The Flash

Origin:  In his college days Jay Garrick was a science major. Jay did very well in his classes and even worked with Professor Hughes in his studies on "heavy water." Unfortunately, Jay was not nearly so successful in his other pursuits. Although a member of the football team, he spent more time on the bench than on the gridiron. His love life was not much better. Joan Williams spurned him for the captain of the football team. Fortunately for Jay, his luck was about to change.

Working on an experiment in the lab late at night, Jay knocked over some heavy water and other chemicals. Overcome by the fumes, Jay lay there for hours until he was discovered by Professor Hughes. Hughes immediately rushed Jay to the hospital, where he lay for weeks in a coma. When Jay finally came to, the physicians at the hospital told Hughes that tests on Garrick indicated a highly accelerated metabolism. He said that Jay would be, "the fastest thing to ever walk the earth!" It was not long after his release from the hospital that Jay learned he could move at super speed. When he saw Joan getting on a bus he was able to catch up to her in less than a second. Jay tested the extent of his powers and, for the first time in his life, led the football team to a win through the use of a bit of his super speed.

After graduation Jay Garrick got a job as an assistant professor at a university. It was about that time that Jay decided to put his powers to good use and assumed the identity of The Flash. Shortly thereafter Joan visited him with the news that her father had been kidnapped by a gang calling themselves the Faultless Four. Using his super speed, The Flash was able to rescue him. The Flash would eventually receive official recognition from the Keystone City Police Department. He would be one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America.

Powers:  Jay Garrick is, quite simply, the Fastest Man Alive. His superspeed not only allows him to run great distances in a matter of seconds, but he can perform such astounding feats as catch bullets and even run on water.

History:  In the summer of 1938, National Periodical Publications debuted Action Comics, a new magazine featuring a new hero, Superman. Its sales were phenomenal, far greater than any comic book to date. The following year, 1939, National Periodical Publications repeated Action Comics and Superman's success when Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27, May 1939. Quite clearly there was a demand for such costumed crimefighters, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Max C. Gaines, then the head of National's sister company, All-American Comics. Gaines decided it was time for All-American to go into the superhero business.

As Superman depended primarily upon his enormous strength in those days, it would seem that the next logical step in superheroes would be someone who was super fast. In fact, the idea was so obvious that three different "super speedsters" debuted in less than a year . The Flash was the first, but he was followed almost immediately by the Silver Streak, who first appeared in Silver Streak Comics #3, February 1940, published by Your Guide Publications (The Silver Steak could not only run fast, he could fly...literally). The third was Quicksilver (now called Max Mercury by DC Comics), a Quality Comics character who first appeared in November 1940 in National Comics #5. It would be the first hero with super speed, however, who would have by far the most success. The Flash was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the first superhero alongside Hawkman and Johnny Thunder created for the All-American line. The inspiration for The Flash was not hard to fine. One look at the Flash's winged helmet and the wings on his boots and one could tell that this character owed a large debt to Hermes (the Roman Mercury), the super fast messenger of the Greek gods.

The Flash debuted in Flash Comics #1, January 1940 (it hit the newstands on November 10, 1939). He would go onto become the third or fourth popular character from National/All-American in the Golden Age, outsold only by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. He was a charter member of the Justice Society of America and received his own magazine, All-Flash, in the summer of 1941. At one point in the Forties The Flash was appearing in four different comic books:  Flash Comics, All-Star Comics, All-Flash, and Comic Cavalcade.

Unfortunately, as the Forties progressed superheroes fell out of favour with the comic book buying public. All-Flash was cancelled in December 1947-January 1948. The Flash last appeared in Comic Cavalcade with issue 29, October-November 1948; with its next issue it switched to a funny animal format. Flash Comics itself folded with issue 104, February 1949. The Flash would continue to appear in All-Star Comics, making his last Golden Age appearance there with issue 57, February-March, 1951.

The Flash had been one of the most popular characters of the Golden Age and it would be his enduring popularity that would eventually lead to the Silver Age. National Periodical Publications revived his name and his superpowers for a new character who debuted in Showcase #4, September-October 1956. This new Flash, Barry Allen, would lead to a rebirth of National Periodical Publications' superhero line, which in turn would lead to the rebirth of other superhero lines at other companies. When the original Flash, Jay Garrick himself, returned in The Flash #123, September 1961, it would open the way for the return of the Justice Society of America itself!
 
 

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 Unless otherwise stated, all text on this site is © 1999 T. L. Canote