champion, and Mirror Master, played by David Cassidy, also appeared in their own episodes. The complete series was released as a DVD set by Warner Bros. in 2006.

Justice League of America pilot

The Flash was in a CBS live-action unaired pilot called Justice League of America, portrayed by Kenny Johnston.

DC Animated Universe

The Flash appeared in , voiced by Charlie Schlatter, in the second-season episode "Speed Demons". As in the traditional comic book storylines, the Flash and Superman race to find out who is faster, but the Weather Wizard gets in the way.

The Flash in the Justice League animated series is voiced by Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor on the television series Smallville). This Flash is Wally West; however he is an amalgamation of Barry Allen and Wally (in Justice League Unlimited, Wally is a forensic scientist, which was Barry's profession. Wally in the comics is an auto mechanic.) Michael Rosenbaum also voiced Kid Flash for a Fall 2005 episode of Teen Titans animated series entitled "Lightspeed". He later appeared in a cameo in the episode "Calling all Titans" and then he reappeared fully in the episode "Titans Together".

Some fans criticized the Justice League animated series characterization of the Flash, mainly due to the chauvinistic dialogue in early episodes. However, others argued that he provided a needed foil to the other characters; his humorous attitude and setting reflects Silver Age roots. The importance of the Flash as the "heart" of the Justice League was shown in the episode "A Better World", when his death in an alternate timeline triggered a series of events which turned that alternate League (the "Justice Lords") into virtual dictators of Earth. He has also proven key in saving the day in a few episodes, such as Divided We Fall, in which he defeated the fused Brainiac/Lex Luthor when all the other six founding Justice League members could not. In the process, he was drawn into the Speed Force (the first explicit use of the concept in the DCAU), and barely managed to escape. The episode Flash and Substance is centered on the opening of the Flash Museum. Many of the Flash's rogues make cameos in this episode, while focusing on Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, and The Trickster (voiced by Mark Hamill). Linda Park also appears as a reporter covering the museum opening.

Smallville

The Flash made a guest appearance in the television series Smallville, in the fourth-season episode "Run" (first aired October 20th, 2004) played by Kyle Gallner. He is portrayed as a self-centered teenager who uses his powers for personal gain. He goes by the name Bart Allen, but is shown to be carrying multiple ID cards also identifying him as Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West. His speed in the episode seemed to surpass Clark Kent's and they apparently became friends towards the end, with allusions being made to forming a "league" one day. Since in Smallville Clark Kent has not yet become Superman, it is not clear if this version of The Flash will grow up to become Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen (Impulse - Kid Flash), or some other Flash entirely.

Movie

In December 2004, David Goyer (writer of the Blade trilogy and Batman Begins) announced plans to write and direct a major motion picture about The Flash, there are rumors that Ryan Reynolds will play Flash, but very little has been announced. The film is stated to be released in 2006 but since Superman Returns was released this year, and every year one DC Comics superhero movie will be released, next year is Wonder Woman in 2007, so The Flash may be set for a 2008 release date. There is a link below to The Flash page on the Internet Movie Database in the External Links section.

Other appearances

Barry Allen appeared in one episode of the first season of Super Friends.

Barry Allen appeared in the comic strip The World's Greatest Superheroes.

Wally West appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game.

Wally West appeared in a novel Stop Motion, written by Mark Schultz.

The Flash was a video game that was released on the Sega Master System in 1993. A Game Boy version was also released.

The Flash will be a featured playable character in the upcoming video game, Justice League Heroes.

References in popular culture

• In "Marge vs. the Monorail," a 1993 episode of the Simpsons, one of Lisa's schoolmates asks salesman Lyle Lanley about the monorail: "Can it outrun the Flash?!" After Lanley (voiced by Phil Hartman) answers yes, the student asks, "Can Superman outrun the Flash?"

• "The Ballad Of Barry Allen" is a song by Jim's Big Ego featured on They're Everywhere and released through Creative Commons. The song portrays Barry Allen's ability to move at super-speed from an alternate viewpoint: namely, that to him the entire world is moving excruciatingly slowly ("I've got time to think / about the beauty of / the thousand variations of / the beating of the wings of / the hummingbird suspended in / the aspic of the world / moving slower than molasses, / as I'm off to catch the girl / who's falling off the bridge"). Jim's Big Ego is fronted by Jim Infantino, nephew of legendary Flash artist Carmine Infantino.

• In 2002, the lead con-man character in the movie Catch Me If You Can played by Leonardo DiCaprio used the alias "Barry Allen" to elude G-man Tom Hanks in reference to his love for the comic book.

• In the 2003 movie Daddy Day Care, Jimmy Bennett plays a boy who thinks he is the Flash and refuses to take off his costume, plus a sugar rush actually allows him to go super speed for a while.

• In 2004, NBA All-Star Shaquille O'Neal gave his teammate, Dwyane Wade the nickname "Flash" (one of O'Neal's nicknames was "Superman").

• In Season 5 of the TV series Angel, Illyria is able to escape from the group by slowing down time. They believe she has super speed. Gunn comments: "So she did a Barry Allen on us?" When the others give him a blank look: "Jay Garrick? Wally We... . She was moving really fast."

• Beginning with the 1980-1981 season of Dukes of Hazzard, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane owns a slow-looking basset hound which he called "Flash".

Related characters

While the Flash had a number of speedy predecessors in mythology, he was the first super-speed hero in comic books.

Rogues

Like Batman, the Flash has a reputation for having fought a distinctive and memorable rogues gallery of supervillains. In the Flash's case, some of these villains have adopted the term "Flash's Rogues Gallery" as an official title, and insist on being called "Rogues" rather than "supervillains" or similar names. At times, various combinations of the Rogues have banded together in order to commit crimes or take revenge on the Flash, usually under the leadership of Captain Cold.

References

1. [Dan Didio on the New Flash Team] (newsarama.com)
2. [The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1] (dccomics.com)

External links

• [The Flash] at [Internet Movie Database]
• [Crimson Lightning] - An online index to the comic book adventures of the Modern Age Flash.
• [Alan Kistler's Profile On: The Flash] - An analysis of the history of the Flash by comic book historian Alan Kistler.
• [Golden Age Flash Toonopedia entry]
• [Silver Age Flash Toonopedia entry]
• [Alan Kistler's Guide To The Crisis]
• [The Flash JLResource.com entry]
• [The Flash: Those Who Ride The Lightning] - Fan site with information about the super-speed characters of the DC Universe.
• [Index to Barry Allen's Earth-One adventures]
• [Comic Book Awards Almanac]
• [comicfoundry.com] Conversation with new Flash writers Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo about Bart Allen as the new Flash

 

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