The Flash

Most people are at least familiar with the Flash character, published by DC comics. But what a lot of people aren't aware of is that there have been four different Flashes.

The original Flash was a man named Jay Garrick. Created by Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, Jay while in college was exposed to "hard water fumes" accidentally. This exposure gave him the ability to run and move at incredible speed when he choose to. Jay's first appearance was in Flash Comics #1. Jay wore a silver helmet with wings on it similar to the ancient God Mercury, a red shirt with a lightning bolt on it's chest, blue pants and red boots. He was extremely popular during the 1940's and even became a part of the first Super-Hero team the Justice Society of America. In 1949 however sales slipped and Flash Comics was discontinued with issue #104.

In 1956 DC decided to try reviving some of their super hero characters. The first of which was the Flash. However, the competotor Atlas Comics (which eventually became Marvel comics) previously attempted this by bringing back the exact same versions of some of their 40's characters (Sub-Mariner, Captain America and the Human Torch) and failed. So DC opted to come up with new versions of their classic characters.

Editor Julius Schwartz brough in original Flash creator Gardner Fox and teamed him with artist Carmine Infantino. In Showcase #4 they premiered the second Flash. This time the Flash was police scientist Barry Allen. While working late in his lab one night Barry was standing before a rack of chemicals. A storm was raging outside, and a bolt of lightning accidentally came in through the window and struck the chemicals. Barry was doused by them but unharmed. When attempting to catch a cab after leaving work, Barry discovered that he now had the ability to run at Super Speed. Barry was a fan of the Flash Comics of the 1940's and decided to adopt the name, since his powers were the same as the fictional Jay Garrick. His uniform, however, was different. Barry wore an almost all red outfit with yellow wings on his ear pieces, yellow boots, and yellow lightning bolts around his waist and his forearms.

After a couple of Showcase appearances Barry got his own magazine. DC opted to pick up the numbering from Flash Comics, so the "first" issue of the Flash starring Barry Allen was actually Flash #105.

As time went on, DC decided to bring back Jay Garrick. But how, since Gardner Fox has stated Jay was only a comic book character on Barry Allen's world. While Barry/Flash was entertaining some children at a charity show, he did a "disappearing act". By vibrating at super speed, Barry intended to vanish before the children's eyes. Actually he would be moving too fast for the human eye to see him. However, Barry actually did vanish to the kids. To Barry's point of view he saw the audience gone.

Upon leaving the theater, Barry discovered that he wasn't in his own city (called Central City) but instead was in a city called Keystone City. Barry realized that this was the city of the Jay Garrick Flash he had read about as a kid. Barry investigated further and discovered that in Keystone City there was a Jay Garrick. Barry tracked Jay down and went to his home. There he found Jay, married to his long time girlfriend Joan.

Upon comparing notes, Jay and Barry figured out what happened. When Barry vibrated so fast he accidentally traveled between dimensions to a parallel earth--one where Jay Garrick was real, but semi-retired as the Flash. Barry speculated that on his earth the writer of the 40's Flash stories (Gardner Fox) must have been subconsciously tuning in on this parallel earth.

Barry helped Jay defeat some of Jay's old enemies who had come out of retirement, and eventually Barry figured out how to reverse the vibrations which sent him to this parallel earth (called Earth 2). Barry returned to his home world, but teamed up with Jay Garrick numerous times over the years..sometimes on Barry's world (Earth 1), sometimes on Earth 2. Eventually the sales slipped on the Barry Flashes book, too. To try to revive it, DC first killed off Barry's wife Iris (making him single again). This didn't work, and as it became apparent the book was going to be cancelled, writer Cary Bates opted to try to bring Iris back. It had already been established that Iris had come from the future. It was explained that when Iris's physical body died her future parents saved her "spirit" and transfered it to a body of a comatose woman in the future. Iris was alive there. Barry discovered this and decided to stay in the 30th century with Iris, ending his book's run.

Barry had a long run as the Flash. However, in the mid 1980's DC decided that their fans found their multiple earths too confusing. In a classic 12 issue series called Crisis on Infinite Earths a villain called the Anti-Monitor was destroying parallel universes. Only 5 survived, including earths 1 and 2. Barry was captured by the Anti-Monitor. Barry escaped and died heroically in an attempt to stop the Anti-Monitor's schemes. Barry left behind his own wife, Iris West, who he had married over a decade ago in his own comic. By the end of Crisis On Infinite Earths the 5 remaining parallel worlds were merged together. Jay Garrick existed on the same earth as Barry had, now. History had been rewritten because this change occured at the dawn of time. Wally West, who was the nephew of Barry's wife Iris, had long ago aquired super-speed in an accident similar to Barry's. Wally had operated under the name of Kid Flash. With Barry dead, and Jay getting older, Wally took on Barry's costume and the identity of the third Flash. Later on it was revealed in Wally's book that all Flashes actually got their speed from something called the "speed force". However, if a Flash ever went too fast he would become trapped in the speed force forever.

Wally operated as the Flash for about 20 years. However, sales began to slip on his book as well. As a 20th anniversary celebration of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC opted to do a sequel called Infinite Crisis. There several dopplegangers of DC characters who survived COIE returned, one of which called "Superboy Prime". Superboy Prime ended up going insane..in a battle between him and various super-heroes, The Flashes (Wally and Jay) and another speedster called Impulse (Bart Allen--more on him later) attempted to stop Superboy Prime by racing so fast that he would enter the Speed Force. Jay's stamina gave out first, and then Wally found himself being sucked away, but not into the speed force. That left Bart/Impulse.
Bary, being a teenager, began to panic, fearing he couldn't stop Superboy Prime. Superboy Prime bragged about Bart's inability to handle him alone, and Bart exclaimed "You're right..I'm a failure..alone". As he was still running with Superboy Prime Bart heard a voice say, "You're not a failure, Bart. And you're not alone". Through a hole in reality, Bart saw Barry Allen. Barry grabbed Superboy Prime and pulled him into the speed force with him.

This was the first time that it was indicated that Barry wasn't actually dead but perhaps trapped in the speed force. Bart Allen was previously introduced in the Wally West Flash comic. He was revealed to have been from the future. Apparently during the time Barry spent in the 30th century he and Iris had two children, a boy and a girl. They grew to adulthood after Barry's death and had children of their own. One of them was Bart Allen, called Impulse. Bart's parents were killed accidentally, and grandmother Iris sent Bart back in time to be trained by Wally. With Wally mysteriously gone Bart became the 4th Flash. However, sales were terrible on this reboot and it was cancelled after just one year. Wally was quickly brought back as the Flash.

But the question still remained, was Barry Allen alive or dead? Recently DC launched a 8 issue mini-series called "Final Crisis". In issue two, Wally and Jay were investigating some strange happenings. They came across Barry's old "Cosmic Treadmill". This was a device Barry used to travel between parallel worlds more easily and also sometimes through time itself. Suddenly the treadmill activated itself. Wally and Jay sensed some familiar "vibrations"..vibrations they hadn't sensed in many years. Out of a whole in space created by the treadmill emerged Barry Allen. Wally and Jay attmepted to follow Barry to where ever he was running to but Jay couldn't keep up. Jay did return home. By this point Iris West Allen had returned to the 21st century. Due to 30th century science her aging had been greatly slowed down. Jay told Iris that he had seen Barry alive..and that Barry wasn't any parallel world double or Barry from out of the past. Iris replied, "They told me he was dead. But deep down I never believed it. Barry had always outsmarted death before, I knew somehow he would be able to do it again".

Final Crisis is still ongoing, so the secret of Barry Allen's return and survival has yet to be revealed.