Out of all the DC characters to own the mantle of the Flash, none are more well-known to readers than Barry Allen. The character was birthed in the Golden Age, but Allen’s arrival on the comics scene in 1956 literally ushered in a new age. Barry’s debut signaled the beginning of the Silver Age of comics, and it changed everything.
The era is defined by the introduction of sleeker costumes, sci-fi themes, and stories that were delightfully silly for better or worse. Virtually every Flash story in modern times is heavily influenced by those Silver Age comics, making them some of the best and most important stories in DC history.
10 The Flash (Vol 1) #179
Written By Cary Bates, Penciled By Ross Andru, Inked By Mike Esposito
Meta-fiction has also become a sub-genre of its own within the world of comics in recent years. But 1968’s “The Flash – Fact or Fiction?” took it to ridiculous but fun lengths. After a battle with the Nok, a creature that feeds on the Flash’s aura, Barry is thrust into another world – the “real” world.
He finds a Flash comic book chronicling his adventures and seeks out DC editor Julius Schwartz to help him build a cosmic treadmill to get home. The tale introduced Earth-Prime, which would factor heavily into Crisis On Infinite Earths nearly 20 years later and still impacts the DCU today.
9 The Flash (Vol 1) #139
Written By John Broome, Penciled By Carmine Infantino, Inked By Joe Giella
Every comic book superhero needs an arch-enemy. The Flash already had a healthy rogue’s gallery in the Silver Age, but the introduction of the Reverse-Flash in 1963 gave the Flash his greatest nemesis.
“Menace of the Reverse-Flash” has all the hallmarks of classic Silver Age storytelling and all the time-travel paradoxes that continue to define Flash stories all the way to the present. The Flash battles Eobard Thawne and returns to his own time, blissfully unaware that he would duel with the Reverse-Flash many times in the following decades.
8 The Flash (Vol 1) #125
Written By John Broome, Penciled By Carmine Infantino, Inked By Joe Giella
Continuing with the time-travel theme, the Silver Age Flash also spent a fair amount of time journeying to the past. In “The Conquerors of Time!” Barry sends his sidekick, Kid Flash – Wally West, who would go on to carry the mantle years later – into prehistoric times. Flash, meanwhile, heads to the future of 2287 to battle a related threat.
Wally’s adventure in the past is far from scientifically accurate, as Kid Flash deals with gargantuan insects and gets paralyzed by a giant bee. Barry, meanwhile, saves humanity’s 23rd century by helping them restore their atomic weapons. To say that Silver Age was a wildly different time is an understatement.
7 The Flash (Vol 1) #115
Written By John Broome, Penciled By Carmine Infantino, Inked By Joe Giella
The Flash’s battles with the sinister and super-intelligent Gorilla Grodd are some of his most memorable. But none of his encounters with the deadly simian is stranger or more typical of the Silver Age than “The Day the Flash Weighed 1,000 Pounds!”
It’s a DC story that has aged poorly in some aspects, as Grodd’s pawn uses a machine to increase Flash’s weight to 1,000 pounds. Barry is subsequently stricken with amnesia and imprisoned in a circus sideshow. Luckily, the Flash regains his memory and drains his excess water weight. The Flash #115 is a fun example of Silver Age storytelling, with the villain finding and exploiting a hero’s single weakness.
6 Showcase (Vol 1) #4
Written By Robert Kanigher, Penciled By Carmine Infantino, Inked By Joe Kubert
With the publication of Showcase #4, the entire comic book landscape changed forever. After a decade since Jay Garrick donned the winged Mercury cap as the Flash, DC introduced a new version of the character for a new generation.
“Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!” contains the origin of the Flash, as police scientist Barry Allen gains his powers after being doused in chemicals and struck by lightning. The story introduces Barry, his iconic red suit, and his longtime girlfriend, Iris West, as the Flash confronts the Turtle Man, the slowest criminal in the world.
5 The Flash (Vol 1) #137
Written By Gardner Fox, Penciled By Carmine Infantino, Inked By Joe Giella
The Flash has a famously-diverse and colorful Rogues’ Gallery. Readers are familiar with the Reverse-Flash, Captain Cold, the Top, and several of the Scarlet Speedster’s…
Read More: 10 Best Silver Age Flash Comics