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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 (1940-present), Barry Allen (1956-86), and Wally West (1987-present). .]] 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 character was featured in Live Action Television Series in 1990, starring John Wesley Shipp . The Flash is also featured in the Animated Series '' Justice League ''. 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. as Impulse, Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick , and Max Mercury (background), from ''Flash #97''. Art by Mike Wieringo .]] 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 World s. 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 is 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 Kid Flash identity, 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'' (Vol. 2) #1 in 1987. Many issues began Flash with the simultaneously glad and rueful Catchphrase : ''"My name is Wally West, and I'm the fastest man alive"''. Coinciding with the '' 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". Recently, Various sources (including the comic book ''Infinite Crisis'' #5) have indicated that Bart Allen will become the new fastest man alive. What this means for Wally West is still uncertain. 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) See Also: Jay Garrick Jay Garrick was a college student in 1940 (suggesting he was born around 1922) who accidentally inhaled 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) See Also: Barry Allen Barry Allen was a Police scientist in 1956 with a reputation for being very slow, deliberate, and frequently late, which frustrated his fiancee, 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) See Also: 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. 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 vibrate his molecules through solid matter, 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. Speedsters may at times utilize 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. This has been suggested to be because Bart Allen possesses a photographic memory. The idea of "speed knowledge" being temporary is a retcon introduced by Geoff Johns . Flashes and other super speedsters (such as Superman) 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:
APPEARANCES IN OTHER MEDIA Early appearances A version of the Flash guest-starred in ''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 '' Legends Of The Superheroes '', as actor Rod Haase . The Flash 1990 series See Also: The Flash (TV series) '''' 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 story-lines, 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 Braniac / Lex Luthor when all the other six founding Justice League members could not. 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 races Clark Kent in the ''Smallville'' episode "Run".]] The Flash made a guest appearance in the television series '' Smallville '', in the fourth-season episode "Run" (first aired October 20 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 far 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, with Ryan Reynolds in the title role. The pair hope to get the green-light from Warner Bros at some point in the next year or so. Other appearances Barry Allen appeared in the comic strip '' The World's Greatest Superheros ''. 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. REFERENCES IN POPULAR CULTURE as a child fan of The Flash in the movie ''Daddy Day Care'']]
RELATED CHARACTERS While the Flash had a number of speedy predecessors in mythology, he was the first super-speed hero in comic books. Other fictional characters with super speed include:
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