The Flash II
Silver Age: Barry Allen

Real Name: Bartholomew^[1] Henry “Barry” Allen
Other Aliases: The Scarlet Speedster, the Fastest Man Alive, the Monarch of Motion, the Sultan of Speed
Known Relatives: Henry and Nora (parents), Malcolm Thawne (twin), Iris West Allen (wife), Wally West (nephew), Don and Dawn Allen (son and daughter), Bart Allen (grandson), Jenni Ognats (granddaughter)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America (founding member)
Base of Operations: Central City, Missouri
Hometwon: Fallville, Iowa
Occupation: Police scientist
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
First Appearance: Showcase #4^[2], September–October, 1956
Origin: 10–15 years ago (1 year before Wally)
Identity: Secret during his lifetime. Public knowledge after death, but erased from memories and records late in Wally West’s career (Flash v.2 #200, 2003).
Death: Saving the universe from the Anti-Monitor (Crisis on Infinite Earths #8, November 1985)
See Also: Earth-1, Where’s Barry?, The Last Days of Barry Allen
Flashes:

Police scientist Barry Allen was struck by lightning in his lab one night, splashed with chemicals from a nearby cabinet. He found he could run at super-speed. Inspired by Jay Garrick, Allen adopted the identity of the Flash, quickly becoming a celebrated hero.

Wally West, nephew to Barry’s girlfriend Iris, became his partner when the accident somehow repeated itself; it has since been speculated that Barry unconsciously caused the accident to occur through his link to the Speed Force.

Barry Allen was a founding member of the Justice League of America, and brought Jay Garrick out of retirement. Barry eventually married Iris; their marriage lasted many years, but Professor Zoom killed her. Eventually Barry fell in love again, with a woman named Fiona Webb, but Zoom returned again to kill her on their wedding day. Barry stopped him, but snapped his neck, leading to a trial for murder.

After he was acquitted, Barry was reunited with Iris—it turned out that she had been born in the 30th century, and her death before her birth enabled her parents to perform a “psychic transplant.” Barry and Iris had only a short time together in the future of 2957, but it was enough time for Iris to conceive twins who would inherit their father’s speed.^[2]

Barry was abducted by the Anti-Monitor during the Crisis. He died saving the universe. In outracing the tachyon at the heart of the Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter cannon, Barry broke all limits of speed and became one with the other side of light. (See also Where’s Barry?)

(Note: 52 #7 states that Barry tried to stop the effects of Zero Hour in the 64^th Century, which was Wally in the original version. It is not yet clear whether this is a change or an error. If it is a change, it is not clear how it fits with Barry’s role in the original Crisis.)

Team Membership

Barry Allen was a founding member of the Justice League of America, and remained on the team up through the time of his trial (1960–1985).

• Primary Sources
• Art Credits
• Origin Tales
• Profiles in Print
• Series Regular In...
• Silver-Age Appearances
• Crisis-Era Appearances
• Modern Appearances in Flashback
• Modern Appearances in Alternate Reality
• Further Notes
• Related Commentary

Primary Sources

• “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt” - Showcase #4 (September–October 1956), Robert Kanigher^[2]
• “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt” - Secret Origins Annual 2 (1988), Robert Loren Fleming
• “Will You Believe Me When I’m Dead?” - The Flash (original series) #290 (October 1980), Cary Bates
• The Life Story of the Flash (1997), Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn

Art

• Showcase #4 (September–October 1956) - Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert

Origin Tales

• Showcase #4 (September–October 1956): “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt,” Robert Kanigher^[2]
• Flash #167 (February 1967): “The Real Origin of the Flash,” Gardner Fox
• Flash #267 (November 1978): “The Origin of the Flash’s Uniform!” Cary Bates
• Flash #309 (May 1982): “How Do You Kill A Legend?” Cary Bates
• Secret Origins Annual 2 (1988): “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt,” Robert Loren Fleming
• The Life Story of the Flash (1997), Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
• Flash Secret Files #1 (November 1997): “A Run of Luck,” Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn

Profiles

• Who’s Who in the DC Universe #8 (October 1985)
• The Official Justice League Index #1 (April 1986)
• Flash Annual 3 (1989)
• Who’s Who (loose-leaf edition) #10 (June 1991)
• Flash Secret Files #1 (November 1997)
• Silver Age Secret Files #1 (July 2000)
• JLA–Z #1 (November 2003)
• The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2004)

Series Regular In...

• The Flash (first series) (1959–1985)
• Justice League of America (first series) (1960–1985?)

Other Significant Silver-Age Appearances^[4]

• Showcase #4 (October 1956): “Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!,” Robert Kanigher
• Showcase #4 (October 1956): “The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier,” John Broome
• Showcase #8 (June 1957): “The Coldest Man on Earth,” John Broome
• Showcase #8 (June 1957): “The Secret of the Empty Box,” Robert Kanigher
• Showcase #13 (April 1958): “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” Robert Kanigher
• Showcase #13 (April 1958): “Master of the Elements,” John Broome
• Showcase #14 (June 1958): “Giants of the Time World!” Robert Kanigher
• Showcase #14 (June 1958): “The Man Who Changed the Earth!” John Broome
• Green Lantern #13 (June 1962): “The Duel of the Super-Heroes!” John Broome

• Superman #199 (August 1967): “Superman’s Race with the Flash,” Jim Shooter
• World’s Finest #198–199 (November–December 1970): “Race to Save the Universe,” Denny O’Neill
• Flash Spectacular 1978: “Beyond the Super-Speed Barrier,” Cary Bates
• DC Comics Presents #1–2 (August–October 1978): “Chase to the End of Time,” Martin Pasko

Significant Crisis-Era Appearances

• Legionnaires Annual 3 (1996): “The Long Road Home,” Roger Stern
• Flash #148–150 (May–July 1999): “Chain Lightning Parts 4–6,” Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
• Impulse #86–87 (July–August 2002): “Crisis on Impulse’s Earth,” Todd Dezago
• Flash #200 (September 2003): “Blitz Conclusion: The Final Race,” Geoff Johns
• JLA/Avengers #3–4 (January–March 2004), Kurt Busiek
• Flash #224–225 (September–October 2005): “Rogue War, Chapters 5–6,” Geoff Johns
• Infinite Crisis #4 (March 2006): “Homecoming,” Geoff Johns
• The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 (August 2006): “Lightning in a Bottle Part 1: Flashback,” Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo (flashback)
• The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #6 (January 2007): “Lightning in a Bottle Part 6: Burning Bridges,” Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo (flashback)

Significant Modern Appearances (Flashback to Pre-Crisis)

• Flash 50^th Anniversary Special (1990): “Captives of the Atom Master,” Gerard Jones
• Secret Origins #50 (August 1990): “Flash of Two Worlds” (revised), Grant Morrison
• Flash #62–65 (May–June 1992): “Born To Run,” Mark Waid
• Flash Annual 8 (1995): “Kid Flash: Day Two,” Tennessee Peyer
• Speed Force #1 (November 1997): “Burning Secrets,” Mark Waid
• Flash 80-Page Giant #1 (August 1998): “The Speed of Life,” Mark Waid
• Flash 80-Page Giant #1 (August 1998): “Dark of the Sun,” John Byrne
• JLA: Year One (12 issues, January–December 1998), Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
• Legends of the DC Universe #12–13 (January–February 1999): “Critical Mass,” Christopher Priest
• Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths (February 1999): “The Untold Story,” Marv Wolfman
• Legends of the DC Universe #15–17 (April–June 1999): “Dark Matters,” Michael Jan Friedman
• Flash 80-Page Giant #2 (April 1999): “Riddle of the Retro Robberies,” Brian Augustyn
• Flash Secret Files #2 (November 1999): “The Stunning Secret of the Scarlet Speedster’s Super Slow-Down,” Brian Augustyn
• Flash/Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold (6 issues, October 1999–March 2000), Mark Waid and Tom Peyer
• Silver Age: Flash (July 2000), Brian Augustyn
• JLA: Incarnations #5 (November 2001): “Changes,” John Ostrander
• Impulse #79 (December 2001): “No Laughing Matter,” Todd Dezago
• DC Comics Presents: The Flash (October 2004): “The Fastest Man—Dead!” Jeph Loeb
• Flash #215 (December 2004): “The Secret of Barry Allen, Part Two: Reformed,” Geoff Johns
• Flash #234 (January 2008): “The Fast Life, Part 2: The Allens,” Mark Waid & John Rogers (flashback, solo)
• Booster Gold v.2 #4 (January 2008): “He’s Gonna Save Every One Of Us!” Geoff Johns & Jeff Katz

Significant Modern Appearances (Alternate Reality)^[5]

• Flash Annual 7 (1994): “The Barry Allen Story,” Mark Wheatley & Allan Gross (Elseworlds)
• Impulse #46 (March 1999): “When Barry Met Bart,” William Messner-Loebs (imaginary)
• Flashpoint (3 issues, December 1999–February 2000), Pat McGreal (Elseworlds)
• DC: The New Frontier #2, 4–6 (April, July–Sep 2004), Darwyn Cooke (alternate reality)

Notes

Related Commentary

• Barry Allen: Answering the Skeptics at Comic Coverage

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