#daphne dean

[helene-art]

I don't know how to draw backgrounds 🥸✌🏻

[longitudinalwaveme]

Gaps Between Character Appearances: Flash vol. 1

Basically what it says on the tin: an examination of the longest amounts of time a character was absent for during the Silver/Bronze Age Flash run.

Heroes and Supporting Cast:

Barry Allen: Since he was the main character, Barry was, unsurprisingly, basically in every issue of the Flash. There are therefore no significant gaps in his appearances.

Iris West-Allen: Iris was in pretty much every issue from 1956 to 1979, when she was killed by the Reverse-Flash. She then disappeared from the comic until 1985, when she returned for the end of the Trial of the Flash arc---an absence of six years.

Henry and Nora Allen: Their biggest absence was a seven-year gap between 1966 and 1973. There was then a second large gap between their appearance in 1973 and their reappearance in 1978.

Daphne Dean: Her biggest gap was an 11-year disappearance from 1966 to 1977. She then had another large gap between 1977 and 1982.

Ira West: His biggest gap was a 3-year gap between 1975 and 1978. He then pretty much disappeared from the book entirely after 1979.

Solovar: His biggest absence was a 13-year gap between 1965 and 1978.

Wally West: As Kid Flash, he appeared pretty consistently, either with Barry or on his own, until the very end of the run. The biggest gap is a two-year span between 1981 and 1983.

Patty Spivot: She didn't have any gaps of more than a year at any point between 1977 and and 1984, her full run on the series.

Fiona Webb: Fiona didn't have any gaps of more than a year for her full run on the series, either, which lasted from 1980 to 1985.

Joan Garrick: Her biggest gap in the Flash series was between 1978 and 1982 (the latter of which was her last appearance in Barry's run).

Jay Garrick: His biggest gap is the same 4-year gap as Joan's (between 1978 and 1982). He then disappears from the comic for its last three years (most of which were taken up by the never-ending Trial of the Flash arc).

Dexter Myles: His biggest gap was a roughly three-year period between 1970 and 1973.

Villains:

Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash: The biggest gap in appearances he had prior to his death was the 5-year gap between 1969 ("Time Times 3 Equals--?") and 1974 ("Green Lantern---Master Criminal of the 25th Century"). After his death in 1980, he effectively disappeared for 3 years, reappearing in 1983 only to die again.

Abra Kadabra: His biggest gap in appearances was the five-year gap between 1972 ("The Flash in Cartoon-Land!") and 1977 ("Kill Me, Flash--Faster, Faster!"). There was also a 4-year gap between 1968 ("The Thief Who Stole All the Money in Central City") and 1972.

Gorilla Grodd: Grodd was absent for seven years, between 1971 (“Beyond the Speed of Life!”, otherwise known as the issue where Digger and James trip the Flash and he dies) and 1978 (“Beyond the Super-Speed Barrier").

Captain Cold: Captain Cold had two fairly sizeable gaps between appearances: a five-year gap between 1969 ("Captain Cold Blows His Cool") and 1974 ("The Hot-Cold War in Central City!"), and a four-year gap between 1977 ("To Believe or Not to Believe!") and 1981 ("Captain Cold's Cold, Cold Flame"). There was also a 3-year gap between his appearance in Showcase #8 and his appearance in Flash #114.

Mirror Master: Mirror Master had a number of two-year gaps between appearances, but never anything more than that. He was the most consistently appearing Flash villain.

Heat Wave: The biggest gap for Heat Wave was basically the same as for Captain Cold---a five-year gap between 1969 and 1974.

Captain Boomerang: Digger disappeared for four years between 1967 ("The Stupendous Triumph of the Six Super-Villains") and 1971 ("Beyond the Speed of Life!"). He was also missing for a 3-year period between 1976 (“The Last Day of June is the Last Day of Central City!”) and 1979 ("Road to Oblivion!").

Trickster: Trickster had a number of 3-year gaps between appearances---between 1965 ("The Trickster's Toy Thefts") and 1968 ("The Swell-Headed Super Hero"), between 1968 and 1971 ("Beyond the Speed of Life!"), between 1971 and 1974 ("The Day I Saved the Flash!", also known as writer Cary Bates' self-insert fanfic), between 1977 ("Prisoner of the Past") and 1980 ("If, At First You Don't Succeed"), and between 1980 and 1983 ("Dead Reckoning").

Weather Wizard: Weather Wizard was absent for six years, from 1967 ("The Race to the End of the Universe") to 1973 ("The Heart that Attacked the World").

Pied Piper: Hartley was absent from 1967 ("The Stupendous Triumph of the Six Supervillains") to 1972 ("The Flash of 1000 Faces"), a gap of five years. He also had a roughly four-year gap between 1977 ("Prisoner of the Past") and 1981 ("The Pied Piper's Paradox Peril"), and a 4-year gap between his first appearance in 1959 and his second appearance in 1963.

The Top: Roscoe was absent for six years, from 1967 ("The Stupendous Triumph of the Six Supervillains") to 1973 ("The Million-Dollar Death Trap!"). He was then basically absent from his death in 1976 to his return as a ghost in 1981, a five-year gap. His last appearance in the comic was in November 1981.

Golden Glider: Her biggest gap was a three-year absence from 1978 (“The Golden Glider’s Final Fling!”) to 1981 ("1981--A Flash Odyssey!"). Her last appearance in the comic was in October 1982.

Rainbow Raider: His biggest gap was a year-and-a-half-to-two year gap between 1981 ("A Stab in the Black!") and 1983 ("Trade Heroes and Win!").

Mr. Element/Dr. Alchemy: There was a six-year gap between Dr. Alchemy's appearance in 1958 ("The Man Who Changed the Earth!") and Mr. Element's appearance in 1964 ("Our Enemy, the Flash!"). Albert Desmond disappeared again from 1966 ("One Bridegroom Too Many!”) to 1972 ("The Curse of the Dragon’s Eye!”), a roughly six-year gap. He also disappeared for another six years between 1974 (“The Fury of the Fire-Demon!”) and 1980 (“Dr. Alchemy and Mr. Desmond"). His last appearance in the series was in September 1980. Alvin only appeared from July to September 1980 during Barry's run, and as such there were no gaps between his appearances.

Paul Gambi: Paul was absent for 10 years between 1963 and 1973, and then had a 9-year gap between 1976 and 1985.

Among the villains, Grodd had the biggest gap between his appearances, since he was gone from the pages of the Flash for seven years. Albert Desmond had the most frequent long absences, though, with three different six-year gaps.

Among the Rogues proper, The Top and the Weather Wizard had the largest gaps between appearances, though the Top's death meant that he was gone for more of the series than Weather Wizard.

[ftl-faster-than-life]

I have an alternative suggestion for how the cw could have introduced Iris: fully pulling from New 52, once in the future Daniel went back with the goal of killing William. Kid Iris and Daniel see this. Iris and Barry meet because they're both looking for men made of lightning because no one is listening to them. The mentioned blog of Barry in s1 becomes a joint blog both of them work on which Iris expands on and finds her feet in journalism and Barry ends up in forensics. Maybe they'd even be dating before the story kicks off but then where would they get the relationship drama from and I don't know if the writers could handle a relationship without any drama which is probably why they went with the childhood friends but Barry's pining and Iris doesn't know angle in the first place (and kept separating them in later series).

(Just make Barry demiromantic and Iris is content pining because Barry doesn't really get those feelings often and Barry's content pining because Iris would have said something if she felt that way. There's got to be some kind of drama opportunity in that probably)

Anyway I am a bit of a sucker for friends to lovers so I do like the childhood friends idea but they should be allowed to be Weird Kids too.

(Also if we could have Ralph Dibny and Daphne Dean as teens with them and maybe Barry had a dog named Lightning when he was sixteen this turns into Barry and Iris' teen years having Scooby Doo shenanigans and that is only for a laugh)

Honestly there’s so much missed opportunity for cuteness with Iris and Barry as kids running around investigating the supernatural. They would’ve gotten in so much trouble. And it absolutely would’ve made sense for those kids to grow up into forensics specialists, detectives, investigative journalists and actresses. This all sounds like an awesome AU and I fully support it.

[gurumakakari]

This will serve as the first chapter when the story is going in sequential order and not devolving into snapshots when I inevitably distract myself with writing nothing but hypno battles between pretty wrestler girls

1

So this was it. This was what it felt like to make it to the big time. Sure, the Remix Wrestling Federation had endured its fair share of scrutiny and drama over the past year or so, but to someone like Chloe Black, it still had all the makings of the kind of place where a lifelong dream can come true. It hadn't been an easy road to get here. Never really is in the world of professional wrestling. You need to possess the right combination of looks, charisma, wrestling ability, and a mind that can deal with setback after setback. And while the humble and modest Chloe might have said she probably lacked in some of those areas, it was clear to outside observers that she had…something.

She had started training at the age of 16, which was technically not allowed in the States. But she had gotten around all that by consistently lying about her age, and most trainers didn't really care so long as the checks cleared. Her road had been bumpy. Injuries, having to work two other jobs to keep paying all the bills, homesickness. Through it all, however, she had kept her head down and persevered. With the help of a few of her friends, she had made her way onto a showcase event where she was scouted by RWF decision makers. By the end of that day, Chloe walked away with a contract offer in hand.

Maybe she wasn't the best and brightest out there, but she had certainly popped during that show. It hadn't hurt that her opponent that day had been Daphne Dean, only one of her best friends since her teenage years. Daphne had been signed to RWF for a few months by then and had gone out of her way to let Chloe shine in the match. Only two women had gotten signed after that showcase event, Chloe and the woman who bumped past her left shoulder on her way into the locker room.

"Maybe don't stand in the doorway?" snarled Zoe Lacroix, not even bothering to look over her shoulder as she stomped her way through.

Black shook it off and made a mental note to try and extend the olive branch. The two of them hadn't gotten off to the best of starts after Chloe had accidentally interrupted Zoe during a FaceTime call with her coach. She could tell Zoe was going to be someone she needed to get in good with. There was a star quality to her that had her earmarked as a future top star. And that wasn't just Chloe's opinion. Evelyn Taylor had said as much during the meeting where the two of them were offered contracts. Zoe had a cute face, flaming pink hair, and the whole world out ahead of her. Chloe couldn't help but feel envious.

She nervously stepped into the locker room, taking a look around to get a read on the situation. It wasn't easy considering she only knew most of the women in here from watching them on television. Where should she even start? Zoe was already making the rounds, breezily introducing herself. Her shift in tone had been a total 180 from the way she had spoken to Black just moments prior. But just as Chloe's spirits were starting to crater, she spotted Daphne sitting on a bench and adjusting her ankle socks.

Chloe smiled and waved but wasn't able to head in Daphne's direction before there was a huge slap on her back. It was a friendly one, but it startled her all the same.

"What's up, toots?"

Toots? Chloe turned around to see Kat Action. Kat had come in around the same time as Daphne and was already starting to be regularly featured on RWF programming. She was sporting a gray hoodie, and her hair was tied back in a messy bun. It was as if she had rolled out of bed and headed to the arena for today's taping. But she was smiling at Chloe, so Black felt obliged to return the favor.

"In your gear already?" Kat asked in that same playful tone. "Don't tell me you drove all the way here looking like that. We've got a hair and makeup team for a reason, ya know. Sheeeesh. Rookies!"

Chloe's cheeks couldn't help but turn scarlet, which only induced Kat to reach over and give one a pinch.

"Aren't you a cutie patootie? Yeah, I knew they were gonna bring you in. You and, well, her." Kat gestured over towards Zoe with her thumb, her smile faltering for just a moment. "But, hey, welcome to the show. I can take you for a spin around the locker room if you'd like."

Chloe suddenly had stars in her eyes. Kat had an undeniable confidence to her that made Black want to learn everything about her. She was cool, calm, collected, and everything Chloe hoped she could be someday. It would have taken a complete fool to turn down such a nice offer. But Action was already taking her by the shoulders to guide her around the area without so much as waiting for an answer.

Kat didn't bother introducing Chloe to anyone, preferring to simply give Black the rundown on her read of the situation. There was Alexis Valentine, the nerdy cosplayer who always had a quip handy. Amoeba and Fenomena, a couple of punk rock girlfriends who had a penchant for PDA. Sinn Maddox, who had flawlessly transitioned from MMA to pro wrestling stardom. Himeko, the joshi legend who swore Duolingo had helped her become bilingual in under a month. Aurora, who was always livestreaming to her army of wealthy simps. The list went on and on.

Chloe had so many questions she wanted to ask but couldn't find a break in Action's stream of consciousness to butt in. She found herself staring at Ginny Stark and Olivia Owens. The two of them sat across from one another on a bench, facing one another. Ginny appeared to be helplessly staring at Olivia while Owens spoke softly and slowly. "Uh…"

"Oh, don't mind that. A lot of the girls around here have a little game they like to play. Basically like a staring contest. You want my advice? Don't get mixed up in it. You'll put some of them out if you say no, but believe me when I tell you it's a lot better than the alternative."

As if on cue, Irene Quinn suddenly entered the room to a gale of laughter. She was dressed like a maid and had the blankest expression Chloe had ever seen. Black couldn't help but be alarmed at what she was seeing, especially when Irene walked right up to Himeko, curtsied, and began helping the joshi legend dress for her upcoming match.

"Dude, don't worry about it, alright? Irene lost to Himeko, so this is the punishment they worked out. Stay with me here, toots."

"But she looks so--"

"Forget about it. Trust me. I've got you."

"I don't even know you."

Kat looked hurt, and Chloe immediately regretted saying that. But Action bounced back with a wink. "I guess I'll have to work on changing that, huh? Oh, and one little piece of advice. Maybe change up the gear? You don't want people to get the impression you're working with two different cup sizes, eh?"

Action walked away, giggling to herself. Chloe looked down at her top. C. B. That thought had never even occurred to her. They were just her chosen initials! Suddenly feeling like everything was going wrong, Chloe had to bite her bottom lip to contain the swirling emotions. Maybe Kat was just trying to loosen her up with a joke.

"Hey, she's weird, huh? Kind of sleazy. Perverted. I mean, who picks a name like Action? We're not in a Spy Kids movie." Daphne must have picked up on what Chloe was going through and had placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know," Chloe said, allowing herself one sniffle before smiling. "I think it's great. I think everything's just great."

[flashfuture]

idk for some reason I was having Daphne Dean feels today

(Flash vol 1 #126)

Like just thinking about a young Barry spending his summers and afternoons with Daphne. Thinking bout that midnight swim after senior prom and how she wanted to go to Hollywood and be an actress and Barry wanted to go to college to learn forensics. So they knew that they were gonna go their separate ways but cherish their childhood together. 

Daphne was absolutely a theatre nerd who made Barry run lines with her. And how Barry used to dress up like the Flash and they’d play superheroes is actually the cutest thing. Because really Daph was Barry’s only friend growing up and she was always there for him, she even knew his parents well and was probably the only person who believed Barry about Henry. 

Yeah just having childhood sweethearts feels today. 

[kamamo1]

Ok so my Barry Allen relationship post blew up again, and thanks I guess, so I'm compelled to talk about this more. So here's more analysis on Barry's love interests from the comics that most people tend to forget.

Barry swings from kinda of being a dork/flustered/oblivious about flirting/relationships to being cool as a cucumber, calm, emotionally mature and knows what he wants... So his love interests are all over the place

Zatanna - often flirted with him, they kissed and had wild adventures during one of her shows, Barry was the first one she showed her new outfit too when she was trying to redefine herself, which lead them to make out in the Watchtower, Barry calls her Tanna, and Barry said once that when he looked at her he forgot the face of every girl he met before. They might have been lovers but they both hesitant on starting a full relationship, probably because the writer conveniently remembered Barry was seeing someone else in his personal comic. They need to interact again even if its strictly platonic because it was a fun dynamic

Daphne Dean - was a childhood sweetheart of Barry's and they used to play games as kids with Barry dressed up as the Flash. They were the talk of the town apparently and while they kept in touch, Daphne went on to be a famous actress and Barry headed off to Central City.

They have an on and off relationship, Daphne's PR tries to capitalize on the childhood romance for Daphne's image and she usually goes along with to a certain extent but only till it hits her that 'yeah I'm actually still in love with him' and puts her foot down, Barry usually remains oblivious to all this. Barry helps her out with kidnappers, and old stalker from their childhood, and she helped him out with an issue with Golden Glider. Their flirting ranged from remenicing 'the good old days' to later acknowledging that 'yes I am flirting with you and you are flirting with me' no hesitation

Dinah Lance - Mostly out of the JLA Year One run from Post Crisis. Pre-Crisis they were mostly just teammates, Barry knew her from Black Canary Golden Age comics, and called her pretty bird or bird lady-but then most of her teammates did.

They flirted back and forth in JLA Year One, but Dinah was hesitant to start anything because she didn't want to be like her mother and have an affair with another hero. They kissed before realizing Dinah loves being Black Canary too much and Barry loves being both Flash and Barry, but the romance was still there even though they kept it platonic. I just wish they would interact again because they had a fun friendship.

Meena Dhawan - I wish another writer would pick this character up because I have not liked anything out of the new Flash run, which is a shame bec I want to care about this character. Meena was one of the new speedsters out of the Joshua Williamson's first Flash arc where he tried to do what Manapul did but worse.

She is a scientist who is helps out the people who got caught in the SpeedForce storm and of course Barry gets all heart eyes about it. They offhandedly flirt and then kiss in a spam of two issues where Barry then reveals his identity which is kinda a big deal because his secret identity has always been super important to him in the past, and then Meena is seemingly killed by Godspeed, who callously says that Barry shouldn't even care because they barely knew each other. Meena comes back in a weird way, everyone's weary at first and then it revealed she is working for the bad guys and the last time I checked she is in prison so yeah...

Jessica Cruz - I didn't expect writer to try to go in a romantic direction with these two because they started out with a pretty solid friendship. Jessica is thrown into the superhero world due to the Power Ring and Barry helps her out in fights/control/ talks her down and gets ice cream. So it was like a mentor/student dynamic except not really because they're equal standing characters, kinda going back to when Barry had the same dynamic with Firestorm and Elongated Man.

Jessica saves Barry's life at the cost of her own, but dont worry she's fine! They dance around and then go on a date, and it's kinda cute before plot happens. An alternative reality reveals that they had three kids together, an older daughter named Nora, and twins Jason and Jenny. Nora takes after her father in regards to powers and the twin take after Jessica's powers as well, but their emotions connected to their powers overwhelms them sometimes. The kids are adorable and Barry/Jessica with the kids are even more adorable

Patty Spivot - originally just a friend and coworker, showed up around the late 70s, the time Barry has been married to Iris for awhile. They were just work buddies, and Barry mentioned once about her and a man named Daniel so it's not like she had a secret crush on him. They take turns buying donuts, complain about work, etc. <--And look a completely platonic relationship between a slightly older man and a younger woman with no weird undertones! Then Geoff Johns happens and he implies that Patty and Barry knew eachother when Barry started out at the lab, and that they danced around eachother before Barry and Iris started dating.

Then in New 52, Barry and Patty are dating, and it had it's cute moments but it felt like writers were spinning their wheels because they had to tease out the Barry/Iris relationship, and honestly if your heart isn't in it, you should have just kept it platonic.

Fiona Webb - <---Barry's fiancee and would have his second/third wife. Her real name was Beverly Lewis, and had to be put in witness protection after she learned too much about her former employer. Barry meets her a year after Iris' death when he is moving on with his life, and moving into Utopia Towers as her next door neighbor.

Their first meeting goes like this: Barry thinks about the lonely nights ahead of him and stops midthought when he sees her with a 'yiyiyi'. He says it looks like she walked out of a dream, flusteredly tried to introduce himself but she kinda brushed him off. Fiona acts cold to Barry at first but she eventually warms up to him after he helps her out with the issue of her former employer. They became friends and have a little friend group with their other neighbor Mack Nathan and his son. They dance around eachother a lot, but eventually go on a lot of romantic dates. Barry calls her 'Green Eyes' and she doesn't take any of his bs.

Their relationship is on and off due to Barry's relationship with Z and Daphne and Fiona relationship with the Senator she works for. The Senator is conveniently the new villain that's been targeting the criminals of Central City, so he kidnaps her and Barry has to rescues her. They're together again after that whole fiasco, but have to deal with drama of criminals coming after them because Fiona is still in witness protection and Barry makes enemies as part of CCPD. There was no big proposal scene, Barry casually asks her how she feels about June Weddings and she says why wait and they plan the wedding pretty quick. I think it was stated it was three years after they met?

So they have a quick wedding, Firestorm mentions he's upset that the Justice League wasn't invited but to be fair its all pretty sudden. Barry's friends from work come, Ralph also attends, Mack Nathan etc, Wally tries to sneak in late. Barry is determined not to be late like always so he heads out to the church, almost forgets the ring but has a good laugh about it until surprise!!! Eobard Thawne comes back from being missing for years.

Thawne has Barry chase him all over the world putting people in danger so Barry cant catch up to him, while he does his evil monologue. Fiona is getting extremely frustrated and embarrassed, thinks she's being stood up. Thawne reveals he planning on killing Fiona and Barry freaks out. Just as Fiona walks out the door crying Thawne races to put his hand through her head and Barry stops him by grabbing at his neck. Barry instantly goes over comfort Fiona, not realizing what happened.

Due to the audience of the whole scene he can't reveal he's actually Barry and Fiona is still super upset. Thawne is revealed to be dead, the Flash is put on Trial for murder, Barry Allen is missing/presumed dead, and Fiona has a breakdown due to all this trauma conga line. Barry just wants to take her away with him but with the upcoming Trial he realizes he can never have a normal life again after this.

The trial eventually takes a turn for the worse, Barry's lawyer Cecile tells him to reveal his identity so that the court knows that he was only trying to save his fiancee from the fate of his first wife, but Barry refuses, stating that if he goes to prison then at least Fiona won't be in more danger because of him. Its obvious through this arc that Barry and Fiona still love eachother but both are in a real bad place right now.

And I have to say this was some interesting drama that DC never resolved or followed through with, and just outright ignored, which is a shame because Barry and Fiona was another interesting relationship that fell to the wayside due to poor writing or just a general lack of interest in the Flash's supporting cast

[brevoorthistoryofcomics]

Subscription copy time! I can remember bringing this issue of FLASH and the previous one to school not too long after this--I recall it because, after talking them up and showing them around, some other kid wanted to subscribe, so, checking first that it wasn’t against a story page, I dutifully cut out the subscription coupon from the ad in this issue and gave it to him. I highly doubt that he ever followed through with his momentary interest--if he did, I never heard about it--but my copy of FLASH #249 is now permanently marred to mark the occasion.

This is another issue in the incredibly consistent run of writer Cary Bates and artist Irv Novick. Cary would remain with the series until the end of its run just a hair over 100 issues hence, a pretty staggering run. And Novick, an old hand at super heroes even in 1977, defined the look of the Scarlet Speedster to me. There was something pleasant and reliable in knowing that when a new issue of FLASH turned up, you could count on exactly the sort of product that you’d be getting. This was all overseen by editor Julie Schwartz, who’d overseen the revival of the Flash in 1956 and had edited the series ever since. In a few short years, Julie would be moved onto other projects, and the consistency of FLASH would suffer and struggle a bit. But that’s all in the future.

This issue picks up where the previous one left off. As you’l recall, an unbeatable felon calling himself Master Villain is at large. And also, Barry’s old sweetheart Daphne Dean, the actress, is back in town, pretending to be suffering from amnesia. But we readers overheard Daphne and a cohort plotting over the phone at the end of the previous chapter. So as this issue opens, with the Allens chastely in bed, Iris is quietly fretting about Daphne. But a phone call wakes up Barry--and it’s from master Villain, who has somehow sussed out the speedster’s true identity and will reveal it to the world if the Flash doesn’t meet him at a specified location.

Flash races to the specified phone booth within second, and master Villain appears out of nowhere, setting off a super-battle between the two. As before Master Villain is almost childish in his demeanor, and his assault on the Flash seems almost baseless. Attempting to finish his speedy foe, Master Villain unleashes an energized punch at the Flash. But, unable to escape from it, Flash instead races to Metropolis, locates Clark Kent on the street, vibrates his molecules so that he passes through the disguised Man of Steel, and lets the energized punch blip harmlessly off the Kryptonian’s cranium. 

Back in Central City, Daphne’s fake amnesia isn’t improving no matter how much she fawns over Barry Allen. But Barry can’t stay, he and Iris have an engagement with their next door neighbors Fred and Ethel Sands. While they’re there, we check in with their son, Barney, who is agonizing over how he created Master Villain--and we get a handy flashback indicating how the alien cloud-creature who craves new experiences inhabited Barney’s drawing and brought Master Villain to life. Now Barney’s trying to duplicate his feat by creating a super hero with the power to bring Master Villain to heel--but the character just isn’t coming up off the paper as Master Villain did.

After dinner, the Allens return home, and Iris is shocked to not only find Daphne sleeping in their living room, but Master Villain present as well. He and the Flash engage in a quick skirmish that flies out of the Allen household and winds up in the yard next door, where Flash overhears Barney’s efforts to bring his fictitious super hero to life. Master Villain also challenges Flash to a showdown the following day.But now Barry has some idea as to what’s doing on, and in how to perhaps turn the tables on Master Villain.

At the appointed time, Master Villain is astonished to find himself confronted not by the Flash, but rather by Super-Hero, Barney’s creation. Super-Hero demonstrates his own awesome voodoo power, which allows him to clobber Master Villain no matter where he might be by striking his dummy figure. What Master Villain doesn’t realize is that Super-Hero is really the Flash in disguise, using super-speed invisibly to deliver each matching blow to Master Villain. And in short order, the alien being has taken enough abuse, severs his mental link with Barney and skedaddles. Meanwhile, Iris has secretly trailed Daphne to a secret rendezvous with another shadowy character, where she overhears Daphne reveal that her amnesia is all a ploy and that she’s about to bring down Barry Allen once and for all. To Be Continued!

And the letters page for this issue includes not only a fan drawing for a new costume for Abra Kadabra that looks as though he’d been heisting from Doctor Strange’s tailor, but also the yearly Statement of Ownership which listed the sales figures for the previous year. This one indicates that FLASH had been selling 163,000 copies on average on a print run of 361,000, for an efficiency of 45%. Which isn’t great, but it’s a slight step up from the previous year’s 42%.

[helene-art]

and no I'm not dead, I was just very busy , Sorry 🐌