r/theflash • u/Jet-Let4606 • 3d ago
Comic Discussion Whats Your Favourite Pre Crisis Barry Allen Flash Story?
What were the most stand out Flash stories during Barry's heyday?
A few obvious ones come to mind like 'The Flash of Two Worlds'.
What was the main appeal of Silver Age Flash stories?
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u/Ok_Literature2354 3d ago
If I had to pick just one, I'd go with #195 where Barry's life is saved by a random dog. The next day, that same dog is falsely accused of a murder and is in danger of being euthanized.
Barry spends the rest of the issue working to try to prove the dog's innocence and unraveling the mystery surrounding the accuser.
I won't spoil the ending, but it's so heartwarming and a legitimately good story with a twist or two along the way that was a joy to read.
I've got at least half a dozen more stories that I love from that era too!
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u/OCguy2026 3d ago
Menace of the super gorilla flash #106
Who doomed the flash #130
Invasion of the cloud creatures #111
Meet kid flash #110
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u/Electronic_Park_1702 3d ago
I can't think of the issue number (It has to be one of the showcase issues) but he's trying to meet Iris for a date but he's fighting crime and solving crises around the globe. Also, the first Captain Cold issue and the one where he meets Cary Bates, the writer at the time.
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u/OCguy2026 3d ago
Showcase #13 .. around the world in 80 minutes … 1958
1st Capt cold .. great story .. showcase #8
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u/Standard-Cat-2054 3d ago
That reminds me of the Justice League of America story where Cary Bates and Elliot S! Maggin end up on Earth-1. Those two wrote some fun stories.
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u/Arelious2019 3d ago
Been reading through the entirety of Cary Bates run on Flash and after a long time I'm finally on the last arc Trial of the Flash. Obviously the two most well known stories from this run are Death of Iris West and Trial of the Flash but I think there's plenty other stories in this run that deserve to be mentioned as standouts:
Iris Is Missing (#235-237): The first multi-part story in Bates' run where Iris has gone missing. How much Barry loves Iris is put and full display here as Barry desperately searches for his missing wife, not knowing what's really going on.
Death of The Top (#243-244): The Top is the first longtime Flash villain to die and his death leads to a fun story with The Rogues and would later on lead to the best villain introduced in this run
Golden Glider stories (#250-251, #257, #261-264): Golden Glider is probably my favroite villain introduced in the Cary Bates run and some of her stories have been my favorites in the entire run. Unlike most of the Rogues who are thieves or make plans to kill The Flash, Glider is focused primarily on hurting The Flash by targetting his loved ones. These are great stories and that last one especially has some great emotional moments for Barry.
To Believe or Not To Believe (#254-256): A great story in which Barry can no longer distinguish what's real and what's a mere illusion from an old foe
The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful (#308): This story is just nice and sweet and actually made me care about Daphne Dean, kinda wish she was the main love interest Post-Death of Iris because of this.
The Eradicator (#314-320): There's a new vigilante in Central City, one whose goal is to eradicate all crime in the city through lethal means. It's a really great story with a great villain and there's some focus in Barry's Post-Death of Iris supporting cast
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u/JingoboStoplight4887 Jay Garrick 3d ago
All of them, including DC Special Series Vol 1 11 (aka the Flash of Three Worlds).
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u/Dry-Donut3811 3d ago
Love pretty much the whole Bronze Age stuff, but an individual story would be the classic: Flash Of Two Worlds.
For me, the main appeal of the Silver Age stuff is just the sheer creativity of it all. It’s got so many weird, crazy and fun ideas, it’s easily the most creative Flash comics have ever been and I don’t any writer after Barry died has even come close.
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u/OCguy2026 3d ago
I am a golden age and silver age flash enthusiast.
I have a copy of golden age all-flash #11 1943 … where there are duplicates of jay Garrick , Joan Williams and the winky, blinky, and noddy from another planet.
Not another dimension like flash #123 .. but was an interesting concept, especially for that time period.
Flash #123 is my all time favorite silver age flash book/story ..
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u/Jet-Let4606 3d ago
Any stand out stories?
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u/OCguy2026 3d ago edited 3d ago
You mean golden age flash? There are 5-10 that really stand out.
I can put together a list. Really the later stories flash 86-104, all flash 29-32, and comic cavalcade 24-29 were all exceptional.
In these later issues flash was drawn more realistic and there was in introduction of several re-occurring villains … like the thorn, the fiddler, star sapphire, the turtle, the black Templars.
The one GA story I like the most is all-flash #32 … introducing star sapphire as well as the GA flash story about the “secret city”all-flash #31 and flash #89 introducing the Thorn.. flash #90 … nine empty uniforms.
The humorous stories with keystone city’s “the liar’s” club .. of which jay Garrick is a member .. are great .. where jay garrick tells adventures of the flash .. that no one believes are true .. and this think that jay Garrick is a fantastic liar.
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u/ParkaKingRolo Trickster 3d ago
Death of Iris Allen arc is pretty good. But I think everything from like 200-350 is overall very good in general though thats Bronze Age.
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u/Welcome--Matt Barry Allen 1d ago
This is Bronze Age, but the opening issue of “Trial of the Flash” where Barry “kills” Thawne (I say “Kills” in quotes because it didn’t take) is one of my favorite issues of all time.
The entire comic, Thawne, having interrupted Barry’s wedding to Fiona Webb, is taunting Barry about killing his last wife, Iris, years ago. Barry remains silent as Thawne insults him over and over again, until the final insult that pushes Barry over the line.
Thawne, realizing that Barry won’t respond verbally, says (paraphrased) “Don’t want to talk? Fine, I’ll write it in the sand, then” and proceeds to write the following into the beach sand:
“Guess who’s going to kill your wife again?” Is just SO chilling, especially considering that this happened in the BRONZE age of comics, not the modern era. I absolutely love this issue so, so, much.