With the success of Superman, in the late 30s, there was a huge
demand for costumed super-heroes. DC Comics (then, just an imprint of
National Periodical Publications) was quick to capitalize on the market and
contracted with various cartoonist studios for super-hero strips. It
was an experimental time and just about every super power you could think
of, was tried.
Few characters possessed the wide range of powers given to
Superman, usually, the heroes who followed in Superman's wake were
possessed of only a single power. Hawkman had his wings, Green Lantern, his power
ring, the Human Torch had fire and the Flash could run REALLY fast.
Super-speed has proved to be a fairly popular super power, the popularity of the
Flash brought many similar characters to comic pages. Johnny Quick had
his magic formula, that allowed him to move at super-speed for short bursts,
even let him fly. Atlas/Marvel had the Whizzer, a man who received super-
speed after a transfusion of mongoose blood. Yeah, I know. There was also a
character called Quicksilver (not the Marvel mutant), now known as Max
Mercury, at DC. I'm sure there were others that are slipping my mind, right now.
But the Flash came first.
Jay Garrick, the original Flash, was a college student with no
exceptional athletic ability, when an accident occured that would change his
life. Working in a chemistry lab, one day at Midwestern University, Jay
overturned a beaker filled with an experimental form of "hard water", which
gave off fumes when spilled (but not in the uncovered beaker!how did it
know to do that???) which rendered Jay unconscious. He lay there,
undisturbed, all night breathing these fumes. When he awoke, he discovered he
could move at superhuman speed.
How could he resist throwing together a costume and fighting
crime?
Jay Garrick, like Superman, went around without a mask. To hide
his identity, he "vibrated" his head so that it appeared blurred. His
costume was somewhat unique, in that it did not seem to be based on the
circus tights that had inspired most super-hero costumes. To add a
mythological edge to the design, he wore a helmet modeled on depictions of the
Messenger of the Gods, Hermes/Mercury. Fortunately, he wore pants,
something Hermes always seems to forget in the rush to deliver the message.
After the war, super-hero comics fell into decline. At DC, only
Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman survived. Then, in a little
experimental book at DC, the idea was floated to revive some of the
formerly popular super-hero strips. In order to tailor them for the
times, they would be "re-imagined", with costumes, powers and origins
that suited a slightly more sophisticated audience. This is a pattern
which would be repeated over the decades, whenever sales lagged or a
writer or artist approached an editor with a new vision of an old character.
So, with the publication of Showcase #4, a new Flash burst onto
the comics scene. With a simpler and bolder color scheme and a head-to-toe
skintight costume, with a mask. His name was Barry Allen and he got his
powers in a similar fashion to his namesake. Barry was a police scientist, what
today would be called a criminalist, I suppose. Standing next to an open
window, he was showered with chemicals when a lightning bolt stuck a
storage rack nearby. The combination of chemical reaction and the charge of
lightning altered his body in such a way that he could move at superhuman
speed, right down to the molecular level.
That's how the Silver Age began.
Barry Allen already had a crime fighting job, but with his new
powers, he thought he could do more good outside the police force. He created
a costume that could be compressed to the size of an aspirin tablet and stored
in a special ring. He went on to become a founding member of the
Justice League of America and had, probably, the most tumultuous career of any
Justice Leaguer of the Silver Age. Unlike the other members of the JLA,
Barry was married for much of his super-hero career, to Iris West-Allen and
was devastated when she was murdered by the Flash's enemy, Professor Zoom, the
Reverse Flash. Later, when Barry was about to remarry, Professor Zoom
returned to kill Barry's fiancé, Fiona Webb. In the heat of battle, Flash
accidentally broke Zoom's neck, killing him. Flash went on trial for
second-degree murder. He was convicted, due to jury tampering by
another old foe, Abra Cadabra, but was later cleared with evidence sent back
in time, from the 30th century. And you thought Superman's timeline was
screwed up!!!!!!!
I left out a lot of details, since this is not a column about Barry. If
you want to know more, it's time to hit the back-issue bins at your local
comic store, they'll appreciate the business!
With the trial over, it was decided to end Barry's career with a
bang and he became the only Justice Leaguer to die in the Crisis on Infinite
Earths.
In many ways, Barry's career paralleled Jay Garrick's, but one
major thing that made Barry Allen different from Jay Garrick is that he picked
up a kid sidekick, along the way. Wally West, nephew of Barry's girlfriend
Iris West was lucky/unlucky enough to be showered in lightning-charged
chemicals in a repeat of the accident that gave Barry his powers. As Kid Flash,
Wally could chase photons and vibrate through walls, just like the Flash. In the
early days, Wally wore a miniature Flash costume, but later got an
upgrade to one of the best costume designs of the 1960s. Sidekicks always got the
short end of the stick, when it came to costume designs, but Kid Flash caught
the brass ring. His costume had the advantage that he could actually
grow up in it. Had he never taken over as the Flash, he could still be wearing it,
without embarassment. Try that, Robin and Aqualad!
Now, if they'd just let Wonder Girl grow up in her original
costume . . . .
Following the death of Barry Allen, Wally West became the Flash,
to carry on Barry's legacy. He used one of Barry's old costumes, but his
powers had changed. For years, Wally had experienced pain when he would
push his speed too high. When he became the Flash, his speed limit was roughly
Mach 1, the speed of sound. He also found that he had to fuel his body as
never before, consuming vast quantities of food, after any exertion. Over a period
of years (reader-time, not in the stories), through a series of trials,
Wally was able to push himself to the limit and regain his mastery of
speed, finally encountering the so-called "Speed Force", a
hyperdimensional energy source that seems to power all the various speedsters.
Eventually, Wally became master of the Speed Force, able to
"lend" speed to others and even clothe himself in a "costume" of the stuff. After his
first encounter with the Speed Force, he developed an "offensive"
power, as well. When he vibrates through an object, he energizes it to the point
where it explodes. This means Wally can't be as cavalier about running
through solid objects as Barry was.
Over the years that Wally has been the Flash, they've tweaked his
costume slightly. Following the short lived Flash TV series, the styling was
altered to resemble the version worn by John Wesley Shipp. Now he wears
a "costume" composed of some quasi-material fluid-like substance originating in
the Speed Force dimension. He can alter this material to cover his
entire body, including his face, forming a sealed unit. He uses this when there is
a risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals, poison gas attacks, for
instance, or bio-weapons. A handy thing to have, when the Rogues are
beginning to get nastier.
What got me thinking about the Flash, this month was an email I
received from a reader named Robert Wilson. The idea, he says, was
inspired by a story arc in the Flash, involving an alternate version of the Flash,
another "Wally" West. This Flash was different from the mainstream Flash.
He was harder, edgier (is that even a word?), more serious. His hisory had
taken a turn for the worse when his girlfriend, his world's Linda Park was
murdered. In that world, the Flash, WALTER West had gone on a killing
spree, eliminating all the villains he could find, so that he could prevent
them from hurting others.
In the regular DC Universe, WALLACE West had plenty of
problems, many of them revolving around danger to Linda. It really doesn't pay to be
the girlfriend of a super-hero, these days. It's this danger that Robert
wants to explore, in his Flash scenario.
The idea is this, what if a rogue (for you folks who aren't regular
readers of the Flash, "rogue" is what Flash villains are called, they even
use it among themselves) killed Linda and what effect would that have on
Wally?
Robert speculates that Wally would turn to the one member of the
Justice League whose own pain, and sense of loss, might compare to his.
Batman. Batman has proven that he knows the Justice League members'
powers as well, or better than the heroes, themselves. And he has devised novel
applications for the powers of the other members that they had never
conceived. What if Wally was able to talk Batman into mentoring him? Teach him, test
him, help him devise new ways to use his powers to make him a more
effective crime fighter. Once Batman is satisfied with Wally's progress, he unveils
a new costume.
This is how Robert describes it:
I envision a solid dark red full-body suit, with a full-face cowl. An
evolution of the lightning device into something meaner-looking
would be incorporated subtly into the overall aesthetic of the suit. Perhaps
there would be a gelatinous energy-charged film that swirls around
providing the "friction-free" aspect of the suit.
From that description, I came up with this design. It's simple and
sleek, with a bit of a sinister look. Criminals ARE a superstitious and
cowardly lot, after all.
Now, while I liked Robert's story idea, it's not the direction I would
take Wally. The guy has been roughed up enough and I wouldn't want
to have a plot end up on the Women in Refrigerators website. For those of you
who're unfamiliar with it, Women in Refrigerators is a site that was inspired
by the death of the character, Alexandra De Witt in Green Lantern,
early in Kyle Rayner's GL career. Check it out, it's interesting and
somewhat disturbing how many female characters go through the 4-color meat
grinder.
Also, I like Linda Park. The way she's written, she's the perfect
balance to Wally's smartass. She's smart and witty and courageous. Not to
mention that she's a hot brunette, which always gets my vote!
I like Wally as a smartass. I like the idea that, no matter how bad
things get, no matter how bad the Rogues get, Wally won't lose his sense
of humor, won't sink to their level. When I was thinking about this costume, I
decided that, since Wally is actually carrying on more than just Barry's
legacy, he's the Flash, one day he'll be the only one and he'll have Jay's
legacy to carry on, as well. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good
idea to throw a bit of Jay's color scheme into the mix. Who says the Speed
Force has to be all red and gold?
And, while I was at it, one of my sketches looked pretty good for an
evil Flash, not a "Reverse Flash", maybe an Anti-Flash.
Before I leave, I also put this little animated thing together in JASC
Animation Shop. Fun to play with. I think I'll go back and do a Jay
Garrick version, later.
I got actual email from readers, this month. In addition to the idea
that inspired this column, I got email from comic artists Matt Haley and
Mike Gustovich!!! Matt Haley has a web site crammed with his phenomenal artwork
at:
Check it out, drop him a line, maybe buy a sketch!
