218 FLASH, THE
From Girls to Grrrlz. San Francisco:
Chronicle Books, 1999; Robbins,
Tr i n a. Th e Great American Superher-
oines. California: Palace Press, 2009;
Robbins, Trina. Th e Great Women
Cartoonists. New York: Watson-
Guptill, 2001; Robinson, Lillian S.
Wonder Women: Feminisms and
Superheroes. London: Routledge,
2004; Stuller, Jennifer K. Ink-Stained
Amazons and Cinematic Warriors:
Superwomen in Modern Mythology.
New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
Trina RobbinsFLASH, THE. Th e Flash is the name
give to a number of superhero char-
acters, published by DC Comics ,
with a “super speed” ability to run
at a high velocity. “Speeders” as they
are commonly known, are a fi xture
of the superhero genre. Th e Flash is
an early example of a specialized su-
perhero with a specifi c extraordinary
ability. Th e character has also crossed
over into other media including
animated cartoons and a 1990 live-
action television series.
Seen as a second tier DC hero
(behind Superman , Batman , and Wo n d e r Wo m a n , i.e. characters that did not un-
dergo drastic changes during the Silver Age ), the Flash, in its various incarnations,
has a multifaceted history deeply embedded in the DC mythos. It is because of the
character’s status as a second tier hero (along with others such as Green Lantern , the
Atom, and Hawkman) that substantial changes to the character were possible over
time.
Th ere are three incarnations of the Flash that are best known to comic fans: Jay Gar-
rick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, each representing a specifi c “age” of comic books—
Golden, Silver, and Modern ( see also Ages of Comics).
Th e fi rst Flash, Jay Garrick, debuted in Flash Comics #1 in January 1940. Garrick is
a college student who receives his abilities by inhaling “hard water” (later “heavy water”)
vapors. After a brief stint as a college football player, Garrick eventually decides to
become a mystery man. Th e Jay Garrick Flash is known for his metal-winged helmet,John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash, in the
1990 short-lived, live-action television series by the same
name. CBS/Photofest